Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp

Eleanor Kenimer

doi:10.29333/ijese/13045

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Eleanor Kenimer ¹ ^*

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¹ Department of Teacher Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Out of school learning happens in many different contexts. This paper aims to focus on the educators at a nature based summer camp and how they learn to teach and implement various teaching practices. Little research in the informal science education field focuses on the educators themselves, especially those without a background in education, and this interpretive case study explores how educators in a camp context think about and discuss teaching and learning and what successes and challenges they face when teaching. Similar to novice classroom teachers, the educators at this camp had to negotiate competing ideas about what good teaching and learning is and a multitude of challenges that prevented them from being able to teach in ways that they wanted to. However, they also had several successes in student-led teaching moments that showed a responsiveness to student interests and ideas that is impressive for inexperienced educators.

Keywords

informal science education
educator learning
outdoor education
nature based education
outdoor pedagogy

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED, 2023, Volume 19, Issue 2, Article No: e2307

https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Publication date: 01 Apr 2023

Online publication date: 07 Mar 2023

Article Views: 761

Article Downloads: 461

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How to cite this article

APA

Kenimer, E. (2023). Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Vancouver

Kenimer E. Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(2):e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

AMA

Kenimer E. Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Chicago

Kenimer, Eleanor. "Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 2023 19 no. 2 (2023): e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Harvard

Kenimer, E. (2023). Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

MLA

Kenimer, Eleanor "Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, vol. 19, no. 2, 2023, e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045