Chapter 9 to me felt like the chapter that we most discussed in class as a general theme. The fact that learning takes place outside of the classroom over half of a person’s life was something that we as a class always mentioned. This idea of informal science learning being the most prevalent type of learning is rooted deeply in chapter 9 and it focuses on learning outside of the classroom and outside of the museums. This chapter talks about field trips and other visits that can peak children’s interests and get them into the scientific topic at hand. The Bioblitz trip was a great example of a scientific trip that helped to peak interest in students interested in nature, botany, and wildlife in general. It also gave, through the use of an experienced guide, important information about the biodiversity of central park.
This chapter also goes into how technology is now being interconnected with science learning and how the growing use of technological devices, such as cellphones, can be used in a beneficial way to learn more about certain science topics. Nowadays most information does not have to be meticulously searched through textbooks but can be easily google’d and hundreds of papers regarding the scientific information will be readily available. Technology has gone so far as to come up with an app called iNaturalist which lets users post up information regarding their scientific findings and lets other science learners input their knowledge and share it with the original user. This greatly improves the science learning experience and is definitely a fun way to learn. Science and technology are more interwoven than one can imagine and the gap between the two is only getting smaller as the advancement of technology allows scientists to be communicating between each other faster and more effectively.