Museums: Using Keyworkers to Deliver Lifelong Learning

The article describes a major study of the activities of keyworkers (mediators between museums and their public) within the context of museums' contribution to lifelong learning and to overcoming cultural exclusion. Field studies were undertaken in the UK, Ireland and Sweden based upon live projects with keyworkers who were subsequently interviewed about their roles, professional development needs and attitudes. In the UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum's keyworkers comprised youth workers, in Sweden they were traffic wardens and taxi drivers, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art worked with a group of elderly adults. From these studies, the research was able to articulate key recommendations for developing museum policy on keyworkers to enhance adult learning in and through museums.     

Museums,Keyworkers and Lifelong Learning: A European Survey

This article reports on an investigation undertaken in six European countries on the theme of adults' involvement in the cultural life of their communities. A particular focus was placed on the role of keyworker and how such individuals provide a link between museums and communities. The survey team gathered information from museums on the nature and extent of provision for adult learning and the degree to which keyworkers had a part to play. It was subsequently found that most museums made no special provision for adult education although this pattern varied across countries. In those cases where some form of provision was made its quality had not been assessed. One outcome of the survey is that a small majority of museums do make use of keyworkers acting in a wide variety of roles. It also revealed that keyworkers lack sufficient training and support.     

Portable Tablets in Science Museum Learning: Options and Obstacles

Despite the increasing use of portable tablets in learning, their impact has received little attention in research. In five different projects, this media-ethnographic and design-based analysis of the use of portable tablets as a learning resource in science museums investigates how young people’s learning with portable tablets matches the intentions of the museums. By applying media and information literacy (MIL) components as analytical dimensions, a pattern of discrepancies between young people’s expectations, their actual learning and the museums’ approaches to framing such learning is identified. It is argued that, paradoxically, museums’ decisions to innovate by introducing new technologies, such as portable tablets, and new pedagogies to support them conflict with many young people’s traditional ideas of museums and learning. The assessment of the implications of museums’ integration of portable tablets indicates that in making pedagogical transformations to accommodate new technologies, museums risk opposing didactic intention if pedagogies do not sufficiently attend to young learners’ systemic expectations to learning and to their expectations to the digital experience influenced by their leisure use.     

Recognition of prior learning,self-realisation and identity within Axel Honneth's theory of recognition

This paper argues for the significance of Axel Honneth's theory of recognition for understanding recognition of prior learning (RPL). Case studies of the experiences of RPL by paraprofessional workers in health and social care in the UK and Sweden are used to explicate this significance. The results maintain that there are varying conditions of recognition. These conditions are often fluid, negotiable and ambivalent. However, RPL appears to support self-realisation and self-awareness, when it co-occurs with individual's identification with associated practices. Workplace salary, affordances for practice and collegial values may shape the esteem and thus the potential for self-realisation. RPL can thus help facilitate the development of a more positive relationship to individuals engaged in RPL processes, enhancing their learning and development.     

Stichwort: Lernen im Museum

This contribution sketches the museum landscape and investigates – from different perspectives – to what extent museums can be defined and studied as an informal learning location. We shall start with a look at the heterogeneity of museums, which is a consequence of the different collections, the characteristics of visitors and their motives for visiting, and the relatively young history of didactic methods used in museums. Does learning take place? Research on visitors, which looks at this question, typically reflects in its theories of learning the paradigm shift from behaviourism to cognitive and constructivistic concepts with a corresponding change of perspective regarding the subject of investigation: whilst first investigations looked at the characteristic of exhibits and made recommendations on this basis for improved didactics, more recent studies look at visitors’ theoretic constructs of these characteristics. This article argues for a link between both perspectives in order to achieve further theoretical and practical insights.     

Motivationale Aspekte von schulischen Besuchen in naturwissenschaftlich-technischen Museen

Museums are very popular for school excursions. One of their most important aims is to foster the visitors’ interest for the presented topics. Especially with regard to natural science, it is important to question to what extent this learning environment can indeed foster students’ learning motivation. The research presented here is based on the concept of situational interest. In two studies, the goals and the design of school museum visits as well as the impact of the design, the perceived support of basic needs, and the perceived content relevance for students’ situational interest were investigated. For this purpose a postal survey of 227 teachers of natural science was conducted on their goals and design of school visits to museums. Furthermore, 344 pupils of grades 7 and 8 (14 classes) were surveyed in a written questionnaire regarding their situational interest during the visit and on aspects of the design of the visit. The results show the high relevance of motivational aspects for the use of museums as learning environments.     

Lernen im Museum – theoretische Perspektiven und empirische Befunde

In this paper, the authors want to relate the issue of “learning in museums” with “aesthetic education”. The contribution is focused on the voluntary and self-organized learning in museums. The objects and the variety of their presentations in regard to the visitor are analyzed, focusing the polymorphism of learning processes, related to aesthetic experiences. This heterogeneous field is reflected from the perspective of visitor research, museology and educational psychology by reflecting the conceptualization of learning processes, their identification by empirical research and the intersection of the different perspectives. Finally, open questions and perspectives for further research concerning learning in museums are discussed.     

