The Space Between: Teacher Perspectives of an Interformal Elementary Science Education Program

ABSTRACT To realize a STEM learning ecosystem (NRC 2015), all collaborations and partnerships around science learning should be explored. This study uncovers teacher perspectives of a substantial, long‐term, formal/informal elementary science program partnership. Through participant interviews with three elementary teachers and our case study analysis, we assert that for more significant formal/informal science education partnerships to succeed, teachers must view the partnership as beneficial to their teaching and their students' science learning. We assert teachers want to know that precious instructional time is spent on programs related to or even integrated into their curriculum. We discovered that teachers believe their students formed a connection with a local environmental organization through the long‐standing program partnership. This study brings to light an area that is not discussed in the literature, the sustained, long‐term blending of formal/informal into a new space in the elementary classroom. It is a space where the benefits of informal science education meld and mix within the structure of a formal classroom as the program is fully integrated into the science curriculum and has been for over 20 years. We define this space as interformal.