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5 Interest and Motivation: Steps Toward Building a Science Identity
Pages 81-102

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From page 81...
... To try to answer these questions, evaluators conducted interviews with 28 people (15 from the Tech Museum and 13 from the Science Museum of Minnesota) immediately after they watched Coral Reef Adventure and 3 months later.
From page 82...
... These films are an example of what informal science venues can do to bring in crowds and generate excitement about science.1 THe ROLe OF inTeReST in inFORMAL enViROnMenTS Informal environments are often characterized by people's excitement, interest, and motivation to engage in activities that promote learning about the natural and physical world. Typically, participants have a choice or a role in determining what is learned, when it is learned, and even how it is learned.2 These environments are also designed to be safe and to encourage exploration, supporting interactions with people and materials that arise from curiosity and are free of the perfor mance demands that people often encounter in school.3 Interest, as described in Strand 1, includes the excitement, wonder, and sur prise that learners may experience and the knowledge and values that make the experience relevant and meaningful.
From page 83...
... People with an interest in science are likely to be motivated learners in sci ence; they are more likely to seek out challenge and difficulty, use effective learning strategies, and make use of feedback.8 These behaviors help learners continue to develop interest, further engaging in activities that promote enjoyment and learning. People who come to informal environments with developed interests are likely to set goals, self-regulate, and exert effort easily in the domains of their interests, and these behaviors often come to be habits, supporting their ongoing engagement.9 Cultivating interest and motivation is a high priority for many informal science educators and has been explored and documented extensively in research, evalua tions, and the accounts of practitioners.
From page 84...
... Where Intrigued with the exhibit, Deborah Perry conducted the red and blue mix, the overlap forms magenta; research and then created another exhibit called The where the blue and green mix, cyan is formed; and Color Connection: Making Colored Lights. The idea where red and green mix, they form yellow.
From page 85...
... The first attention-getting strategy was the different- Because research has illustrated that people are more colored lights shining on the table. Once visitors likely to pursue activities when they feel they will be were engaged, the exhibit kept their attention by us- successful, this exhibit promoted confidence by ing the computer to ask a question.
From page 86...
... Setting such goals and then determin them in a context of learning about white light and ing whether they have been met not only allows how it is formed. The switches slowed visitor behav museum educators to document learning, but also ior and made choices more deliberate and controlled.
From page 87...
... Many researchers have developed models for the development of long-term interest. Ann Renninger and Suzanne Hidi provide a useful framework that dif ferentiates between shorter term interest and more sustained, engaged interest.13 Their four-phase model describes how interest emerges and changes as an individ ual becomes more engaged through repeated experiences related to a topic.
From page 88...
... Interestingly, this sequence of increasing investment and meaningfulness has parallels with work done by Beverly Serrell and her colleagues in generating criteria for exhibition excellence based on prin ciples from the visitor studies literature.14 The notion that interest can be deepened and sustained through repeated experiences is important to think about when designing informal learning experi ences for science. Some settings or activities may not lend themselves to cultivat ing sustained interest as much as others do.
From page 89...
... Immediately, they this project started, the participants were living in started talking about teen pregnancy, AIDS, gangs, the shelter with their families. violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and racism -- all When Fusco started working with the teens, experiences within their personal frame of reference.
From page 90...
... teens suggested a basketball court, an archery range, These realizations led to a new set of activi a playground, or a community garden. Before mak- ties, including visiting other community gardens ing a decision, the kids formed four teams to explore and a school with a composting facility, writing to the space more thoroughly.
From page 91...
... So an event like this right They added a birdbath and pond to attract wildlife here, it helps get away from all the violence." to the garden, and they made sure that garbage cans By the time the project ended, the REAL team and compost bins were part of the plan, as well as had planted tomatoes, peppers, and flowers in the picnic tables, chess tables, and paths wide enough for garden and had built an arbor for the vines. "I really wheelchairs.
From page 92...
... The science gang now looked at the world differently and saw science as a way to reduce vio lence, create beauty, and bring disparate members of their neighborhood together. Relating the Community Garden Project to the Strands While the focus of this chapter has been on the motivational aspects of learning emphasized in Strand 1, this case also illustrates the interconnectedness of the strands.
From page 93...
... . Changes within the participants' ways of talking, thinking, and doing science occurred alongside practice and the creation of a science in which they would help minimize violence, beautify the com munity, and foster social and community gatherings and interactions.15 WeLL-DeVeLOPeD inTeReST AnD cHAnGeS in iDenTiTY As we saw in the interest development model, the last phase is "well-developed" individual interest, in which an individual chooses to engage in an extended pur suit in a particular area.
From page 94...
... Although researchers in the field generally agree that identity affects science participation and learning,18 there are varied and disparate theoretical frameworks that address issues of identity. Some conceptions of identity emphasize personal beliefs and attitudes measured by the degree to which participants endorse such statements as "I have a good feeling toward science" or "I could be a good scientist."19 Other conceptions of identity focus on the way that it is created through talk and other features of moment-to-moment interactions that position people among the roles and statuses available in particular situations.20 This latter conception emphasizes that the type of person one can be in a setting -- e.g., com petent, skilled, creative, or lacking in these qualities -- depends on the way these types are defined in a social context; these identities are fluid and can change from setting to setting.
From page 95...
... These ideas are based on a model of identity previously developed by Falk and his colleagues. This model suggests that visitors bring personal identities -- as explorers, facilitators, professionals/hobbyists, experience seekers, or rechargers -- to informal science settings.
From page 96...
... Experience seekers enjoy new experiences and visit museums and other sites that are considered to be important. In this study, they made up 8 percent of the visitors and reported visiting as tourists or to support the community.
From page 97...
... Opportunities for social interaction could be expanded for facilitators by offering meetings with staff and a designated place to go for discus sion after their experience or by providing written materials and labels that inspire questioning and conversation. Similarly, experience seekers might enjoy a unique program that surpasses other local attractions, and professionals/hobbyists can be tapped to serve as volunteers.
From page 98...
... With some input from his cousin, Schwartzman Schwartzman admits. "Figuring out the correct pH for set out to learn how to produce biodiesel fuel, which each container of oil took a lot of time." is made from oil left over after frying food.
From page 99...
... Renninger's and Hidi's interest development model describes how the environment may initially spark interest before personal motivation develops. A community urban garden project for teens was used to illustrate the four phases of inter est development, as well as other kinds of learning described by the strands of learning.
From page 100...
... • Assess experiences for unintended negative emotions. Just as positive emotions can trigger learning, negative emotions can be a turnoff.
From page 101...
... Web Resources Association of Zoos and Aquariums: http://www.aza.org Cool Fuel: Brew It Yourself: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2008/06/30/AR2008063002280.html Creating Relevant Science through Urban Planning and Gardening: http://www3. interscience.wiley.com/journal/85513199/abstract Designing Exhibits That Motivate: http://www.selindaresearch.com/ Perry1992DesigningExhibitsThatMotivate.pdf Monterey Bay Aquarium: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/ 101 Interest and Motivation


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