International Thinking on Children in Museums

International Thinking on Children in Museums
Author: Sharon E. Shaffer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2020-10-12
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1000200051

International Thinking on Children in Museums introduces current research, theory, and practice about young learners in museums around the world. The book imparts vital knowledge about the nature of childhood and children’s learning that will improve understanding of the very youngest museum-goers. Including contributions from practitioners, scholars, and consultants around the globe, this volume examines museum practices and children’s learning across a range of distinct cultural and geographic locales. The framework of the book is based on research and current thinking in the realm of developmental psychology, sociology, and anthropology, allowing the contributors to examine the evolution of early learning and children’s programs through a sociocultural lens. This broad-based look at international museum practices for children offers a rare view of the field from an important, but oft-neglected perspective: that of society and culture. International Thinking on Children in Museums will broaden understanding of museum practice across cultures and geographic regions and, as such, will be of interest to scholars and students engaged in the study of museum education, museum studies, and early learning. It should also provide a much-needed source of inspiration for museum practitioners working around the world.

Museums, Children and Social Action

Museums, Children and Social Action
Author: Sharon E. Shaffer
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2023-12-15
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1003834000

Museums, Children and Social Action examines the role that museums play in reaching, teaching and inspiring children as global citizens of the world and, looking to the future, argues that the sustainability of museums will come from strengthening relationships with young visitors. Presenting a diverse range of programs, exhibitions and outreach from museums across five continents, Shaffer highlights how museums are already serving children and making a difference in their lives. Arguing that museums have a unique responsibility to connect this audience with relevant social issues and challenges, such as social injustice, racism, climate change and poverty, Shaffer simultaneously acknowledges that a large number of children are still on the margins of the institution and its mission. Recognizing the ways in which museums are currently serving children, the book also considers what museums could and should be doing as they plan for the future, raising critical questions about core values, community partners and social agendas. Museums, Children and Social Action is essential reading for academics and students engaged in the study of museums, social justice and childhood. It encourages museums to make it their mission to educate and serve this audience and their families for the good of children, as well as museums, while also considering what their institutions can do to make a lasting impact on children and their families.

Slow Looking

Slow Looking
Author: Shari Tishman
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2017-10-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1315283794

Slow Looking provides a robust argument for the importance of slow looking in learning environments both general and specialized, formal and informal, and its connection to major concepts in teaching, learning, and knowledge. A museum-originated practice increasingly seen as holding wide educational benefits, slow looking contends that patient, immersive attention to content can produce active cognitive opportunities for meaning-making and critical thinking that may not be possible though high-speed means of information delivery. Addressing the multi-disciplinary applications of this purposeful behavioral practice, this book draws examples from the visual arts, literature, science, and everyday life, using original, real-world scenarios to illustrate the complexities and rewards of slow looking.

Evaluating Early Learning in Museums

Evaluating Early Learning in Museums
Author: Nicole Cromartie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2021-04-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1000376699

Evaluating Early Learning in Museums presents developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant practices for engaging early learners and their families in informal arts settings. Written by early childhood education researchers and a museum practitioner, the book showcases what high-quality educational programs can offer young children and their families through the case study of a program at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Providing strategies for building strong community partnerships and audience relationships, the authors also survey evaluation tools for early learning programs and offer strategies to help museums around the world to engage young children. At the center of this narrative is the seminal partnership that developed between researchers and museum educators during the evaluation of a program for toddlers. Illuminating key components of the partnership and the resulting evolution of family offerings at the museum, the book also draws parallels to current work being done at other museums in international contexts. Evaluating Early Learning in Museums illustrates how an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers and practitioners can improve museum practices. As such, the book will be of interest to researchers and students engaged in the study of museums and early childhood, as well as to practitioners working in museums around the world.

Learning in the Museum

Learning in the Museum
Author: George E. Hein
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2002-09-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 113486048X

Learning in the Museum examines major issues and shows how research in visitor studies and the philosophy of education can be applied to facilitate a meaningful educational experience in museums. Hein combines a brief history of education in public museums, with a rigorous examination of how the educational theories of Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and subsequent theorists relate to learning in the museum. Surveying a wide range of research methods employed in visitor studies is illustrated with examples taken from museums around the world, Hein explores how visitors can best learn from exhibitions which are physically, socially, and intellectually accessible to every single visitor. He shows how museums can adapt to create this kind of environment, to provide what he calls the 'constructivist museum'. Providing essential theoretical analysis for students, this volume also serves as a practical guide for all museum professionals on how to adapt their museums to maximize the educational experience of every visitor.

International Review of History Education

International Review of History Education
Author: Alaric Dickinson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2013-05-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134723105

The third volume in this international review takes "raising standards" as its central theme. Raising standards is no simple matter, either conceptually or empirically, whatever politicians might think. If it is to happen, it must draw on research and practical experience from other countries.

Progressive Museum Practice

Progressive Museum Practice
Author: George E Hein
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2016-06-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1315421844

George E. Hein explores the impact on current museum theory and practice of early 20th-century educational reformer John Dewey’s philosophy, covering philosophies that shaped today’s best practices.

Teaching in the Art Museum

Teaching in the Art Museum
Author: Rika Burnham
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2011
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1606060589

Teaching in the Art Museum investigates the mission, history, theory, practice, and future prospects of museum education. In this book Rika Burnham and Elliott Kai-Kee define and articulate a new approach to gallery teaching, one that offers groups of visitors deep and meaningful experiences of interpreting art works through a process of intense, sustained looking and thoughtfully facilitated dialogue.--[book cover].

Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge

Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge
Author: Eileen Hooper Greenhill
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 243
Release: 1992-01-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1134912692

Museums have been active in shaping knowledge over the last six hundred years. Yet what is their function within today's society? At the present time, when funding is becoming increasingly scarce, difficult questions are being asked about the justification of museums. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge presents a critical survey of major changes in current assumptions about the nature of museums. Through the examination of case studies, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill reveals a variety of different roles for museums in the production and shaping of knowledge. Today, museums are once again organising their spaces and collections to present themselves as environments for experimental and self-directed learning.