Pub Date : 2020-10-22DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1824881
A. Kelly, Jeffrey C. Skibins
Abstract Recently, some zoos have begun utilizing technology to improve interpretation outcomes. Using the I-Change model, this study evaluated the efficacy of the interactive TigerTrek Exhibit (Taronga Zoo) in influencing visitors’ tiger conservation attitudes and behaviors. The I-Change model is a holistic framework for evaluating behavior change. Pre-visit (n = 514), post-visit (n = 609), six-week post (n = 106), and six-month post (n = 24) survey data were collected from visitors. Results indicated an increase in concern that all palm oil is grown unsustainably, which was counter to interpretive messaging. After six-weeks and six-months post-visit, 29% of respondents purchased a product because it contained certified sustainable palm oil. However, 50% of six-week respondents had actively avoided buying a product because it contained any palm oil. By understanding visitors’ perceptions of messaging and the types of behaviors they are willing to engage in, zoos can more effectively achieve their conservation goals.
{"title":"Inspiring Wildlife Conservation Behaviors through Innovations in Zoo Exhibit Design","authors":"A. Kelly, Jeffrey C. Skibins","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1824881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1824881","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Recently, some zoos have begun utilizing technology to improve interpretation outcomes. Using the I-Change model, this study evaluated the efficacy of the interactive TigerTrek Exhibit (Taronga Zoo) in influencing visitors’ tiger conservation attitudes and behaviors. The I-Change model is a holistic framework for evaluating behavior change. Pre-visit (n = 514), post-visit (n = 609), six-week post (n = 106), and six-month post (n = 24) survey data were collected from visitors. Results indicated an increase in concern that all palm oil is grown unsustainably, which was counter to interpretive messaging. After six-weeks and six-months post-visit, 29% of respondents purchased a product because it contained certified sustainable palm oil. However, 50% of six-week respondents had actively avoided buying a product because it contained any palm oil. By understanding visitors’ perceptions of messaging and the types of behaviors they are willing to engage in, zoos can more effectively achieve their conservation goals.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"24 1","pages":"79 - 99"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1824881","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48996041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1819744
Caroline Lipovsky
Abstract With numerous museums currently targeting children and families, museum texts aimed at a young public are becoming increasingly frequent. There is little literature however concerning the ways in which those texts strive to shape children’s experience and understanding. Using children’s texts collected from two French museums, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and Musée en Herbe, and drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics theory, this study first seeks to explore the linguistic features of children’s texts. Using Legitimation Code Theory, the study also highlights and contrasts the ways in which the two museums’ practices and beliefs concerning their roles as learning institutions influence the texts they produce, in terms of both learning potential and interaction with their young audience.
{"title":"Shaping Learning for Young Audiences: A Comparative Case Study of Children’s Texts from Two Parisian Museums","authors":"Caroline Lipovsky","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1819744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1819744","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract With numerous museums currently targeting children and families, museum texts aimed at a young public are becoming increasingly frequent. There is little literature however concerning the ways in which those texts strive to shape children’s experience and understanding. Using children’s texts collected from two French museums, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and Musée en Herbe, and drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics theory, this study first seeks to explore the linguistic features of children’s texts. Using Legitimation Code Theory, the study also highlights and contrasts the ways in which the two museums’ practices and beliefs concerning their roles as learning institutions influence the texts they produce, in terms of both learning potential and interaction with their young audience.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"237 - 265"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1819744","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45800257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1781485
A. Land-Zandstra, K. Hoefakker, W. Damsma
Abstract 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.
{"title":"Reasoning about Objects in a Natural History Museum: The Effect of Complexity of Questions on Object Labels","authors":"A. Land-Zandstra, K. Hoefakker, W. Damsma","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1781485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1781485","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract 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.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"218 - 236"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1781485","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46404601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1773709
K. Peterman, Monae Verbeke, K. Nielsen
Abstract This methodological review considers science festival evaluation and research studies that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature since 2011, when modern-day science festivals were defined formally. Since that time, the number of science festivals around the world has increased dramatically. The methods and results used to study science festivals are summarized in order to reflect on existing work within this growing sector. The existing literature base is then positioned in relation to recent recommendations for visitor studies research on informal science learning overall, to provide suggestions for expanding current practices to include new methods that have the potential to support continued learning and fill key gaps in the literature.
