"Catch of the day" : a case study of children’s perceptions of fishing

"Catch of the Day" is an ethnographic case study of children's perceptions, experiences, and explorations, as well as their learning, in the informal social context of recreational fishing. The intent of the study was to observe what the children experienced and explored, analyze how they shared their experiences with the other participants, interpret their explanations and extensions, and determine their perceptions of their fishing experience. Constructivism and situated cognition provided a theoretical perspective for the study that was congruent with the naturalistic inquiry research design and methods used. Small groups of children were videotaped as they fished off a marine float and interviewed after they had reviewed their video. Observations focused specifically on the children's verbal and nonverbal behaviours as they interacted with their social and physical environment. Transcriptions provided a database for the construction of individual "Fish Tales," vignettes of the fishing experience from the child's point of view. The interpretive commentaries highlight salient details from the researcher's perspective as a participant observer on the site. Examples of the children's levels of engagement in learning are listed under Feher's (1990) categories (Experience, Explore, Explain, Extend) so that comparisons can be made among the children. The findings showed an increasing differentiation in the children's levels of engagement, from universal sensory and perceptual experiences to unique examples of abstract cognition (explanations and extensions). The children's drawings revealed misconceptions in marine ecology that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. The findings also revealed a range of children's perceptions, and these affected not only what the children learned but also how the children learned and acted at the site. Authentic science experiences such as fishing promote children's engagement in collaborative problem solving and learning in marine education and have the potential to reduce the gap between classroom learning and cognition in practice.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat