MODELS AND DISCOURSE - A PRIMARY-SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASS VISIT TO A MUSEUM

A critical incident is viewed as an event which is sufficiently cohere nt and apparently significant, as reflected in the discourse which tak es place between individuals in a group, to permit inferences to be ma de about the formation, use, and development of mental models. This ap proach was used to analyze the discourse which took place during a vis it by a class of 8-9-year-olds to a gallery concerned with food at the Science Museum, London. Data were collected by observation and interv iew before, during, and after the visit. Events that lead to the initi ation, continuation, and closure of discourse were identified, broad c lassifications produced, and inferences made about their impact on pup ils' mental models. The conditions which produced evidence of mental e ngagement with exhibits included: The linking of the visit to the curr iculum currently being followed at school; the pupils' being able to f ollow their own itinerary in the museum; the pupils being able to work in small friendship groups; the accompanying of each group by an adul t with some knowledge about the topic of the exhibits. It is suggested that a critical incident approach may be helpful more generally in an alyzing the learning which takes place in groups. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.