The science museum field has made tremendous advances in understanding museum learning, but little has been done to consolidate and synethesize these findings to encourage widespread improvements in practice. By clearly presenting the most current knowledge of museum learning, In Principle, In Practice aims to promote effective programs and exhibitions, identify promising approaches for future research, and develop strategies for implementing and sustaining connections between research and practice in the museum community.
Despite originally being almost exclusively focused on the school context, the National Science Education Standards (NSES) emerged as an amazingly relevant document for the informal context as well. All four of the Standards—Teaching Standards, Content and Inquiry Standards, Professional Development Standards and Assessment Standards—can, should, and as the chapters in this volume clearly attest, have been adapted for use in and by informal education institutions. The importance of debate and discussion, collaborative and shared responsibility for learning and data-based inquiries, and an
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Institute for Learning InnovationJohn H Falk
This landmark publication identifies strategies for determining the extent and content of museum learning and the visitor experience. Takes into account prior knowledge and experience; subsequent, reinforcing experiences; motivation and attitudes; culture and background; social mediation; design and representation; and the physical setting. Includes possible measurement techniques for the museum context, and recommendations for future research in museum training.
This seminal book describes the nature and extent of science learning in America with particular attention to the innumerable sources of science education existing outside the formal education system.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Institute for Learning InnovationJohn H Falk
John Falk and Lynn Dierking tackle the challenge of helping museums become better at the learning process for visitors. As they put it, "[d]igital media, well designed and wisely used, are important tools that can enhance visitor interaction and learning in museums, ensuring that these environments inspire and provoke curiosity and further understanding among visitors with varying backgrounds, interests, and knowledge levels."
From the Proceedings of the 1992 Annual Visitor Studies Conference. Reviews a study, conducted as part of a formative evaluation of an HIV/AIDS exhibit developed by the New York Hall of Science, which was designed to investigate two issues: 1) What is the current state of youth awareness of the mechanisms by which condoms help prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; and 2) Which of two exhibit designs most efficiently communicates concepts related to HIV sexual transmission prevention. A copy of the survey used in the study is included in the appendix of this report.
From the proceedings of the 1991 Annual Visitor Studies Conference. The Interactive Experience Model is a visitor-centered perspective suggests that all experience and subsequent learning is contextual. Experience is dictated by the personal, physical, and social contexts.
In this report, noted scholar James Paul Gee discusses the evolution of digital media and learning (DMAL) from its infancy as an ""academic area"" into a more organized field or coherent discipline. Distinguishing among academic areas, fields, disciplinary specializations, and thematic disciplines, Gee describes other academic areas that have fallen into these categories or developed into established disciplines. He argues that DMAL will not evolve until a real coherence develops through collaboration and the accumulation of shared knowledge. Gee offers a concrete proposal of one way scholars
Throughout the spring, the CSM and The Media Consortium (TMC) drew together dozens of leading public interest media makers, funders and researchers in Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Boston for a series of Impact Summits. These convenings—which asked attendees to describe how they measure reach, relevance, engagement, inclusion and influence in their work—informed a new analysis co-published by CSM and TMC: Investing In Impact: Media Summits Reveal Pressing Needs, Tools for Evaluating Public Interest Media. In Investing in Impact, we outline the major
An important outcome for the CAISE Media Convening was to identify and prioritize critical issues faced by ISE media producers, and then develop a set of shared objectives around which we could collectively begin to organize ourselves. Participants clearly identified needs such as wanting to learn more about each other's projects, building a better evidence base to articulate the impacts and value of ISE media, and the need to bring more young professionals into the community. Some suggested we should think more deeply about audiences and experiment with engagement strategies. Others strongly
Researchers from the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS), Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center and two other centers recently published LOST Learning Opportunities: Learning about Out-of-School Time. The book, published by Springer, addresses conceptual, methodological, and empirical issues related to studying learning in everyday and afterschool settings. Primarily written for researchers, LOST Learning Opportunities includes chapters on what math looks like in everyday family settings, how science is positioned in afterschool, how children's learning and