The goals of science museums in the eyes of museum pedagogical staff

Today, science is a major part of Western culture. One advantage of informal learning environments is that they are (potentially) open to a wide range of populations with varying levels of interest and knowledge. Because of their informal nature, documenting learning has proven challenging. Studies that assess learning in museums, therefore, must employ theories of learning that encompass a more complex view of what learning is. This qualitative study was conducted with a population of high-level pedagogical staff from museums in Israel, Europe and the USA. Its purpose was to characterise staff perception of the goals of science museums and how these goals are manifested in the exhibits. Interviews with 17 staff revealed a wide range of goals that come into play in the different science museums. Findings suggest that the pedagogical staff perceive the science museum’s goals as being to change public views regarding science, promote science education, and reduce disparities between populations. According to museum staff, science museums have an important role in changing visitors’ approach towards science, as well as providing an additional source of science education.     

Multiple Outcomes of Class Visits to Natural History Museums: The Students’ View

The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the range of outcomes of class visits to natural history museums. The theoretical framework is based on the multifaceted process of learning in free choice learning environments, and emphasizes the unique and individual learning experience in museum settings. The study’s significance is in highlighting several possible cognitive as well as non-cognitive learning effects in museums class visits, by providing the student’s point of view. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with 50 students in grades 6–8 on the day following the visit. We present evidence that students expressed several learning outcomes, connected directly and indirectly to the scientific content of the visit. Content oriented outcomes included acquiring scientific knowledge and making connections to prior knowledge; social oriented outcomes were identified in students’ statements regarding communicating knowledge and social aspects of learning; and interest oriented outcomes were evidenced by students’ expressions about emotions, interest and curiosity. The aggregate data addressed the common outcomes and the impact of class visits to natural history museums in the short term. Comparisons between two types of museums show significant differences in several aspects, regarding the exhibit and/or the activity type. Practical ideas for structuring the ultimate experience are included.     

Learning to learn in informal science settings

Visits to museums and science centres are a part of most school science programs- but are they really learning experiences? By accompanying classes on visits and talking with the teachers and students during and after these visits, information has been gathered on the ways in which school groups currently use visits to two informal science learning settings in Sydney- a science education centre and a large museum. Comparison of the teacher and student behaviours on these visits with current views on good teaching/learning practice, reveals considerable anomalies. At the same time, reported studies of museum visitors suggest that family groups use museums for learning in ways which are quite different from the way most school groups do. Can these apparent mismatches be translated into a pathway for developing new approaches to learning in informal settings?     

具身认知视角下科技场馆学习支架的设计

具身认知强调认知是身体参与的认知,通过身体、环境、感知、心智的互动融合完成知识的表征。科技场馆借助实体场馆与先进信息技术的融合,构建了具身学习的场域。文章首先基于具身认知理论,在科技场馆的具身学习中融合三种环境(即物理环境、社会环境和心理环境)和三类具身(即实感具身、实境具身和离线具身),设计了科技场馆学习支架。随后,文章在“电流的磁效应”主题学习中开展了两轮迭代设计研究,验证科技场馆学习支架的应用效果。最后,文章形成了修正后的科技场馆学习支架,以提升学习者身体在场的行动参与感,帮助学习者身体体验的内化与经验建构,为学习者在科技场馆中的具身学习提供有效的学习支持。     

What is distinctive about museum pedagogy and how can museums best support learning in schools? An action research inquiry into the practice of three regional museums

It seems uncontroversial to claim that museums are unique places of interest with the potential to inspire learners, yet what this means and how it is managed are complex questions. Museum educators’ work is currently shaped by accountability requirements typically expressed as visitor targets. Centralised teaching and learning initiatives are presented as ‘good practice’. In opposition to these factors, the action research inquiry discussed here set out to enable the participants to research and reflect upon the challenges of their individual contexts, and to develop ideas for practice that were ‘bespoke’. Deliberation on particular predicaments raised important issues, such as the relationship between schools and museums; the educational value of museums to schools; and the distinctive nature of museum pedagogy. A group of museum educators began with the question: ‘How can we support teachers in integrating learning in a museum, with the school curriculum, to help raise pupil attainment’? The paper tells the story of the project and includes reflections on the use of action research as a method of personal professional development and organisational problem-solving.     

