Prior knowledge and primary pupils' interaction with a museum display

Conclusion The study was developed within the constructivist tradition which stresses the importance of prior knowledge in determining learners' interaction with the world around them. Accordingly, information was gathered about primary school children's ideas about diet and dentition in animals, since it was assumed that this would determine the learning that would take place when they observed a display of skulls based on a structure-function generalization about teeth. In retrospect it seems a pity that the subjects weren't asked what they thought were the purposes of labels in the museum, as an appropriate use of labels seems to be crucial in determining whether the objective of the display is realized.