Victor Sampson

Field trips to museums and wildlife centers are a common activity in schools and it is widely believed that they have educational and motivational impacts. Yet research shows field trips frequently have limited educational benefits and lack integration with science curricula. National reform efforts in science education emphasize the need for students to participate in scientific inquiries, yet inquiry-based instruction remains a rarely-seen practice in most elementary classrooms. To addres...

Most laboratory experiences in U.S. science classrooms are isolated from the flow of classroom science instruction and are typically prescriptive in nature. Traditional laboratory experiences also rarely incorporate ongoing reflection and discussion between teachers and students, even though there is evidence that indicate that opportunities to reflect on one's own thinking is essential for students to make meaning out of their laboratory activities. To address this problem, the researchers ...