Running head: Annotated Bibliography

Shang Li

EDUC 606 – Literary Theory Research and Practice (Capstone)

Professor Alesha Gayle

Annotated Bibliography

March 13, 2022

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Annotated Bibliography

Behrendt, M., & Franklin, T. (2014). A review of research on school field trips and their value in

education. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 9(3), 235-245.

This paper illustrates the educational value of science-related field trips as a bridge to

connect students’ conceptual knowledge in science classroom to the actuality through

experiential learning. According to Behrendt and Franklin, “Experiential learning is authentic,

first-hand, sensory-based learning” (p. 237). It showcases the real-life practices of abstract

classroom knowledge to students through integration of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic

experiences in real settings. It also promotes students developing interests, curiosities and

motivations in science to have subsequent classes to address their inquiries.

This piece is important to include as it illustrates science-related field trips are highly

relevant to increase science literacy by contextualizing classroom knowledge and making

abstract concepts visualized and realistic. Additionally, it also examines the heart of my second

research question in detail: What is the teacher’s role in supporting and enhancing science

literacies as part of these field trips? The researchers mentioned that teachers serve as significant

facilitators to cultivate meaningful outcomes of field trips. They proposed three implications for

teachers to monitor field trips, including before, during, and after the trip. Firstly, teachers should

visit the venue and carefully consider if it is a suitable place to conduct such kinds of learning

activities prior to making the decision. In addition, instruction on venue layout, purpose of field

trips, and foundational knowledge should be given to prepare students to go on the trip with their

own inquiries. Subsequently, teachers can collaborate with venue staff to work on making field

trip experiences akin to classroom knowledge and supervise students on track. Delicately devised

worksheets are recommended to help students concentrate and note down what they observe.
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Lastly, reflection is necessary to solidify the successful connections they already made on the

tips and what needs to be further addressed.

Clarke-Vivier, S., & Lee, J. C. (2018). Because Life Doesn't Just Happen in a Classroom:

Elementary and Middle School Teacher Perspectives on the Benefits of, and Obstacles to,

Out-of-School Learning. Issues in Teacher Education, 27(3), 55-72.

Clarke-Viver and Lee asserted that academic field trips—which are appropriately

structured uphold multiple benefits—increase students’ learning outcomes. On one hand,

teachers are provided with powerful tools to enrich their pedagogies, increase their abilities to

enact content knowledge, and promote students’ interest in further classes. On the other hand,

students are able to grasp the authenticity and vividness of school curriculum through such

experiential learning experiences in which the multi-sensory nature offers a deeper

understanding and impression of what they learned in the classroom.

This text presents the advantages of field trips from both teachers and students’ points of

view. It is significant in illustrating field trips as an enrichment to complement teachers’

pedagogy and to increase the multimodality of student learning. I include this text because I hope

the notable impacts of out-of-school learning can elicit educators’, parents’, and policymakers’

concerns regarding why field trips can (and do) enhance students’ learning outcomes.

Dewey, J. (2015). The Need of a Theory of Experience. In Experience and Education (pp. 25–

32). essay, Free Press.

Dewey held a pragmatism theory that he believed students learn from hands-on

experience. However, he emphasized that this experience should be closely pertinent to students’
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life experience which will provide them with opportunities to connect and apply their school

knowledge in real-life situations. He also critiqued that the experience (unrelated to field trips)

some schools offered to students were not adherent to what students learned at school. Moreover,

Dewey’s work has been influential in education, and thus he is a major stakeholder in the theory

of learning. His text is crucial to include as it lays the theoretical foundation for going on field

trips – to obtain experimental experience. Finally, what he underscored also illuminates the need

—within my capstone inquiry and, more broadly, interests in the field—to focus on promoting

the quality of field trips rather than the quantity.

Lima, A., Vasconcelos, C., Félix, N., Barros, J., & Mendonça, A. (2010). Field trip activity in an

ancient gold mine: Scientific literacy in informal education. Public Understanding of

Science, 19(3), 322-334.

This study carries out an evaluation on whether informal field trips (visited a site rich of

geological heritage) promote students’ science literacy from three aspects: (a) “understanding of

geology and the ability to apply it in daily life situations” (p.326), (b) effectiveness of the field

trip activities, and (c) understanding of the related environmental issues and future solutions.

This text is significant to include for two reasons. Firstly, it clarifies how the researchers

measure scientific literacy. For example, they put forward, “Literacy in science is concerned with

the capacity to perceive and deal with science and its applications in daily life (particularly in the

context of knowledge transfer, communication of science through the media and science-based

political decision-making)” (p. 323). In my study, I will refer to their conceptualization to

enlighten how I measure science literacy. Secondly, it provides valuable data to inform my

research as existing research.

