Cautious Collaboration to perfect partnership: An account of successful stakeholder academic engagement between University of Edinburgh and Glasgow Science CentreDr Zayba Ghazali-Mohammed, University of Edinburgh, and Susan Meikleham, Glasgow Science Centre
Abstract: Research supports a strong connection between embodied activity and cognition (e.g., Glenberg, 2010; Barsolou, 2008), particularly around science ideas (Goldin-Meadow & Beilock, 2010). Informal learning settings like science centres are in a strong position to contribute to this field by providing opportunities for learning through physically interactive science exhibits (Haden, 2010). This talk highlights how successful and active collaboration of partners, in this case Glasgow Science Centre practitioners and academics from the University of Edinburgh Move2Learn project, contributed towards understanding the role of embodied interaction in young children’s learning about science in informal settings, which enabled the co-design of an embodied interaction evaluation tool and the design of a novel exhibit that assesses and supports embodied learning processes.