One teacher's agenda for a class visit to an interactive science center

• Published in: Science education (Salem, Mass.) Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 524 - 544
• Main Author: Lucas, Keith B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2000; Wiley; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Subjects: Australia; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Educational Planning; Educational sciences; Elementary Education; Exact and natural sciences; Experiential Learning; Field trips; Foreign Countries; Grade 7; Informal Education; Males; Museum; Museumsbesuch; Museumspädagogik; Naturwissenschaften; Science Activities; Science Center; Science education; Science Instruction; Science Museums; Science Teachers; Teaching methods; Unterricht; Australia; Secondary School Student; Intrinsic Motivation; Learning Theory; Computer Science; Observation; Teaching method; Science Education
• ISSN: 0036-8326; 1098-237X
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-237X(200007)84:4<524::AID-SCE6>3.0.CO;2-X

This article reports on the agenda of an exemplary teacher as she planned for and implemented a visit to an interactive science center by her class of 12-year-old boys. Pre-visit preparation involved the students in the creation of a mini-science center in their classroom, and spanned almost a full term. The students appropriated their teacher's agenda, which was that they exploit the unique facilities of the center to learn about science and technology, and to have fun in so doing. Post-visit activities and reflections on the visit by the teacher and six of the students are discussed, and suggest that the outcomes were largely in accord with the teacher's agenda. During the visit, a critical episode involving the teacher, several of the students, and two of the center explainers occurred, and this episode serves to illustrate some consequences for outcomes when there is a lack of congruence between the agendas of key stakeholders involved in such a visit.