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Lima et al. discovered that 95% participants reported a positive attitude towards

participating in such activities in the geological/environmental site. Besides the higher

percentage of correct answers in geology multiple-choice questions, participants’ increased

awareness of environment protection is drawn from what they learned about the degradation and

preservation of geological heritage. This connection well represents their advanced scientific

literacy.

Ramlo, S. (2019). Examining urban, American, middle-school students’ divergent views of

nature before and after a field trip to a university field station and nature preserve. The

Urban Review, 51(2), 231-246.

Ramlo conducted a qualitative and quantitative mixed method study on middle school

students’ (seventh grade) views on nature before and after the field trips. Ramlo (2018) obtained

statements from students’ writing (about the field trip) last year, and he had 50 participants sort

the statements before and after they went on a field trip. Three categories emerged in the

quantitative result, which are active nature learners, not a nature lover, and the

environmentalist. Most of them expressed preference for enjoying outdoor environments,

integrated activities, and hands-on learning experiences. They also agreed that being in nature

enables them to learn new scientific knowledge instead of sitting in a classroom; and project-

based learning is more interesting than merely completing their homework using paper and

pencil. However, some students indicated that they disliked some parts of going on a field trip in

nature, such as concern about bugs, rocks, and interacting with peers during the activities.

Notably, some of them changed their point of view and developed a more positive attitude
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regarding their concern after the field trip. Lastly, a few of them presented that they had the

confidence to talk about the importance of protecting nature after going on a field trip.

The highlight of this study is Ramlo did a comparison on students’ perspectives on nature

before and after they go on the field trip. It is noticeable from the aforementioned result that

students’ science literacy is advanced by this experimental experience. This comparison serves

as a strong indicator of how field trips impact students’ scientific literacy. Further, this point

aligns with my first research question: How do school field trips support elementary students’

scientific literacy? Though the age group is different, it remains as a meaningful reference to my

study.

Street, B. (2003). What’s “new” in New Literacy Studies? Critical approaches to literacy in

theory and practice. Current issues in comparative education, 5(2), 77-91.

Street suggested that we shift our focus from considering literacy as acquisition of skills

to literacy as a social practice. That is, literacy is embedded in particular contexts and individuals

interpret it from their own cultural standing. Therefore, he advocated for the ideological model

that literacy learning should be context-based and disagreed with the autonomous model, which

claims literacy can be learnt independently of social context.

Street was one of the prominent scholars of New Literacy Studies. His emphasis on

literacy as a social and situated practice makes his text cannot be overlooked. I include his work

because it informs the readers that science literacy should be educated through situating students

in a relevant scientific context. Moreover, visiting scientific venues brings forth the social

context for students to better understand the knowledge in science classroom.

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Van Eijck, M., & Roth, W. M. (2010). Theorizing scientific literacy in the wild. Educational

research review, 5(2), 184-194.

Eijck and Roth challenged the traditional view of scientific literacy and proposed to

rethink it in the wild. That is, as opposed to teaching students to examine situations in classrooms

and laboratories, they theorized that scientific literacy as “situated, distributed, and dynamic”

occurring in the everyday world. The researchers also identified that the theoretical models of

sociocultural and cultural-historical activities are more suitable to describe scientific literacy in

the wild than other theories.

In the discussion of literacy learning, we tend to concentrate on reading and writing for

arts courses. However, science subjects are not just about logic and equations. Therefore, I intend

to utilize this literature to illuminate that (a) the idea of literacy as situated and social practices

and (b) the sociocultural perspective on learning apply to scientific literacy as well. Eijck and

Roth’s text is also used to echo both Vygotsky (1978) and Street’s (2003) work, and transition to

existing research regarding the educational value of school field trips.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Vygotsky maintained a sociocultural theory where he believed human development and

learning are predominantly influenced by interacting with others and the culture in which they

are situated. He acknowledged that individuals gradually form their cultural values, beliefs, and

attitudes through shared conversation, which he claimed as a socially constructed and culturally

mediated process.

Vygotsky is the key theorist who contributed a wealth of ideas to the theory of learning.

His constructivist perspective is invaluable to include as it advises pedagogy to be more

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interactive and promotes students’ cognitive development and psychological functions. His text

also serves as a theoretical base for encouraging field trips, as a particular site other than school,

to offer teachers, students, and peers a unique space to engage with others’ value systems. In

addition, the field trip site is an outstanding place to facilitate social interaction through

collaborative activities.