{"title":"Looking Back to Think Ahead: Reflections on Science Festival Evaluation and Research","authors":"K. Peterman, Monae Verbeke, K. Nielsen","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1773709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773709","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This methodological review considers science festival evaluation and research studies that have been published in the peer-reviewed literature since 2011, when modern-day science festivals were defined formally. Since that time, the number of science festivals around the world has increased dramatically. The methods and results used to study science festivals are summarized in order to reflect on existing work within this growing sector. The existing literature base is then positioned in relation to recent recommendations for visitor studies research on informal science learning overall, to provide suggestions for expanding current practices to include new methods that have the potential to support continued learning and fill key gaps in the literature.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"205 - 217"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773709","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47649616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1808419
Siëlle Phelan, Inga Specht, D. Lewalter
Abstract Visit motivation is a multidimensional construct that can be viewed as a convergence of various elements of a visitor’s personal context that lead him or her to visit a particular museum on a particular day. We explored associations between six visit motivation categories, four personal characteristics and three visit-related characteristics that have previously been linked to visit motivation and museum learning. Our main aim was to increase our understanding of how visit motivation is embedded in visitors’ wider personal context. Results showed an effect of visit company on two ‘social’ visit motivation categories, and positive correlations between three different visit motivation categories and visitors’ interest in science, their self-efficacy beliefs, their visit frequency and their visit strategy. Our findings help to better understand how visitors’ personal and visit-related characteristics are associated with their motivation to visit a science museum, which can ultimately support museum professionals in providing customized visit experiences.
{"title":"Visit Motivation as Part of Visitors’ Personal Context in a Science Museum","authors":"Siëlle Phelan, Inga Specht, D. Lewalter","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1808419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1808419","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Visit motivation is a multidimensional construct that can be viewed as a convergence of various elements of a visitor’s personal context that lead him or her to visit a particular museum on a particular day. We explored associations between six visit motivation categories, four personal characteristics and three visit-related characteristics that have previously been linked to visit motivation and museum learning. Our main aim was to increase our understanding of how visit motivation is embedded in visitors’ wider personal context. Results showed an effect of visit company on two ‘social’ visit motivation categories, and positive correlations between three different visit motivation categories and visitors’ interest in science, their self-efficacy beliefs, their visit frequency and their visit strategy. Our findings help to better understand how visitors’ personal and visit-related characteristics are associated with their motivation to visit a science museum, which can ultimately support museum professionals in providing customized visit experiences.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"141 - 161"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1808419","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44373499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1773708
D. Christidou
Abstract This article introduces Social Meaning Mapping (SMM), a digital qualitative tool embedded in the Visitracker tablet-app. SMM is designed to be used by visitors post-visit to recount their experience in a museum room verbally and visually by marking it on an illustrated floor plan, using several paint tools. The app records their verbal and visual input. This article details the theoretical underpinnings of the tool and exemplifies its use through two out of the nine Social Meaning Maps collected from nine groups (N = 21) visiting a gallery room at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway. Each example represents one of the two ways in which visitors used the tool: (a) visitors cocreated their path using one colored line and (b) visitors created two different paths using different colored lines. These two cases showcase how SMM as a tool for conducting visitor studies can complement third person observations through timing and tracking conducted by the researcher with visitors’ self-reflections and thus, capture a more holistic snapshot of the museum experience.
