Apprenticeships, Collaboration and Scientific Discovery in Academic Field Studies

Abstract

Teachers may use apprenticeships and collaboration as instructional strategies that help students to make authentic scientific discoveries as they work as amateur researchers in academic field studies. This concept was examined with 643 students, ages 14–72, who became proficient at field research through cognitive apprenticeships with the Smithsonian Institute, School for Field Studies and Earthwatch. Control student teams worked from single research goals and sets of methods, while experimental teams varied goals, methods, and collaborative activities in Kenya, Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador. Results from studies indicate that students who conducted local pilot studies, collaborative symposia, and ongoing, long-term fieldwork generated significantly more data than did control groups. Research reports of the experimental groups were ranked highest by experts, and contributed the most data to international science journals. Data and anecdotal information in this report indicate that structured collaboration in local long-term studies using apprenticeships may increase the potential for students' academic field studies contribution of new information to science.

Keywords:

• Cognitive apprenticeships
• Collaborative learning
• Earthwatch
• Field trips
• Giraffe
• Project-based instruction
• Sea turtles
• School for Field Studies
• Situated cognition
• Smithsonian Institute
• Tamarins

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for logistical support from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, School for Field Studies, Earthwatch, and the US Department of Education STEM grant # PO31C110107 (B. Sanders: Modesto Junior College Science and Maths). Grateful thanks also go to PhD review members Richard Haas, Harrison Madden, and editorial reviewers from International Journal of Science Education.