Visscher Nick C, Snider Richard, Vander Stoep Gail
Zoology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Zoo Biol. 2009 Sep;28(5):488-95. doi: 10.1002/zoo.20174.
Zoos and aquariums have recognized the importance of integrating living collections with personally delivered interpretation. One way for zoos to accomplish this is by conducting public animal training sessions accompanied by personal interpretation. Many institutions offer these types of interactions, but the term "interpretation" is used loosely and without clear definition. This exploratory study compared knowledge gain of individual students in three different fifth grade school groups visiting the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan. Each group observed an animal training session, with two groups receiving two types of presentations and one group serving as a control group. Although hearing the same facts, the two treatment groups received different program types: an interpretive presentation and a fact-only presentation. The third group viewed the training session but received no presentation. Results showed that individuals who received the interpretive presentation retained more information immediately after the training session than individuals in either of the other two groups. This exploratory study suggests that using an interpretive presentation style is more effective in producing knowledge gain than fact-only presentations in informal learning environments such as zoos and aquariums.
动物园和水族馆已经认识到将活体动物展示与亲自讲解相结合的重要性。动物园实现这一目标的一种方式是举办有亲自讲解相伴的公众动物训练活动。许多机构都提供这类互动活动，但“讲解”一词的使用较为随意，且没有明确的定义。这项探索性研究比较了密歇根州兰辛市波特公园动物园接待的三个不同五年级学生团体中个体学生的知识获取情况。每个团体都观看了一场动物训练活动，其中两个团体接受了两种不同类型的讲解，一个团体作为对照组。尽管听到的是相同的事实，但两个实验组接受了不同类型的讲解：一种是有解说的讲解，另一种是只讲事实的讲解。第三组观看了训练活动，但没有接受讲解。结果显示，接受有解说讲解的个体在训练活动结束后比其他两组中的任何一组都能记住更多信息。这项探索性研究表明，在动物园和水族馆等非正式学习环境中，采用有解说的讲解方式比只讲事实的讲解方式在促进知识获取方面更有效。
