This project, a collaboration between Brown University and Providence Children's Museum (PCM) focuses on investigating children's developing social cognition, particularly about how and why knowledge mediates the development of diagnostic reasoning. The research team will explore tools for use by informal science institutions like children's museums, science centers, and zoos. These tools may be used to support children's metacognition around diagnostic reasoning and causal learning as well as more broadly along with caregivers' understanding of their children's learning processes in informal science education (ISE) settings. Deliverables include: (a) a workshop and research manual for museum professionals; (b) a blog; (c) a cross-discipline literature review on metacognition and making learning visible; (d) reports from focus groups and interviews with caregivers and children at PCM focused on learning and play in the museum context; (e) a range of tools designed to help children and their caregivers become aware of their metacognitive processes; (f) exhibit labels and other communication tools for visitors to the museum; and (g) a permanent Mind Lab space at PCM that will be used to communicate the work of the partnership and research to the public. These deliverables will inform the development of a model of practice that ISE professionals can employ when working with children and their caregivers with the goal of making their learning and learning processes visible.
This research project will advance the field by building theoretical understanding around children's reasoning and scientific thinking. It will also build capacity among academic researchers and informal science education researchers, educators, and administrators by providing empirical support for pedagogical decisions and strategies employed on a daily basis.
