Major
Psychology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2025
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Our research is aimed at understanding educational practices that can support children’s early STEM learning in informal educational settings, including museums. Program design and facilitation strategies used by museum staff can promote conversations about STEM concepts (Mohabir et al., 2021) and provide opportunities for increased parent-child engagement while tinkering (Letourneau et al., 2021). Our study examines how family engagement in an orientation provided by museum staff at the outset of a tinkering activity, as well as facilitation as families engaged in tinkering might support children’s STEM talk during and after a tinkering activity.
Community Partners
The Chicago Children's Museujm
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Catherine Haden, PhD, Loyola University Chicago; Milla Metlicka, BS, Loyola University Chicago
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Encouraging Exploration: How Facilitation Supports Children's STEM Talk in Museums
Our research is aimed at understanding educational practices that can support children’s early STEM learning in informal educational settings, including museums. Program design and facilitation strategies used by museum staff can promote conversations about STEM concepts (Mohabir et al., 2021) and provide opportunities for increased parent-child engagement while tinkering (Letourneau et al., 2021). Our study examines how family engagement in an orientation provided by museum staff at the outset of a tinkering activity, as well as facilitation as families engaged in tinkering might support children’s STEM talk during and after a tinkering activity.
