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ECSITE Directors' Forum
Μουσείο Γουλανδρή
Φυσικής Ιστορίας, Kέντρο ΓΑΙΑ
7- 8 Mαρτίου 2003,
Αθήνα Γεφυρώνοντας το χάσμα μεταξύ Τυπικής και Άτυπης
Διδασκαλίας των Φυσικών Επιστημών (Bridging the gap between Formal and Informal
Science Teaching)
Η ανάγκη στενότερης σύνδεσης της τυπικής και της άτυπης εκπαίδευσης δεν είναι καινούρια, αλλά γίνεται όλο και πιο κρίσιμη στις μέρες μας. Δεν είναι μόνο οι μαθητές που πρέπει να βελτιώσουν τις γνώσεις τους, αλλά όλο και περισσότεροι πολίτες έχουν μια αυξανόμενη ανάγκη για δια βίου μάθηση. Οι πρόσφατες επιστημονικές και τεχνολογικές εξελίξεις δημιουργούν νέες συζητήσεις μέσα στην κοινωνία για τη σωστή χρήση της καινοτομίας. Οι επιπτώσεις σημαντικών επιστημονικών ανακαλύψεων στην κοινωνία έχουν οδηγήσει τα Κέντρα Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες και τα Μουσεία Φυσικών Επιστημών να επανεκτιμήσουν την αποστολή τους. Έχουν αναπτυχθεί νέα εργαλεία που δίνουν τη δυνατότητα στους πολίτες να πάρουν ενεργό μέρος στη συζήτηση γι’ αυτά τα θέματα στο μέλλον. Αυτό το γεγονός ρίχνει νέο φως στις σχέσεις μεταξύ άτυπης και τυπικής εκπαίδευσης. Όσον αφορά το ρόλο
των Μουσείων Φυσικών Επιστημών και των Κέντρων Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές
Επιστήμες συνεχίζεται ακόμα ο διάλογος ανάμεσα σε δύο αντικρουόμενες θέσεις.
Κάποια, κυρίως τα Κέντρα Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες που υιοθετούν τη
πρακτική προσέγγιση πιστεύουν ότι η επίσκεψη σε ένα τέτοιο Κέντρο είναι πολύ σύντομη για να συμβάλει
ουσιαστικά στην τυπική διαδικασία εκμάθησης των φυσικών επιστημών. Άλλοι
πιστεύουν ότι η επιδεξιότητα στη μετάδοση των φυσικών επιστημών που
αναπτύσσεται στα Κέντρα Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες θα έπρεπε να
αποτελέσει σημαντικό μέρος της μαθησιακής εμπειρίας· ιδίως αφού τα Μέσα
Μαζικής Ενημέρωσης και το Διαδίκτυο φαίνεται να παρέχουν πολλές επιπλέον
ευκαιρίες για μάθηση έξω από το σχολικό περιβάλλον. Από τη σκοπιά των
εκπαιδευτικών, μια επίσκεψη σε ένα Μουσείο Φυσικών Επιστημών ή Κέντρο
Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες ίσως είναι ο μόνος τρόπος να προσφέρουν
στους σπουδαστές μια πρακτική προσέγγιση στην επιστήμη. Εν τούτοις, αυτό δεν
σημαίνει ότι θεωρούν πως συμβάλλει τόσο σημαντικά στη διδακτική διαδικασία. Το ερώτημα που πρέπει
να απαντηθεί είναι το εξής: σε ποιο βαθμό πρέπει αυτή η νέα μορφή μάθησης να βρει εφαρμογή στα
εκπαιδευτικά εργαλεία τα οποία τα Κέντρα Εκπαίδευσης στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες
και τα Μουσεία Φυσικών Επιστημών υιοθετούν στα προγράμματά τους για σχολεία;
Με άλλα λόγια, πρέπει να προετοιμάσουμε τα παιδιά του σχολείου για να γίνουν
περισσότερο υπεύθυνοι πολίτες; Πρόγραμμα Συνεδρίου στην Αγγλική γλώσσα. ECSITE
Directors' Forum
Goulandris
Natural History Museum, Athens
7- 8 March 2003 Bridging the gap between
Formal
and Informal Science Teaching The necessity of increasing the links between informal and formal
learning is not new, but becomes more and more crucial every day. From the science centres and museums perspective, the debate is still
ongoing between two opposite views. Some, mostly hands-on science centres,
think that a visit to a science centre is too short to provide any content
able to contribute to formal science learning. Others believe that the
expertise in science communication developed in science centres and museums
should become an important part of the learning experience. Especially since
it appears that multimedia and the Internet provides lots of additional
opportunities for learning outside the schools. From the teacher’s
perspective, a visit to a science centre or museum might be the only way to
offer students a practical approach to science. However it doesn’t mean they
consider this as a valuable contribution to their own task of teaching. And these days, not only school children have to enhance their
learning, more and more citizens have a growing need for lifelong learning.
