Teachers’ Conceptions of School Visits to Science Museums

Abstract

In recent decades different research has shown the Challenger posed to science teachers in informal contexts such as science museums or centres. IN addition, there is consenus that in the case of pupils visiting a science centre, learning improves when the visit is connected to the classroom curriculum, so teachers’ involvement in preparing a visit is essential. In this work, we present research into primary and secondary school teachers’ behaviour when preparing a school visit to the Kutxaespacio de la Ciencia in San Sebastián. The results show that most teachers who visit this centre with their class group make scant preparation for the visit, i. e. they do not have a clear idea of how to use the museum as an informal resource for learning about science.