Leaving the laboratory: Using Field Science to Disrupt and Expand Historically Enduring Narratives of Science Teaching and Learning

Despite efforts to help youth form better connections to the natural world, many recent science initiatives (such as the Next Generation Science Standards) privilege laboratory science over field science, thus reinforcing an image of science that is placeless and individual. To better understand the impact of field science on youth, we examined youths' experiences and participation in field science across two separate research projects, one of which was associated with a school (the moth project) and one of which occurred in an informal setting (the herpetology project). We argue that field science, which is not given the same attention in NGSS as science derived from laboratory work, might disrupt and expand science teaching and learning. By expand, we mean that field science offers novel opportunities for youth and educators to develop and engage in practices that disrupt persistent sociohistorical narratives of how science work is accomplished, and that emphasize the cultural production of knowledge in a setting by making public the meaning making that is negotiated in a community. Such expanded moments differ from many experiences in which youth and educators expand typical ways of knowing and participating valued across many formal and informal settings.

Automated summary

Field science may disrupt and expand science teaching and learning, providing novel opportunities for youth and educators. These expanded moments differ from experiences where youth and educators expand typical ways of knowing and participating valued across many formal and informal settings.