The role of medical museums in contemporary medical education

From the early 19th century until the most recent two decades, open‐space and satellite museums featuring anatomy and pathology collections (collectively referred to as “medical museums”) had leading roles in medical education. However, many factors have caused these roles to diminish dramatically in recent years. Chief among these are the great advances in information technology and web‐based learning that are currently at play in every level of medical training. Some medical schools have abandoned their museums while others have gradually given away their museums' contents to devote former museum space to new classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories. These trends have accelerated as medical school enrollment has increased and as increasing interest in biological and biomedical research activities have caused medical schools to convert museum space into research facilities. A few medical schools, however, have considered the contents of their museums as irreplaceable resources for modern medicine and medical education and the space these occupy as great environments for independent and self‐directed learning. Consequently, some medical schools have updated their medical museums and equipped them with new technologies. The Anatomical Museum of Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands and the Medical Museum of Kawasaki Medical School in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan, are two examples of such upgraded museums. Student surveys at Leiden University have indicated that all students (100%) found audio‐guided museum tours to be useful for learning and majorities of them found guided tours to be clinically relevant (87%). However, 69% of students felt that museum visits should be optional rather than compulsory within the medical training curriculum. Anat Sci Educ 3:249–253, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Aesthetic encounters and learning in the museum

Abstract

This article discusses how museum settings can provide opportunities for sensory and aesthetic encounters and learning. It draws on research into museum education programmes that included examinations of curatorial construction and display, observations of teaching and open-ended interviews with museum educators. The examples selected here focus on themes of display and learning to illustrate how aesthetic experiences can emerge as incidental adjuncts to learning in other fields. They also acknowledge how museums draw on aesthetic judgements to categorise or present objects and employ aesthetic artefacts and practices as representative devices of cultural engagement, especially in learning themes in the humanities. The studies show how museums can offer opportunities and skills, and cultivate dispositions to the examination of challenging ideas about aesthetic status, sensibility, interpretation or value. Examples of purposefully constructed sites for aesthetic learning show how museum educators have rethought ways of facilitating affective sensory experiences, and raising questions of aesthetic status, response and the social and cultural functions of the arts. The studies discussed here suggest that museums can provide dedicated opportunities to cultivate independent aesthetic thinking and debate about aesthetic ideas as lifelong skills and pleasures.     

Informal and Non-formal Education: An Outline of History of Science in Museums

Although a growing number of research articles in recent years have treated the role of informal settings in science learning, the subject of the history of science in museums and its relationship to informal and non-formal education remains less well explored. The aim of this review is to assemble the studies of history of science in science museums and explore the opportunities for the further use of the history of science in science museum education practice.     

Scan and Learn: Quick Response Code Enabled Museum for Mobile Learning of Anatomy and Pathology

In the past, medical museums played a significant role in anatomy and pathology training. The attraction of medical museums has declined recently due to the emergence of information technology and innovative medical curricula. An innovative mobile learning platform has been developed using quick response (QR) codes for the museum specimens at the Lee Kong Chain School of Medicine, Singapore. High-quality images of the potted specimens were captured and combined into an album and a video using Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 and Windows Movie Maker, respectively. Subsequently, QR codes were generated linking to PDF documents with annotations, pathology, and clinical history concerning the specimens. Quick response codes were piloted in gastrointestinal teaching module for Year 2 medical students. Survey responses were obtained from students to verify the efficacy of QR as a learning tool. The majority of students either agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to access the information about the specimen with QR codes (4.47 ± 0.84), while 96% of students agreed that they are able to correlate the specimen with the annotated images (4.56 ± 0.56). The majority of students (78%) agreed that QR codes are useful for their learning (4.22 ± 0.87), while 75% of students felt QR codes motivate them to visit Anatomy Resource Centre. Most of the students agreed that QR codes are useful for revision of materials (4.13 ± 1.07) and independent learning (4.38 ± 0.87). These findings suggest that QR codes are not only effective for students learning but also enhance their exploration experience with the museum specimens.     

The CEC Professional Standards: a Foucauldian genealogy of the re/construction of special education

If teachers are to play a positive educative role in addressing societal gender-related issues that impact on social justice and inclusiveness, teacher education institutions have to ensure that their graduating teachers are well equipped with the necessary understandings and skills to enact this role. This research draws on interviews with men primary school teachers in New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. It investigates their remembered experiences during teacher education relating to gender discourse and whether the education they received, if any, has influenced their classroom practices. Across the three countries, the men had varying levels of recall, ranging from comprehensive gender-related education to none whatsoever. In Sweden, a governmental emphasis on gender equality in society appeared to have influenced the teachers' attitudes and practices regardless of the amount of teacher education relating to gender that they remembered. The teachers' comments suggest that those of us engaged in teacher education need to address any apparent gaps in gender studies at pre-service level. Both men and women teacher education students require comprehensive gender studies if they are to recognise and realise their potential to deconstruct traditional stereotypes and contribute to social justice and inclusiveness.     

Was verbinden Museumsbesucher mit Lernen im Museum und in der Schule?

The present study was conducted in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main and the Landesmuseum Schloß Gottorf in Schleswig. 160 museum visitors were asked about their conceptions of learning in school and learning in a museum. These conceptions generate a persons’ individual concept of learning. It is formed by the influence of the subjectively different experiences each person makes in varying learning situations. Since every learning environment offers different opportunities and possibilities for learning, it can be assumed that there are location-specific concepts of learning. The results of this study show that concepts of learning in school can be differentiated from concepts in a museum; albeit reactive and constructive concepts of learning were found for schools as well as for museums. In addition it was found that different people’s concepts of learning depend on their places of learning.