Putting Theory into Practice: Tools for Research in Informal Settings (New Directions in Mathematics and Science Education, 25)

Ash, Doris B., Melber, Leah M., Rahm, Jrà ne

ISBN 10: 9460919626 / ISBN 13: 9789460919626

Published by Brill, 2012

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Putting Theory into Practice: Tools for Research in Informal Settings (New Directions in Mathematics and Science Education, 25)
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9460919626
• ISBN 13: 9789460919626
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Informal learning, also called free choice learning or out-of-school time, is a relatively new field that has grown exponentially in the past 15 years. Research on the learning and teaching that takes place in these non-traditional, non-classroom environments, such as museums, gardens, afterschool and community programs, has enjoyed tremendous growth; yet we still need to understand much more, and more deeply, how people actually interact, participate and learn in such settings. Putting Theory into Practice: Tools for Research in Informal Settings is designed as a research and practice toolkit, offering a range of theoretically well-grounded methods for assessing learning for life in diverse settings and among diverse populations. We pay special attention to the full complexity, challenges and richness involved in such research into learning in places like museums, aquariums, after-school clubs, and gardens. Putting Theory into Practice serves both, researchers and practitioners, as well as a more general audience. This book offers several field-tested methods for building empirically-based, informal learning settings and research deeply grounded and guided by theory. Sociocultural theory, broadly defined, forms the unifying theoretical framework for the different qualitative studies presented. Each chapter clearly lays out the theoretical underpinnings and how these inform the suggested methods. The chapters are written by recognized experts in the field, and each addresses, in its own way, “the synergy among different learning contexts and the benefits of studying how contexts influence learning.” Together they give voice to the diversity, richness, and complexity of the study of learners and learning for life.

About the Author

Leah M. Melber, Ph.D. has nearly 20 years experience within informal and formal science education. She holds a BA in Zoology, an MA in education together with a multiple subject teaching credential for the state of California, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Southern California. She has presented widely on inquiry-based instruction and effective methods of connecting with cultural institutions such as museums. In addition to numerous journal articles she has written on this topic, she has recently published a book titled Informal Learning and Field Trips . She was awarded the 2001 Informal Educator Award through the California Science Teachers Association. She joined the staff of Lincoln Park Zoo in December of 2008.