{"title":"Social Meaning Mapping as a Means of Exploring Visitors’ Practices in the Museum","authors":"D. Christidou","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1773708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773708","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article introduces Social Meaning Mapping (SMM), a digital qualitative tool embedded in the Visitracker tablet-app. SMM is designed to be used by visitors post-visit to recount their experience in a museum room verbally and visually by marking it on an illustrated floor plan, using several paint tools. The app records their verbal and visual input. This article details the theoretical underpinnings of the tool and exemplifies its use through two out of the nine Social Meaning Maps collected from nine groups (N = 21) visiting a gallery room at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway. Each example represents one of the two ways in which visitors used the tool: (a) visitors cocreated their path using one colored line and (b) visitors created two different paths using different colored lines. These two cases showcase how SMM as a tool for conducting visitor studies can complement third person observations through timing and tracking conducted by the researcher with visitors’ self-reflections and thus, capture a more holistic snapshot of the museum experience.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"162 - 181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773708","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41668581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-25DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1773720
Susan M. Land, H. Zimmerman, Chris Millet, Gi Woong Choi
Abstract This research employs mobile, proximity-based technologies to create opportunities for children to engage in place-based science learning in an arboretum. We present data from a mobile, iBeacon-enabled learning experience to support wayfinding and observing the biodiversity of tree fruit with 84 youth working in 27 small groups (4th graders on a field trip). Data collected include log files, observational field notes, and learners’ photographic artifacts of children’s scientific observations. Our findings show that (a) learners personalized their own routes to navigate the space, (b) made accurate observations of tree fruit, cones, and seeds, and (c) began to express productive dispositions to support their work as scientific observers. We provide insights into how to support short-term, child-centered mobile computing experiences in outdoor gardens that support observations of natural objects in informal spaces.
{"title":"Supporting Observing-on-the-Move with Proximity-Based Technology: Designing for Children’s Scientific Observations Outdoors","authors":"Susan M. Land, H. Zimmerman, Chris Millet, Gi Woong Choi","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1773720","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773720","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This research employs mobile, proximity-based technologies to create opportunities for children to engage in place-based science learning in an arboretum. We present data from a mobile, iBeacon-enabled learning experience to support wayfinding and observing the biodiversity of tree fruit with 84 youth working in 27 small groups (4th graders on a field trip). Data collected include log files, observational field notes, and learners’ photographic artifacts of children’s scientific observations. Our findings show that (a) learners personalized their own routes to navigate the space, (b) made accurate observations of tree fruit, cones, and seeds, and (c) began to express productive dispositions to support their work as scientific observers. We provide insights into how to support short-term, child-centered mobile computing experiences in outdoor gardens that support observations of natural objects in informal spaces.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"182 - 204"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1773720","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48558676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-25DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1772616
A. Herron, Andrew Jamieson
Abstract This article discusses a visitor research project conducted at Melbourne Museum in 2017. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older museum visitors. The project research design entailed collection and interpretation of data from 39 semi-structured interviews and a short survey of 103 older visitors aged 60 years and over. A significant finding was the theme of museums as places of intergenerational experiences: visits with grandchildren were a major factor in older people coming to the museum. Of particular note were the qualitative interviews with 19 older male visitors. In the context of concerns about older men’s health and risk of social isolation following retirement, interpretation of the project data suggests that museums can play a valuable role in catering to this specific cohort which is often overlooked in programing. Museums provide a space for such visitors to have a purposeful and respected elder role as grandfathers where they can bond and enjoy relationships with their grandchildren as teachers, guides, and fellow learners. Recommendations focus on object-centered learning as a programing approach to create more memorable and meaningful experiences for grandfathers and grandchildren visiting museums together.