The recent scientific and technological developments create new debates inside
society on the good use of innovation. The effect on society of major
scientific discoveries has stimulated science centres and museums to
re-evaluate their missions. New tools are created to enable citizens to
become active players in the future discussion on these matters. This
enlightens the relations between informal and formal learning in a new way.
One question that should be answered is : how far should this new role be
implemented in the educational tools science centres and museums establish in
their programmes for schools? In other words do we have to prepare school
children to become more responsible citizens? Friday 7 March 2003
9:00 – 9:30 Opening
of the Conference Welcome by Petros Efthimiou , Minister of Education and Religious Affairs And by Jean-François Hébert,
ECSITE President, and President of La Cité des Sciences & de l’Industrie,
Paris - France 9:30 – 12:30 ECSITE
Board Meeting - On Invitation Only 9:30 – 10:45 Informal
Learning Panorama (Part I) Speakers
from Science Centres/Museums Vassilios
Laopodis (GSRT, Athens – Greece) Informal
Learning on Science and Technology - Initiatives of the Hellenic General
Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) Erik Jacquemyn (Technopolis,
Mechelen – Belgium) the great sEXPERIMENT', studying
female and male behaviour in an interactive exhibition Jörg Naumann (Deutsches
Hygiene-Museum, Dresden – Germany) Learning
Opportunities at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Hannu
Salmi (Heureka, Vantaa – Finland) Science Centres as learning laboratories:
experiences of Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre Diana
Issidorides (Nemo, Amsterdam – The Netherlands) NEMO
and informal science: learning with one’s hands, head and heart Bronwyn
Bevan (Exploratorium, San Francisco – USA) Professional
Communities for Science Teachers 10:45 – 11:15 Coffee
Break 11:15 - 12:30 Informal
Learning Panorama (Part II) Speakers
from Science Centres/Museums Harry
White (Techniquest, Cardiff - UK) Extending
Hands-on Roy
Hawkey (The Natural History Museum, London - UK) Investigate
- ideas and evidence Luigi Amodio (Città della
Scienza, Naples - Italy) Influences of Science Centres Practices on
Formal Teaching : Cases from Città della Scienza Anna Nilsson-Ehle (Universeum,
Göteborg - Sweden) Teenagers
engagement in learning projects Marta
Del Olmo (Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe,
Valencia – Spain) "Science
on Stage": learning with fun 12:30 – 14:00 Lunch 14:00 – 14:30 Subject introduction : Key Notes Introduction : Prof. Vassilis Koulaidis (Greece) Professor and Director of
Education Laboratory, University of Patras Dr.
