Abstract
Informal learning has been defined as “activities that occur outside the school setting, are not developed primarily for school use, are not developed to be part of an ongoing school curriculum, and are characterized by voluntary as opposed to mandatory participation” (Crane et al., 1994). Children thus become involved with informal learning at a very young age.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alper, J. (1994). Scientists return to the elementary-school classroom. Science, 263(5160), 768–770.
Atwater, M.M., Colson, J., & Simpson, R. D. (1999). Influences of a university summer residential program on high school students’ commitment to the sciences and higher education. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 5(2), 155–173.
Barab, S. A., & Hay, K. E. (2001). Doing science at the elbows of experts: Issues related to the science apprenticeship camp. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(1), 70–102.
Bauer, H. (2009). Scientific literacy is child’s play. Available online: http://www.idra.org/IDRA_Newsletter/April_1996_Early_Childhood_Education/Scientifi_Literacy_is_Child’s_Play.
Beck-Winchatz, B. (2005). Involvement of scientists in the NASA office of space science education and public outreach program. Nuclear Physics Proceedings Supplement, 138, 451–453.
Bell, R., Blair, M., Crawford, B., & Lederman, N. (2003). Just do it? Impact of a science apprenticeship program on high school students’ understandings of the nature of science and scientific inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40, 487–509.
Bleicher, R. E. (1996). High school students learning science in university research laboratories. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33, 1115–1133.
Braund, M., & Reiss, M. (2006). Towards a more authentic science curriculum: The contribution of outof-school learning, International Journal of Science Education, 28(12), 1373–1388.
Charney, J., Hmelo-Silver, C. E., Sofer, W., Neigeborn, L., Coletta, S., & Nemeroff, M. (2007). Cognitive apprenticeship in science through immersion in laboratory practices. International Journal of Science Education, 29(2), 195–213.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing and mathematics. In L. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 453–494). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Crane, V., Nicholson, T., Chen, M., & Bitgood, S. (Eds.) (1994). Informal science learning: What the research says about television, science museums and community-based projects. Epharata, PA: Science Press.
Doris, E. (1991). Doing what scientists do: Children learn to investigate their world. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc.
Fields, D. A. (2009). What do students gain from a week at science camp? Youth perceptions and the design of an immersive, research-oriented astronomy camp. International Journal of Science Education, 31(2) 151–171.
Gibson, H., & Chase, C. (2002). Longitudinal impact of an inquiry-based science program on middle school students’ attitudes toward science. Science Education, 86, 693–705.
Goodrum, D., Hackling, M., & Rennie, L. (2001). The status and quality of teaching and learning of science in Australian schools. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.
Greenfield, P. M., & Lave, J. (1982). Cognitive aspects of informal education. In D. A. Wagner & H. W. Stevenson (Eds.), Cultural perspectives on child development. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Heath, S. B. (2007). Diverse learning and learner diversity in “informal” science learning environments. Paper prepared for National Research Council’s Board on Science Education for Learning Science in Informal Environments study.
Helm, E., Parker J., & Russell, M. (1999). Education and career paths of LSU’s summer science program students from 1985 to 1997. Academic Medicine, 74, 336–337.
Honig, M. I., & McDonald, M. A. (2005). From promise to participation: After-school programs through the lens of socio-cultural learning theory. The Robert Bowne Foundation Occasional Paper Series, #5. New York City, NY: The Robert Bowne Foundation.
Hymer, V. (2005). Bitten by the science “bug.” Science and Children, Summer, 26–29.
Jones. L. (1997). Opening doors with informal science: Exposure and access for our underserved students. Science Education, 81(663–677).
Kimbrough, D. (1995). Project design factors that affect student perceptions of success of a science research project. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 157–175.
Kleinert, K. (2009). Volcanoes on the beach? Science and Children, April-May, 26–30.
Knox, K. L., Moynihan, J. A., & Markowitz, D. G. (2003) Evaluation of short-term impact of a high school summer science program on students’ perceived knowledge and skills. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 12(4), 471–478.
Korpan, C., Bisanz, G. L., Bisanz, J., Boehme, C., & Lynch, M. A. (1997). What did you learn outside of school today? Using structured interviews to documents home and community activities related to science and technology. Science Education, 81, 651–662.
Krasny, M. E. (2005). University K-12 science outreach programs: How can we reach a broad audience? BioScience, 55(4), 350–359.
LeDee, O., Mosser, A., Gamble, T., Childs, G., & Oberhauser, K. (2007). A science club takes action: Knowledge about water quality and soil contamination inspires students and their families, Sci-Links, NSTA, 35–37.
MacDonald, A.L., & Sherman, A. (2007). Pre-service teachers’ experiences with a science education module. Journal of Science Teaching Education, 18(3), 525–541.
Markowitz, D. (2004). Evaluation of the long-term impact of a university high school summer science program on students’ interest and perceived abilities in science. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(3), 395–407.
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books.
Papert, S. (2002). Hard fun. Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME.
Phillips, M., Finkelstein, D., & Wever-Frerichs, S. (2007). School site to museum floor: How informal science institutions work with schools. International Journal of Science Education, 29(12), 1489–1507.
Pitts Bannister, V., Jamar, I., & Mutegi, J. (2007). Line graph learning: The development of one student’s graph interpretation skills. Science and Children, 30–32.
Pratt, D. D. (1998). Five perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Ramey-Gassert, L. (1997) Learning science beyond the classroom. The Elementary School Journal, 97(4), 433–450.
Rath, A., & Brown, D. E. (1996). Modes of engagement in science enquiry: A microanalysis of elementary students’ orientations toward phenomena at a summer science camp. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(10), 1083–1097.
Rennie, L. J., Feher, E., Dierking, L., & Falk, J. H. (2003). Toward an agenda for advancing research on science learning in out-of-school-settings. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(2), 112–120.
Richmond, G., & Kurth, L. (1999). Moving from outside to inside: High school students’ use of apprenticeships as vehicles for entering the culture and practice of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36, 677–697.
Stamp, N., & O’Brien, T. (2005). GK-12 partnerships: A model to advance change in science education. Bioscience, 55(1), 70–77.
Swim, J. (1999). An elementary outreach program—have demo will travel. Journal of Chemical Education, 76(5), 628–633.
Thomas, J., Utley, J., Redmond, A., & Pope, K. (2010). Considering resiliences and early career science and mathematics teacher retention: A case study. A paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, April.
Vadeboncoeur, J. A. (2006). Engaging young people: Learning in informal contexts. Review of Research in Education, 30, 239–278.
Van’t Hooft, M. (2005). The effect of the “Ohio Schools Going Solar” project on student perceptions of the quality of learning in middle school science. Journal of Research in Technology in Education, 37(3), 221–243.
Voegel, P. D., Quashnock, K. A., & Heil, K. M. (2005). The student-to-student chemistry initiative: The impact of chemistry demonstration programs presented by high school students at elementary schools. Journal of Chemical Education, 82(4), 634–636.
Wellington, J. (1990). Formal and informal learning in science: The role of the interactive science centres. Physics Education, 25(5), 247–252.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smith-Palmer, T., Schnepf, S., Sherman, A., Sullenger, K.S., Macdonald, L. (2015). An Exploration of Summer Science Camps as an Informal Learning Environment. In: Sahin, K.S., Turner, R.S. (eds) New Ground. Bold Visions in Educational Research. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-022-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-022-2_4
Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam
Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-022-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)