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research intro
literature reviews
we become
empowered as
learners when
we are in control
of the process |
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concepts, and with the world as we carry out
experiments and explorations and interpret
the results. And we become empowered as
learners when we are in control of the
process, actively pursuing knowledge
rather than passively consuming it.”
Another model that has been used to
support the design of museum exhibitions
for active learning is that of learning styles.
Kolb’s experiential learning model
describes four dimensions in a learning
cycle: immersion in concrete experience,
followed by observations and reflections,
then logical or inductive formation of
abstract concepts and generalisations,
and, finally, empirical testing of the
implications of concepts in new situations.
Learners, it is suggested, favour two of
these, each pair identified as one of four
fundamental learning strategies. Table 2.2
summarises these and their possible
implications for learning in the museum.
Recent exhibitions at the V&A – Silver
Galleries and the British Galleries – have
drawn on such approaches (Hinton 1999;
Durbin 2002).
2.3.2 Knowledge, objects and
free choice learning: the USPs
of museums
Knowledge
However important the affective and social
dimensions of learning may be, it is
nevertheless important not to overlook the
cognitive. After all, museums have a long
tradition as repositories, not just of
objects, but of the knowledge associated
with those objects. George Hein (1995,
1998) has helpfully distinguished between
theories of knowledge and theories of
learning in the museum context; both are
pertinent. An extreme view of
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Knowledge is independent |
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Knowledge is constructed |
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Figure 2.1 2D model of knowledge
and learning (Hein 1995, 1998)
Science Casebook, the
heuristic Earth Lab and the constructivist
Quest (Hawkey 2002). (See section 4 for
a more detailed look at Quest.)
Objects
It is the objects themselves, however, that
provide the unique learning potential of
any museum, to foster active inquiry-based
learning – learning from objects rather
than simply learning about them. Activities
based on objects: artefacts, works of art,
scientific specimens, documents etc allow
the learner to explore the many stories and
interpretations that they offer.
Free choice and motivation
Museums also provide a free-choice
learning experience, so motivation is key in
effective learning; experiences should be
stimulating, enjoyable, relevant and
appropriate for the visitor. Interdisciplinary
approaches are more likely to access the
prior |
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| Personal |
Social/cultural |
Physical |
| self-motivating, emotionally satisfying, personally rewarding |
knowledge is shared within communities |
learning is situated |
| meaningful, choice and control, appropriate level |
learning is distributed meaning-making |
all learning is influenced by awareness of place |
| learning is not just cognitive |
narrative is powerful |
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| new learning builds upon existing
needs context / framework |
Table 2.3 Contexts applicable to museum learning (after Falk and Dierking 2000)
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knowledge sees it as absolute, as revealed truth. The
contrasting epistemological view regards
knowledge as the creation of the human
mind and therefore transitory (Kuhn’s
‘current paradigm’). Similarly, theories of
learning show a simple dichotomy
between, on the one hand, the view that
learning is simply added to a passive
tabula rasa (clean slate or empty vessel)
and, on the other, the view that new
learning is actively assimilated into
existing structures by the learner. These
contradictory perspectives therefore offer
conflicting views of the status of the
knowledge held by the museum, and
competing ways for learners to engage
with that knowledge.
Hein’s analysis offers a distinction between
the two types of constructivism –
knowledge and learning – to produce four
domains (see Fig 2.1). Examples can be
cited of museum exhibitions, both real and
virtual, where these domains are in
evidence, whether by deliberate intent or
by chance. For example, analysing the
website of the Natural History Museum
through Hein’s model enables
identification of clear representations of
each of these types, including the behaviourist
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knowledge necessary for new
learning to become established as new
links are created and new understandings
constructed. Intellectual progression
should be provided within particular
programmes and within the museum context as a whole, such that visitors are
challenged, stimulated and can develop.
Within a theory of learning in which the
learner is viewed as actively constructing
knowledge, the social, personal and
cultural context of learning becomes
increasingly significant, as Falk and
Dierking’s (2002) analysis (Table 2.3)
summarises.
To facilitate the richness of the experience,
the task for museums is to create a
context for the learner, to structure and
coordinate a range of meaningful choices,
through appropriate orientation,
signposting and navigation in order to
provide the essential elements of museum
learning: access to knowledge, enjoyment,
awe and wonder – a cultural and social
context in which to appreciate the value
of the real and unique (Resource 2001).
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