Ion Siotis (Greece) Chairman
of National Hellenic Research Foundation The "Open Science" project experience 14:30 – 15:45 Museums/ Sciences Centres theoreticians Representatives
from our fields, who have a general opinion about the experience with
cooperation with schools, general theories. Explanations of conclusions that
have been drawn for research. Alan J. Friedman (USA) Director of The New York Hall
Science * For over fifty years in
the United States, science centres have worked to support formal
education from kindergarten through 12th grade. This support has taken
the forms of 1) yearly visits to the centres by hundreds of thousands of
school classes, 2) courses for teachers upgrading their skills and content
knowledge, and 3) enrichment activities for students such as workshops
and after-school classes. There is widespread approval of the
programs for teachers and the enrichment activities for students. But
the yearly school visits, which reach the largest number of people by far,
are increasing a source of concern. School visits are
rambunctious, loud, and apparently chaotic. There is
also widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of education in most US
public schools. As a result, there are increasing demands
that science centre school visits provide experiences more directly
related to the school curriculum, that science centres
assess learning in a manner compatible with standardized tests,
and that the centres control students' behaviour to
generate more order and quiet. I wonder, however, if this
isn't moving in the wrong direction. What is valuable about informal,
free-choice learning, may often be precisely in its contrasts
with formal education and the orderly classroom. For those
who believe that laughter and learning are not incompatible, the
suggestion that science centres become more like schools misses
many of the core values of science centres. Niki Goulandris (Greece) Chairman of the Goulandris Natural
History Museum, Athens-Kifissia * The talk will
present a report of 36 years’ personal experience on the activities of the
Goulandris Natural History Museum and its evolution into a new concept: the
GAIA Centre for Environmental Research and Education. The GAIA Centre,
inaugurated in June 2001,was to support the proposals of international
organizations, to implement Agenda 21 and the European policy on the environment by
means of new, advanced scientific and educational work. The Gaia Centre has had to
follow an innovative and
bold course making it a means of combining Nature with Culture, as a position and
attitude of responsibility towards life, the management of the natural
resources which nurture it, and the moral values it assumes. In the Centre's exhibitions halls the questions present
everywhere are: “How are we to build a new society? How are we to revise our way of
life?” These are answered
by specific and attainable scientific solutions to problems such as energy,
transportation, natural resources, water, soil etc. At the same time, they
awaken moral responsibility and arouse the awareness of visitors. The educational
programmes of the Centre are addressed mainly to school classes, in relation
to their respective curriculums, to teachers, parents and the public.
Applying the latest methods of museology and up to date technology, the GAIA
Centre is a unique pioneering centre for knowledge, entertainment and
inspiration. This is a privilege that only informal education can provide. Environmental
education is the foundation of any complete, enduring programme to change the
collective will and motivate people to assume their responsibilities.. Furthermore, the
GAIA Centre provides a forum in which scientists, thinkers and scholars can
debate critical issues. A
series of conferences, seminars and workshops have already been held with
international participation. It
is the Gaia Centre’s intent to transcend the barriers between science,
philosophy, art and tradition and thus reflect the totality of human
culture. Dionysios P. Simopoulos (Greece) Director of the Eugenides
Planetarium, Athens The educational vision of the new Eugenides Foundation * On the eve of its 50th anniversary the new Eugenides
Foundation will reopen in the Fall of 2003. Our €30 million expansion and
renovation will feature state of the art facilities and presentational
equipment including five areas of interactive exhibits, 950 m2 dome digital-video, large format 15/70
films, laser projections, etc. Along with our new facilities we have renewed
the way we will communicate with our visitors leading to a more stimulating,
challenging, and up to date experience for all of them. The new Foundation
will be structured both physically and philosophically in a way that will
make it become an interdisciplinary, multi-media center that is not passive
and static but which, involves, challenges and entertains, allowing its
visitors to become participants. In addition the New Eugenides Foundation
will not be restricted to a physical building, but will also create out-reach
programs that will utilize the talents of both its human and hardware
resources, by way of TV and DVD Science productions, special visual and
textual data banks, in-service seminars for teachers, while satellite
broadcasting and artificial intelligence are also areas to investigate for
future expansion, in order to communicate with people at their own level and
where they live. Paul Caro (France) Honorary Research Director – CNRS,
France Member of the Scientific Committee
of Ciencia Viva, Portugal Science Museums
between science, education, and the media
* A Science Museum may
combine several characters : urban landmark, reference collections for
scientists, demonstrations of basic experiments in different scientific
fields, temporary exhibits, involvement in hands-on pedagogy, and the will to
be a forum and a resource centre for debates with Citizens on scientific and
technical issues. Science Museums are both a support for formal learning and
places where informal education experiments can be attempted especially to
arouse the interest and curiosity of youngsters. In large establishments, the
equilibrium between the two trends is a difficult, and costly, management
policy. However the Museum is a media by itself and should consider the
competition from other media : TV, newspapers, comics, advertisement … which
shape the view of the public (including children) on scientific
issues. Some strategies are offered to bring more originality in Museums for
a more efficient formal and informal learning. 15:45 – 16:15 Coffee
Break 16:15 – 17:30 Researchers : Informal learning in the
Museums/Science Centres Comparison of different pedagogical views existing
in the field who have evaluated both the formal school education system and
the museums and science centres education system. John H. Falk (USA) Director of Institute for Learning
Innovation * The talk will provide a
brief overview of what is presently known about the nature of learning in
science centres and museums.
