Ilanit Zada

Professor Adams

The fourth chapter in the book entitled Surrounded by Science by Fenichel and Schweigruber discusses the important of conversation in science learning. I was completely surprised when I read this. It is obvious that when looking at a museum exhibit or after reading a book, people are prone to discuss the ideas with others. However, how does discussing what you see or something you have learned have any effect on learning?

This idea reminded me of the seminar classes we attend every semester (and some of the other classes as well). Although the class is considered a “lecture,” in actuality it is far from that. Professor Adams, like many others, comes into class with an idea and poses it to the class. My classmates and I then discuss the ideas that have been brought up and our thoughts on it. Well, what is the point of the discussion? I believe that that is what gets the ball rolling. By listening to other peoples ideas and sharing your own, people start seeing things in a light that they may have never thought of on their own; it opens our minds to think about things critically and allows for a better though process, and the same holds true for experiences in the museum and other informal science settings. By having an adult figure guiding the topic of discussion and pushing the children to think further and share what they see at the exhibit, it allows for a more effective learning experience.