{"title":"Grandfathers at Melbourne Museum: Shining a Spotlight on Overlooked Museum Visitors","authors":"A. Herron, Andrew Jamieson","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1772616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1772616","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article discusses a visitor research project conducted at Melbourne Museum in 2017. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of older museum visitors. The project research design entailed collection and interpretation of data from 39 semi-structured interviews and a short survey of 103 older visitors aged 60 years and over. A significant finding was the theme of museums as places of intergenerational experiences: visits with grandchildren were a major factor in older people coming to the museum. Of particular note were the qualitative interviews with 19 older male visitors. In the context of concerns about older men’s health and risk of social isolation following retirement, interpretation of the project data suggests that museums can play a valuable role in catering to this specific cohort which is often overlooked in programing. Museums provide a space for such visitors to have a purposeful and respected elder role as grandfathers where they can bond and enjoy relationships with their grandchildren as teachers, guides, and fellow learners. Recommendations focus on object-centered learning as a programing approach to create more memorable and meaningful experiences for grandfathers and grandchildren visiting museums together.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"101 - 119"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1772616","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43533428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-25DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1776562
P. Wilson, Susan Griffiths, Ellissa Williams, M. P. Smith, M. Williams
Abstract Modern museum practice embraces equal access for all, but access for blind and partially-sighted (BPS) audience remains problematic given the ocularcentricity of museums. Many museum professionals and BPS visitors remain frustrated by the degree of accessibility on offer. The use of 3-D printed replicas as a handling surrogate represents a solution, allowing BPS visitors to engage tactually with museum content while minimizing risk. However, the design of such replicas is poorly researched. This exploratory examination of the design of 3-D printed replicas utilizes semi-structured interviews, sensory observations and content analysis to examine BPS perceptions of museum objects in the absence of interpretational support. Interpretation was dominantly multisensory, while participants found it easier to determine material traits than object traits, with textual, geometrical and optical properties being of use. Assistive approaches rather than major alterations were favored. Overall, museum professionals should consider how the process of 3-D printing influences BPS perception.
{"title":"Designing 3-D Prints for Blind and Partially Sighted Audiences in Museums: Exploring the Needs of Those Living with Sight Loss","authors":"P. Wilson, Susan Griffiths, Ellissa Williams, M. P. Smith, M. Williams","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1776562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1776562","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Modern museum practice embraces equal access for all, but access for blind and partially-sighted (BPS) audience remains problematic given the ocularcentricity of museums. Many museum professionals and BPS visitors remain frustrated by the degree of accessibility on offer. The use of 3-D printed replicas as a handling surrogate represents a solution, allowing BPS visitors to engage tactually with museum content while minimizing risk. However, the design of such replicas is poorly researched. This exploratory examination of the design of 3-D printed replicas utilizes semi-structured interviews, sensory observations and content analysis to examine BPS perceptions of museum objects in the absence of interpretational support. Interpretation was dominantly multisensory, while participants found it easier to determine material traits than object traits, with textual, geometrical and optical properties being of use. Assistive approaches rather than major alterations were favored. Overall, museum professionals should consider how the process of 3-D printing influences BPS perception.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"120 - 140"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1776562","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42800720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10645578.2020.1732184
M. Govind, E. Relkin, M. Bers
Abstract Educational tools and apps designed to teach coding and computational thinking to children have risen in popularity in the last several years. However, there is little research that explores how families with young children code together in informal environments. This study explored how children ages 5-7 and their parents jointly program with the ScratchJr app. N = 58 families attended ScratchJr Family Days, single-day events for families to engage in an interactive ScratchJr session. Three additional parent-child dyads participated in a follow-up observational study, in which they were videotaped while working on an open-ended ScratchJr activity. Findings indicated that parents reported engaging as observers and coaches, whereas children engaged as planners. There were moderate, positive associations between children’s prior coding interest and their engagement in debugging, as well as between children’s role as playmates and their engagement in the design process. Implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.
{"title":"Engaging Children and Parents to Code Together Using the ScratchJr App","authors":"M. Govind, E. Relkin, M. Bers","doi":"10.1080/10645578.2020.1732184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2020.1732184","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Educational tools and apps designed to teach coding and computational thinking to children have risen in popularity in the last several years. However, there is little research that explores how families with young children code together in informal environments. This study explored how children ages 5-7 and their parents jointly program with the ScratchJr app. N = 58 families attended ScratchJr Family Days, single-day events for families to engage in an interactive ScratchJr session. Three additional parent-child dyads participated in a follow-up observational study, in which they were videotaped while working on an open-ended ScratchJr activity. Findings indicated that parents reported engaging as observers and coaches, whereas children engaged as planners. There were moderate, positive associations between children’s prior coding interest and their engagement in debugging, as well as between children’s role as playmates and their engagement in the design process. Implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":45516,"journal":{"name":"Visitor Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":"46 - 65"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10645578.2020.1732184","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42182105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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