Findings will be framed within the context of current understandings
of learning in general and free-choice learning in particular. The Contextual Model of Learning will
be used as an organizing framework.
The presentation will focus on the casual visitor with evidence
presented that describes the range and extent of science learning that occurs
as a consequence of a typical, couple hour visit to a science centre or
museum. Findings from the
longitudinal research investigation at the California Science Centre (Los
Angeles Science Education Research project) will be used as a way to
concretely illustrate the points made. Prof. Vassilis Koulaidis (Greece) Professor and Director of
Education Laboratory, University of Patras Formal
and Informal Science Education: A case for complementary action * The talk will put forward
a case for the need of complementary action in the areas of Formal and
Informal Science Education. Schools alone, nowadays, are not able to cope
with the task of introducing students’ population to scientific thinking.
This is due to both the explosive rate of development of scientific knowledge
and the change of the prevailing modes of communication in society. Agents of
Informal Education especially Science Museums and Science Centers appear
ideal in absorbing and make effective use of new knowledge and alternative
means of communicating it to the general public. However, schools are still
the primary environment for achieving scientific socialization of the
youngsters. Yvon Fortin (Quèbec, Canada) The
school and the museum, two important actors in the formation of the
responsible citizen. * From a teacher’s point of
view, informal learning comes along with informal teaching. From that
perspective, every one who plays
a role in designing, building or presenting a science activity to any public,
be it, students or museum visitors should be able to clearly express the
means and the reach of his action. Should we really ask if we have to prepare
school children to become responsible citizens or what should that
responsible citizen be prepared with and to what? That requires from every
one of us to better understand the means and aims of what each other is doing
and what we can do to improve the situation. 20:30 Directors’
Forum Dinner at
the Pentelikon Hotel – Restaurant “Belle Epoque” Saturday 8 March 2003
10:00 – 11:15 Education Science System Representatives who have had positive experience
with museums and science centres and who can bring about evidence of their
succeeding cooperation. Jose Mariano Gago (Portugal) Dr. Alessandro Musumeci (Italy) General Director of Technologic
Innovation (Italian Education Ministry) Moshe
Rishpon (Israël) Director
of the Clore Garden of Science, Weizmann Institute of Science 11:15 – 11:45 Coffee
break 11:45 –13:00 Debate Some speakers for both fields (formal and informal)
with founded evidence to provide a contradictory debate. Prof. Vassilis Koulaidis(Greece) Professor and Director of
Education Laboratory, University of Patras Paulette McManus (UK) Senior Lecturer in Museum & Heritage
Studies - Institute of Archaeology University College London Bronwyn Bevan (USA) Director CILS of Exploratorium of
San Fransisco Dr. James M. Bradburne (UK) Director of the Next Generation
Foundation 13:00 – 14:30 Lunch 14:30 – 16:00 Summary/Questions/answers Jose
Mariano Gago (Portugal) 16:00 – 17.30 Visit
of the Goulandris Natural History Museum
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