Reasoning about Objects in a Natural History Museum
The Effect of Complexity of Questions on Object Labels
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15322752 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anne M Land‐Zandstra (0000-0002-7604-9092, Leiden University, corresponding author), Kelly Hoefakker (Leiden University), Welmoet Damsma (0000-0002-5290-0663, Naturalis Biodiversity Center) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 218-236 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Visitor Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1064-5578 • E-ISSN: 1934-7715 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10645578.2020.1781485 |
| OpenAlex | W3038833588 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 26 |
In natural history museums, a large part of the educational mission is to facilitate family learning with and about objects. Questions on object labels can play a role in this learning process. In the current study, we investigated the effect that different types of questions on object labels can have on the reasoning conversations among family members. We audio-recorded family conversations at an exhibit that included a fossilized dinosaur egg and a text label containing a question. Sixty-six families participated in three conditions differing in the level of complexity of the question on the label. We found that a question of moderate complexity facilitated the longest conversations, with the largest number of complex inferences, compared to the simpler and the more complex question. When reasoning, families most often used evidence from prior knowledge and other parts of the exhibition, but did not often relate to personal experiences. During the longer and more complex conversations, parents took up a larger role in the conversation, facilitating their family’s reasoning process. We suggest that open-ended, moderately complex questions on labels can facilitate family reasoning conversations. Providing enough context within the surrounding exhibits and connecting to prior knowledge may help the reasoning process
Art · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Context (archaeology · Conversation · Exhibition · Natural (archaeology · Object (grammar · Process (computing · Visual arts · Animal and Plant Science Education · Communication · Computer Science · History · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Psychology · Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes · Artificial Intelligence
Presenting a socio‐scientific issue in a science and technology museum
Science museum educators’ views on object-based learning
Conversas, interações e reações emocionais durante as visitas familiares ao QuitoZoo, Equador
Reading between the lines
Looking to Read
Museum-audience interaction within permanent exhibitions of natural history museums
Elaborating on Elaborations
Parents Explain More Often to Boys Than to Girls During Shared Scientific Thinking
Dialogic inquiry in life science conversations of family groups in a museum
Motivational Factors and the Visitor Experience
Shared scientific thinking in everyday parent‐child activity
The Cultural Nature of Human Development
Learning to remember
The Development of Scientific Reasoning Skills
Parents, Science, and Interest
Occasioned knowledge exploration in family interaction
Supporting family conversations and children's STEM learning in a children's museum
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |