 |
|
Museum resources can be used in many ways: while visiting the museum,
in the classroom or at home, and online. Much of the evidence for
learning in museums is anecdotal, but there is a growing field of
research on learning in informal settings, such as museums. The evidence
suggests that learning in museums occurs through visitor interactions
with artifacts, objects, and in museum programs.
(Hein and Alexander)
In Museums: Places of Learning, George Hein and Mary Alexander
suggest that learning modes in museums range from didactic and expository
to discovery-oriented or constructivist, depending on the design of
exhibitions or programs. Many museum educators describe the kind of
learning that takes place at their institutions as active and
discovery-oriented. It doesn't stop there. Museums are committed to
forging connections between all of their programs, whether on- or off-site,
and more and more often to using media to connect audiences to
the authentic research being done in their disciplines.
Hein and Alexander also state that "recent education theory acknowledges,
even promotes, the object-based, experiential, thought-provoking, and
problem-solving type of learning in which museums excel" and that "the
combination of the opportunity for the learner to discover truth by
'finding out for herself', or 'to learn through doing' - is a natural
one for museums, since museums value objects and learning from objects."
Robert J. Semper, Associate Executive Director at the Exploratorium in
San Francisco, goes further when he suggests that learning in museums
is social, includes an element of curiosity, is intrinsically motivated,
allows for multiple learning styles, and includes play and exploration in
the learning process.
The following programs focus on the idea and practice of inquiry and
examine how informal educational institutions can support this active
learning process. The Exploratorium's
Institute for Inquiry has developed the following
description of inquiry: "Inquiry is an approach to
learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material
world, that leads to asking questions and making discoveries in the
search for new understandings. Inquiry, as it relates to science
education, should mirror as closely as possible the enterprise of
doing real science." At the American Museum of Natural History, the
process of exploration may arise from visiting exhibitions and collections
or from interacting with Museum scientists and their research online.
The habits of mind used in science are practiced through observing,
describing, recording, and communicating information, and by working
with scientific ideas.
"In the Museum"
describes how museum objects, artifacts, and dioramas can be used
for research-based investigations.
"In the Classroom"
presents the Young Naturalist Awards - an annual scientific essay
contest that encourages students to conduct their own independent
research and includes information on how to participate in the
2001 Awards.
"Online"
introduces you to online expeditions - or field trips you can take
without a bus - in which one can join a scientific research team in
the field and experience their daily successes and struggles.
References
|
 |
Hein, George E. and Mary Alexander, Museums: Places of Learning.
©1998 American Association of Museums, Washington D.C.
© 2000 American Museum of Natural History