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After-School Spaces: Looking for Learning in All the Right Places

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Abstract

After-school settings provide youth with homework support, social outlets and fun activities, and help build self-confidence. They are safe places for forming relationships with caring adults. More after-school settings are starting to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) topics. What science skills and concepts might youth learn in engineering design-based after-school settings? Traditional assessments often fail to capture the ways youth learn in informal settings, and deep science understandings are notoriously difficult to measure. In this study, we examined three after-school settings where 65 youth were learning science through engineering design challenges. In this informal setting, we examined storyboards, social networking forum (SNF) chat logs, videos of whole-class interactions, interviews with groups and single participants, and traditional multiple-choice pre- and posttest results. As we looked for evidence of learning, we found that the social networking forum was rich with data. Interviews were even more informative, much more so than traditional pencil and paper multiple-choice tests. We found that different kinds of elicitation strategies adopted by site leaders and facilitators played an important role in the ways youth constructed knowledge. These elicitation strategies also helped us find evidence of learning. Based on findings, future iterations of the curricula will involve tighter integration of social networking forums, continued use of videotaped interviews for data collection, an increased focus on training site leaders and facilitators in elicitation strategies, and more open-ended pencil and paper assessments in order to facilitate the process of looking for learning.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum & Teaching, Auburn University, 5072 Haley Center, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Christine G. Schnittka

  2. Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27607, USA

    Michael A. Evans

  3. Department of Instructional Design and Technology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Samantha G. L. Won

  4. Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Tiffany A. Drape

Authors
  1. Christine G. Schnittka
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  2. Michael A. Evans
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  3. Samantha G. L. Won
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  4. Tiffany A. Drape
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine G. Schnittka.

Appendices

Appendix A

Heat Transfer Evaluation

  1. 1.

    You pick up a can of soda off of the countertop. The countertop underneath the can feels colder than the rest of the counter. Which explanation do you think is the best?

    1. a.

      The cold has been transferred from the soda to the counter.

    2. b.

      There is no heat energy left in the counter beneath the can.

    3. c.

      Some heat has been transferred from the counter to the soda.

    4. d.

      The heat beneath the can moves away into other parts of the countertop.

  2. 2.

    After cooking an egg in boiling water, you cool the egg by putting it into a bowl of cold water. Which of the following explains the egg’s cooling process?

    1. a.

      Temperature is transferred from the egg to the water.

    2. b.

      Cold moves from the water into the egg.

    3. c.

      Energy is transferred from the water to the egg.

    4. d.

      Energy is transferred from the egg to the water.

  3. 3.

    Why do we wear sweaters in cold weather?

    1. a.

      To keep cold out.

    2. b.

      To generate heat.

    3. c.

      To reduce heat loss.

    4. d.

      All of the above.

  4. 4.

    Amy wraps her dolls in blankets but can’t understand why they don’t warm up. Why don’t they warm up?

    1. a.

      The blankets she uses are probably poor insulators.

    2. b.

      The blankets she uses are probably poor conductors.

    3. c.

      The dolls are made of materials which don’t hold heat well.

    4. d.

      None of the above.

  5. 5.

    As water in a freezer turns into ice,

    1. a.

      the water absorbs energy from the air in the freezer.

    2. b.

      the water absorbs the coldness from the air in the freezer.

    3. c.

      the freezer air absorbs heat from the water.

    4. d.

      the water neither absorbs nor releases energy.

  6. 6.

    On a warm sunny day, you will feel cooler wearing light colored clothes because they

    1. a.

      reflect more radiation.

    2. b.

      prevent sweating.

    3. c.

      are not as heavy as dark clothes.

    4. d.

      let more air in.

  7. 7.

    If you put a metal spoon and a wooden spoon into a pot of boiling water, one will become too hot to touch. Why?

    1. a.

      Metals conduct heat better than wood.

    2. b.

      Wood conducts heat better than metals.

    3. c.

      Metals pull in heat because heat is attracted to metals.

    4. d.

      Wood isn’t as strong as metals.

  8. 8.

    On a hot day, the upstairs rooms in a house are usually hotter than the downstairs rooms. Why?

    1. a.

      Cool air is less dense than hot air.

    2. b.

      Warm air rises and cool air sinks.

    3. c.

      The upstairs rooms are closer to the sun.

    4. d.

      Heat rises.

  9. 9.

    You have a can of soda in your lunchbox that you want to keep cold. Which material will work best to keep it cold?

    1. a.

      Aluminum foil wrapped around the soda because metals transfer heat energy easily.

    2. b.

      A paper towel wrapped around the soda because paper soaks up the moisture.

    3. c.

      Wax paper wrapped around the soda because wax paper traps the moisture.

    4. d.

      Your wool sweater wrapped around the soda because wool traps air.

  10. 10.

    When you hold a metal coat hanger in a camp fire to roast a marshmallow, the coat hanger might get too hot to hold. Why might the coat hanger get too hot?

    1. a.

      The heat radiates along the coat hanger.

    2. b.

      The heat builds up near the flame until it can’t hold it anymore and then moves along the coat hanger.

    3. c.

      Metal atoms vibrate with more energy when they get hot, and they collide with atoms near them, which makes the neighboring atoms vibrate too.

    4. d.

      Since metals melt in fire, they react very strongly to fire and get hot easily.

  11. 11.

    An aluminum plate and a plastic plate have been in the freezer all night long. When you remove them the next morning,

    1. a.

      The plates have the same temperature.

    2. b.

      The plastic plate has a higher temperature.

    3. c.

      The plastic plate has a lower temperature.

    4. d.

      The aluminum plate has a lower temperature.

  12. 12.

    When placed in direct sunlight, which object will absorb the most radiation?

    1. a.

      A white sweater.

    2. b.

      A snowball.

    3. c.

      Some aluminum foil.

    4. d.

      A black sweater.

Appendix B

Exit Interview Questions

  1. 1.

    Explain to me why you designed the penguin house as you did, and why you chose the materials you used?

  2. 2.

    Was there anything else really important to you while you designed your penguin house?

  3. 3.

    Anything else important?

  4. 4.

    Anything else you want to say?

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Schnittka, C.G., Evans, M.A., Won, S.G.L. et al. After-School Spaces: Looking for Learning in All the Right Places. Res Sci Educ 46, 389–412 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-015-9463-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-015-9463-0

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