2005 ala conference june 25, 20051 natural history as narrative: using museum exhibitions and...
TRANSCRIPT
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 1
Natural History as Narrative: Using Museum Exhibitions and
Artifacts to Teach History
Elizabeth C. Babcock, Ph.D.Director of Teacher and Student Programs
Education [email protected]
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 2
Objectives
Explain why museums can be exceptional learning environments for elementary and secondary history students and their teachers
Describe The Field Museum’s object-based approach to professional development for educators
Explore how The Field Museum’s focused field trip framework, professional development initiatives, and primary sources have improved teachers’ ability to teach history (and other subject areas)
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 3
Reflections of an anthropologist on museum-based education
© The Field Museum, GN89574_13Ac
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 4
© The Field Museum, GN90488_020d
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 5
Reflections of an anthropologist on museum-based education
© The Field Museum, GN89576_12Ac
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 6
Museums as exceptional learning environments
© T
he Field M
useum, G
N90507_67d
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 7
Museums are one type of informal learning environments
ILEs allow and promote enculturation of visitors into social practices pertinent to that context (e.g. how to experience a museum)
ILEs tend to use primary source objects as teaching tools, rather than text
Participation connects learner with a particular identity (girl scout, museum-goer, nature-lover)
ILEs tend to promote self-directed learning--Paris and Hapgood,
2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 8
Museums are particularly effective informal learning environments
Museums are “powerful learning institutions” because “they afford unprecedented opportunities to explore, observe and sense a fairly limited set of contextually relevant, highly structured, concrete experiences; all within a socially and physically novel, but safe environment.”
--Falk, 2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 9
Museum-based learning is constructivist learningIf…
Learning is essentially meaning-making;Meaning making is a social activity; andThe museum experience is primarily a social activity;
Then…The museum experience is essentially about meaning-making, and museums are especially powerful tools for learning.
--Vygotsky 1978; Hein 1998; Rowe 2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 10
Museum learning is context-dependent
Museum-based learning emerges from the interaction of these three contexts through time:
Personal: motivation & expectations, interest, prior knowledge & experience, choice and control
Sociocultural: within- group sociocultural mediation, facilitated mediations by others
Physical: advance preparation, setting, design, subsequent reinforcing events and experiences
Personal
Physical
Sociocultural
Time
--Lynn Dierking (with Falk), 2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 11
Museums represent an exceptional learning environment for inquiry-based learning
Real world questions or problems Collaborative problem solving Multiple ways to demonstrate competence, often
through culminating project or artifact creation Requires scaffolding, or a learning framework provided
by the teacher that encourages strategic thinking Choice over learning topics Multimodal and multimedia information Pertinent technologies
--Paris and Hapgood 2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 12
Constructivist and object-based learning theories have infused exhibition design
Object based epistemology (late 19th-early 20th c.) Arrangement is the interpretation Assumes interpretation is universal and obvious Arrangement reveals natural order Focus is description and classification Focus is on the object
Object based discourse (20th c. to present) Focus is interpretation and explanation Focus is on the relationship between object and visitor Mediating conflicting voices (curator, designer, educator, visitor)
--Evans, Mull, Poling, 2002
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 13
Professional development at The Field Museum
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 14
Not all field trips are meaningful learning experiences
• Research shows that the average length of time spent by a student at any one exhibit case is just over a minute
• The vast majority of teachers enter museums with an inadequate or no learning plan for the experience
• Teachers often feel ill-equipped to teach their students while in museums, preferring instead to rely on museum “experts”
• The reality is that limited museum budgets preclude assigning a staff person or volunteer to most school groups
• In 2004, 10% of Field Museum field trip groups received direct education-related services with a museum educator, up from 6.8% in 2002. Still, this is a minority of groups.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 15
The solution is to train teachers to create focused field trips that link to classroom instruction
• Museum-based professional development is essential to achieving this goal.
• Workshops, in-services, educator guides, Harris Loan materials are the resources we use to train teachers.
• The focused field trip framework is the foundation of The Field Museum’s professional development instruction.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 16
The Field Museum provides a range of professional development options for teachers Harris Educational Loan Center
Teacher Workshops
Customized In-Services
Free Educator Guides to our exhibitions
Strategic Partnerships
IIT Math and Science Masters Education Program
Museums and Public Schools
Field Ambassadors and Core Partners Program
Museum Science Partners
Cultural Connections
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 17
The Harris Loan Center provides free materials for use at schools Items are primary sources
Free in-services on how to register and use the program
Over 1000 items for loan including experience boxes, exhibit cases, audiovisual materials, and children’s books
In 2004, 178,670 teachers and students were served and 3500 items were borrowed
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 18
Harris Loan examples: Dinos and Their Times
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 19
Harris Loan examples: Cover Your Head
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 20
Harris Loan examples: Southwest Archaeology
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 21
Teacher workshop and in-service examplesUsing Primary Sources in the Classroom
Creation Stories from Around the World
Biodiversity in the Classroom
Destination: Reading
Math In-service: How to use the botany hall to teach the Fibonacci sequence
Art In-service: How to use the Northwest Coast Hall to teach primary colors, shapes, symmetry, etc.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 22
Examples of educator guides and on-line resourcesIsland Biodiversity: An Educator Guide to Traveling the Pacific
Educator Guide to Machu Picchu
Educator Guide to What is an Animal?
