Chapter three mentions three different methods to support informal learning; Juxtaposition, Multiple Modes, and interactivity. The first method requires “juxtaposing the learners’ understanding of a natural phenomenon with the formal disciplinary ideas that explain it” (41). This causes the learner to actively reflect on the meaning of that idea. another way is to provide multiple ways that a person can engage in talking about and learning about a phenomena in the same setting. The last one and probably my favorite is being interactive. Allow the learner to actually perceive the phenomena hands on and quite possibly carry out some sort of scientific investigation.
I think that interacting in the scientific world is the best way to learn because hands on experiments can teach people more when they actually see something taking place rather than learning about it in theory. The “Cell Lab” project is one of the many great ways that informal science learners can take advantage of the resources and equipment found in a laboratory, such as centrifuges and expensive microscopes that would not readily be found outside of the lab. Interested participants would learn about how to
use the popular scientific tools and would be exploring one of the six strands of learning. I also believe that interaction is the more interesting and captivating method of the three and it is especially more effective for the younger generation of interested science learners because hands on experiments are more interesting than just learning about it in a mundane classroom setting.