As zoos and aquariums have become increasingly focused on conservation education, their menageries of unique and diverse learning opportunities have been underutilized. Through a new postsecondary-level animal behavior laboratory experience at an aquarium (“ZooU”), this study demonstrates that active learning pedagogy aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) could facilitate expansion of education at zoos and aquariums beyond their conservation education niche. Generally, students indicated that ZooU provided new opportunities for them to explore their own interests, demonstrate their learning, and augment their previous laboratory and aquarium experiences. Following both self- and researcher assessments of the students’ work, integrated analyses revealed that students who engaged in more active learning activities at the aquarium demonstrated a greater increase in skills aligned with the NGSS. Additionally, a novel intra-individual analysis was utilized to embrace the variation between learners that typically confounds the results of education studies with repeated measures design. Common challenges for education at zoos and aquariums are discussed through the context of ZooU as a foundation for future investigations. A practical NGSS-aligned guide to field trips at zoos and aquariums—written specifically for science teachers—is also included to support broader utilization of zoos and aquariums as educational resources.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46655 |
| Date | 06 September 2023 |
| Creators | Recchia, Benjamin Krause |
| Contributors | Spilios, Kathryn E. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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