Khoo, E. G. L., & Cowie, B. (2018). Trial-and-error, Googling and talk: Engineering students taking initiative out of class. In D. Corrigan, C. Buntting, A. Jones, & J. Loughran (Eds.), Navigating the Changing Landscape of Formal and Informal Science Learning Opportunities (pp. 193–206). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89761-5_12
Abstract
A review of the science education literature identifies the importance of outreach in raising public awareness of science while providing students with contextually relevant and meaningful science in ways that enhance their school experiences. The National Virtual School of Emerging Sciences (NVSES) provided just such an opportunity. Established throughout 2012-2014, it enabled 429 secondary students from across Australia to engage with the emerging sciences of Astrophysics and Nanotechnology. Creation of 'virtual' science classrooms allowed small groups of students to connect synchronously twice a week under the guidance of subject specialist teachers. To prepare for this context, teachers modified their face-to-face pedagogies to suit the range of technologies readily accessible in the virtual classroom. This chapter discusses how these different pedagogies were utilised by the NVSES teachers to develop lessons that created unique experiences for students within the virtual classroom environment. Data collected from pre and post student surveys, interviews with the NVSES teachers and access to digitally-recorded lessons demonstrate that while NVSES was highly successful, there were challenges for all involved.
Rights
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018. This is the author's accepted version. The final publication is available at Springer via dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04257-8_31