Educator Guide to Underground Adventure
Expeditions@thefield
On-line exhibitions
Sue the T.rex website
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 23
Exploring the focused field trip framework
© The Field Museum, GN90551_16D
© T
he Field M
useum, G
N87329_6c
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 24
The focused field trip framework facilitates inquiry-based learning using primary sources
Prescriptive model, (not simply a list of activity ideas,) for structuring a field trip unit that includes a pre-, during, and post-field trip component
Provides in-depth guidance for structuring different modes of interaction with “objects behind glass” as well as interactive museum exhibitions
Allows for multiple learning styles (Gardner 1983) and group sizes
Allows for increasing levels of complexity in learning-analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Bloom 1956)
Transferable to any museum setting or informal learning environment
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 25
The focused field trip includes a pre-, during, and post-visit experience
Pre-visit
Post-visit
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 26
Pre-, during, post-field trip activities create a complete learning experience
© The Field Museum, GN90551_16D
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 27
Pre-, during, post-field trip activities create a complete learning experience
© T
he Field M
useum, G
N87329_6c
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 28
The focused field trip framework outlines nine modes of interaction with primary sources
Sample activityMode of interaction
Descriptive verbs
Recommended group size
Scavenger hunt
Search and find
Identify, locate Individual, pair
Scrapbook, photo, picture
Recreate the object
Sketch, draw, sculpt, photograph
Individual
Pair, groupEssay, poem, word drawing, class debate
Describe Write, discuss
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 29
The focused field trip framework cont’d.
Venn diagram, chart, graph
Compare and contrast
Individual, pair
Concept map, experience chart, create a collection
Categorize Match, label, differentiate, group
Individual, pair, group
Individual, pairProblem-based worksheet; hands-on experiment
Hypothesize Test, collect evidence, predict, generalize
Sample activityMode of interaction
Descriptive verbs
Recommended group size
Compare, contrast
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 30
The focused field trip framework cont’d.
Sample activityMode of interaction
Descriptive verbs
Recommended group size
Individual, pairFill-in-the-blank worksheet, note cards
Observe and record
Fact-find, take notes, research
Role play, drama, creative writing, create your own exhibit
Create a narrative
Tell a story Individual, pair, group
Individual, pair, group
Flow charts, sequence charts, logic games
Construct an argument
Reason, collect
evidence, sequence
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 31
A Case Study: Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples Hall Hall contains hundreds of artifacts from Northwest Coast and Inupiat communities, collected at the turn of the century.
Unique cross-cultural teaching resource because the same curatorial framework is applied to two culture areas which are displayed side by side
Setting for a number of professional development workshops on nature/culture interactions and a regular workshop offered each year called Using Primary Sources
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 32
A Case Study: Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples Hall
© The Field Museum, A109291c
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 33
A Case Study: Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples Hall
© T
h e F
i el d
Mus
eum
, A10
876 7
c
© The Field Museum, A109805c
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 34
A Case Study: Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples Hall
Themes typically addressed with teachers while using this exhibition:
How primary sources are not just documents, but objects
How to “read” objects for insights into nature, culture
NAGPRA
Roles and responsibilities of museums in cultural representation, conservation and collection
Interrelatedness of culture/nature
How to teach cross-cultural themes and create a sensitive framework for cultural comparison
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 35
Focusing a field trip in the Northwest Coast/Arctic Peoples Hall Teachers are given an overview of basic cultural information about the two groups represented.
Teachers are taught how to use objects to spark inquiry
They are introduced to the focused field trip framework.
They are provided with examples of how to use the framework and are given an opportunity to practice in small groups and report back.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 36
Sample field trip activities for the NW Coast Hall, mapped to the framework
Search and Find
The raven exists on many artifacts in the Northwest Coast Hall and is an important icon in Native American art. See how many ravens you can find in drawings and carvings on everyday objects and tools, as well as portrayed on costumes and masks.
Recreate the Object
Sketch your own Raven, Wolf, or Bear mask, using those you see in the exhibition as inspiration.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 37
Sample field trip activities for the NW Coast Hall, mapped to the framework
Hypothesize
Based on your examination of the materials used to make the objects in the exhibition, and the plants and animals represented in them, write a description and/or draw a picture of what the ecosystem in that area must be like. Then look for evidence supporting or refuting your hypothesis in some of the films and photographs in the exhibition.
Create a narrative
Now that you have studied some creation myths and looked at material objects depicting different Northwest Coast legends, see if you can write your own creation myth for the Northwest Coast people that uses some of the same symbolism and key characters.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 38
Object-based learning at the Museum can be extended with the Harris Loan program
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 39
Harris Educational Loan Program, cont’d.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 40
Observations
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 41
Teachers are not necessarily familiar with the concept of primary sources and how to use them
While it may be common sense to librarians and anthropologists that objects are imbued with meaning and “tell stories,” this is a new idea to some teachers.
While it may be common sense to exhibit designers that exhibits tell stories with objects, this is also a new idea to some teachers.
Real artifacts and specimens represent an essential teaching resource that can be effectively combined, but not replaced, by digital media.
2005 ALA Conference June 25, 2005 42
An “anthropological approach” to teacher education has been helpful in…
Identifying teacher and student needs
Modeling human behavior to create the focused field trip framework
Incorporating anthropological concepts into new education materials and teacher training
Educating teachers about ethical responsibilities re. representation of “the other”
Explaining the cultural diversity with the theme of “Common Concerns, Different Reponses”