ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I think two french education science authors who are Jack Guichard
(actually Directeur du Palais de la découverte, Paris) and André Giordan
(Geneva university) made some papers on this subject.

Also, Goery Delacote in his book "knowing how to learn" could help you


M. Jean-Marie Sani
Directeur des publics
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
75930 Paris Cedex 19
France

33 (0)1 40057571
fax : 33 (0)1 40058129
[log in to unmask]

http://www.cite-sciences.fr

>>> [log in to unmask] 28/04/2004 15:07:06 >>>
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Lisa -
You may be trying to compare two different things without a third
thing
which sits between them.

In my personal view, what we try to stimulate at science museums is
(hopefully) higher-order inquiry skills. It is as much about process
as
content. The content should, of course help to answer questions about
science, but if the the process is working, it (again in my personal
view) should generate questions. Science is all about pondering
questions and seeking answers. Sometimes it takes a lifetime or more
to
answer the big questions, but they (such as general relativity) are
usually worth the wait. Then we ponder them some more and see them in
different contexts and perhaps change our collective minds and find a
different answer.

Standardized tests are intended to do only one thing: determine
whether
a student can correctly answer the questions on the test. They may
also
test memorization and calculating skills, but they are not intended,
nor
are the appropriate to test inquiry and thinking skills.

So there is a disconnect between what test are for and what we do at
science museums. Perhaps there is some logical bridge to hammer out
question-answering skills from inquiry skills. But I'm inclined to
think
our energies would be better spent in lobbying for teaching of inquiry
skills in schools to help scaffold what we do at science museums,
rather
than trying to rationalize field trips to science museums by saying
they
improve test scores. We should be promoting science museums to help
promote higher-order thinking in students: to make kids smarter human
beings, not to pass a written test designed by white American males
for
white American students.

As I mentioned, this reflects my own view, not that of any particular
institution, but you will notice that we are not creating more
Einsteins
by the recent trend in standardized testing.



Lisa Jo Rudy wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
>
*****************************************************************************
>
> Can anyone steer me in the right direction re research findings?
Here's my
> question:
>
> I know that there's plenty of research that says that kids learn
from
> hands-on science experiences.  Is there any research that show that
kids can
> translate what they learn in a hands-on setting into correct answers
on a standard
> worksheet or test?
>
> For example -- a child learns from experience (by building with
gumdrops and
> toothpicks) that a pyramid is stronger than a cube.  Two weeks later,
he/she
> is presented with a formal in-school test in which a pyramid, cube
and cylinder
> are pictured in two dimensions.  The question asks: which is
strongest?  Can
> the child go back in his mind to the hands-on experience and
translate the
> hands-on experience into an abstract test response?  And... is there
any
> technique by which this kind of retention and translation can be
facilitated?
>
> Thanks a million!!
>
> Lisa
> Lisa Jo Rudy, Writer/Consultant
> 625 Chelten Hills Drive
> Elkins Park, PA 19027
> www.lisarudy.com
> 215-635-9735
>
>
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