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Learning theory

  • Education & learning
  • Spokes collection
Figure 1. The science capital holdall - a way of visualising the concept of science capital © Enterprising Science

This Spokes collection brings together articles exploring learning concepts or paradigms relevant to science engagement.

Keywords

  • learning
  • education
  • theory
  • science capital
  • STEM
  • STEAM
  • learning ecosystems
  • inquiry
  • Spokes

Feature articles

In Depth
Photo by Clint Adair on Unsplash
Inquiry, stretched: A new approach to education and learning

Feature article by Maria Xanthoudaki published in Spokes #36, December 2017

Maria Xanthoudaki surveys recent pedagogies| Estimated reading time: 18 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
21st century pedagogy, Flipped classroom Precision pedagogy Making Integrated teaching Scenario-based learning Design thinking Project-based learning Peer education Experiential learning Technology-enabled active learning Service learning Place-based education Digital learning, education, learning, Spokes
In Depth
Emily Dawson's book and zine
Equity, exclusion and everyday science learning

Feature article by Emily Dawson published in Spokes #53, June 2019

A wake-up call| Estimated reading time: 21 minutes.
Category:
Education & learning, Topics in science
Keywords:
Spokes, equity, inclusion, Science learning
Lookout
Telling the whole story

Interviews published in Spokes #70, January 2021

Exploring the realms of credentialing outside of school learning and how we can make human capital more visible.Estimated reading time: 20 minutes
Keywords:
Spokes, credentialisation, out of school learning
In Depth
Figure 1. The science capital holdall - a way of visualising the concept of science capital © Enterprising Science
Science capital

Feature article by Amy Seakins - Heather King published in Spokes #25, December 2016

What is it, what is it not, and why might it be useful for informal science learning?| Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
science capital, scientific literacy, inclusion, Spokes
Lookout
In “Wonderlab: the Statoil gallery”, captions systematically make a link between exhibits and people’s everyday lives, with carefully picked examples. Science Museum, London, United Kingdom.
Science capital in practice

Interviews published in Spokes #31, June 2017

Hear from four teams and organisations bridging theory and practice| Estimated reading time: 14 minutes (2-5 min per interview)
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
science capital, Spokes
In Depth
Young people and caregivers play and learn together at the Exploratorium
STEM learning ecosystems: critical approaches

Feature article by Bronwyn Bevan published in Spokes #42, June 2018

We need to disrupt historical patterns of exclusion in STEM and recognise the positive social futures communities seek to build, argues Bevan| Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
learning ecosystems, inclusion, STEM, life-long learning, Spokes
In Depth
Science: It's a Girl Thing, Gender Day event at Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw, Poland, December 2012
From STEM to STEAM (education): A necessary change or ‘the theory of whatever’?

Feature article by Maria Xanthoudaki published in Spokes #28, March 2017

What does the 'A' in STEAM actually stand for?| Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
STEM, STEAM, art & science, creativity, learning, education, Spokes
In Depth
Photo by Tran Mau Tri Tam on Unsplash
Who’s afraid of the digital (learning)?

Feature article by Maria Xanthoudaki published in Spokes #47, December 2018

 A reflection on the potential of technology to ‘augment’ learning| Estimated reading time: 21 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
Digital, learning, Spokes
In Depth
Tom (educator) and Krista (educational developer) pose at their research table, where they investigated asking questions with authentic objects. Two students (on the right) helped with data collection. Naturalis, Leiden, The Netherlands
Research-minded education in science museums

Feature article by Yuri Matteman - Welmoet Damsma published in Spokes #27, February 2017

Developing an organisation-wide learning research culture: A museum shares its journey| Estimated reading time: 22 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
Naturalis, research, evidence-based education, evaluation, learning, Spokes
In Depth
Figure 1: Family interacting with real objects during “Digging in the dinosaur era” workshop activity at Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
Is it real?

Feature article by Anne M. Land-Zandstra - Dylan J.J. van Gerven - Welmoet Damsma published in Spokes #37, January 2018

How visitors interpret authenticity in a natural history museum| Estimated reading time: 22 minutes
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
Object, museum, authenticity, Spokes
In Depth
Justin Dillon at the conference A Learning Research Agenda for Natural History Institutions
Unfathomable, Unsolvable, Unstoppable?

Feature article by Esther Hamstra published in Spokes #16, February 2016

Improving learning in the museum - A report from the launch event of ‘A Learning Research Agenda for Natural History Institutions’| Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Category:
Education & learning, EU and governance
Keywords:
learning agenda, natural history museum, nhm, wicked problems, Spokes
Lookout
Tinkering activity
Tinkering for learning, equity, and social inclusion

Interviews published in Spokes #38, November 2024

School, museum or prison: the potential of Tinkering for creating more equitable STEM learning environments| Estimated reading time: 15 minutes (4 minutes per interview)
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
tinkering, making, EDI, inclusion, schools, informal learning, Spokes
Lookout
The Tinkering Studio at Exploratorium, San Francisco.
Tinkering and Making: from practising to reflecting

Interviews published in Spokes #50, March 2019

Mindsets for inclusive creativity and transformative learning| Estimated reading time: 28 minutes (4-9 minutes per interview)
Category:
Education & learning
Keywords:
tinkering, making, STEM, education, FabLab