The main point that Chapter 4 in Surrounded by Science emphasizes is that communicating and interacting with other people plays an important role in learning. People can learn from each other about topics they did not have previous knowledge or about a subject that someone else had a deeper understanding.  As stated in the text, engaging with people who are more knowledgeable in a particular area and exchanging of ideas and reflections supports our own individual learning.  We do not know everything about a topic; engaging and talking with others allows us to uncover more information about that topic and perhaps think about things that we did not think about before.  Some individuals may be more knowledgeable than others can help others learn by pointing out things that they may not have noticed, provide knowledgeable input or structure a discussion that focuses on science.  I know that for me it is sometimes more helpful to talk to other people about certain topics than just reading about it.  For example, it was much easier to understand about coronary bypass surgery, the machine used during the procedure and all the technical stuff by talking to someone about rather than just reading about it from a book that has so much confusing terminology. I definitely learned and understood much more about the operation by talking with a perfusionist and a cardio-thoracic surgeon than from reading about it.

Interaction with others definitely plays an important role in learning. Throughout the chapter it has been stated the importance of parents, adult caregivers, peers, educators and mentors in science learning. These people help us throughout our lives to learn about science and the world around us.  Children learn from parents and siblings about topics that are relevant to science even though the activity that they are doing may not have a designated purposed to teach them about science. Children learn things about the world and question things they see and touch without immediately being in a formal education setting. Also, older siblings can help their younger siblings learn by helping them understand plot lines in education programming and answering questions that their siblings may have.  My older sister has definitely helped me understand things that I have seen on television or read about in books. She has answered my many questions, from things that are simple to topics that are complex, that have aided my understanding of them and have encouraged me to delve deeper into that area.

However, it is important that interaction with others does not hamper the learning of others. In the text, it is stated that while children can learn from their parents while visiting informal science institutions like museums, at times, parents may become too involved and limit their child’s ability to learn and discover things on their own. It is important, therefore, to know how much mediation is really needed for children in order for them to reap the optimal benefits of a particular activity.  Parents should guide and aid their children during informal experiences, but not to a point where their guidance actually hinders their cognitive learning.

Communicating and interacting with others is importance in informal science learning. Therefore, these types of experiences should be created with groups of people in mind so that optimal engagement between people is taken advantage and capitalized.  Studies have been conducted in order to optimize the benefits of interacting with others, particularly through listening to conversations of people in informal settings. This in itself can be difficult to do, as researchers have to find appropriate ways to record conversations, transcribe them, and then ultimately come to a conclusion about what they mean.  Although a challenging task, this information can be used to create meaningful experiences which will help those who participate to learn about science.  Hopefully, with this information, those creating informal science learning activities will design experiences that encourage interaction, communication, discussion and reflection.