Evaluating Early Learning in Museums

Evaluating Early Learning in Museums PDF

Author: Nicole Cromartie

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-04-01

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1000376710

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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.

Early Learning

Early Learning PDF

Author: Sharon E Shaffer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-29

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1315429969

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Sponsored by the Museum Education Roundtable

Object Lessons and Early Learning

Object Lessons and Early Learning PDF

Author: Sharon E. Shaffer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-07-11

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1351332902

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The twenty-first century is a time of change for early learning in museums, due in part to society's evolving view of childhood, from an age of innocence to understanding the robust learning that defines the first years of life. This perspective is a catalyst for international conversation and continues to raise attention and interest across society. Object Lessons and Early Learning leverages what is known about the cognitive development of young children to examine the power of learning through objects in museum and heritage settings. Exploring the history and modern day practice of object-based learning, Shaffer outlines the rationale for endorsing this approach in both formal and informal learning spaces. She argues that museums, as collecting institutions, are learning spaces uniquely positioned to allow children to make meaning about their world through personal connections to cultural artifacts, natural specimens, and works of art. A range of descriptive object lessons, inspired by objects in museums as well as from the everyday world, are presented throughout the text as examples of ways in which children can be encouraged to engage with museum collections. Object Lessons and Early Learning offers insights into strategies for engaging young children as learners in museum settings and in their everyday world, and, as such, will be essential reading for museum professionals, classroom educators, and students. It should also be of great interest to academics and researchers engaged in the study of museums and education.

Welcoming Young Children into the Museum

Welcoming Young Children into the Museum PDF

Author: Sarah Erdman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-29

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1000482391

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Welcoming Young Children into the Museum provides all of the information practitioners need to consider when making the decision to engage with this audience and their carers. Meeting the reader where they are, this guide enables professionals to work toward outcomes that fit with their needs. Working methodically from the initial stages of bringing staff on board, through to implementation and evaluation, readers are carefully steered through each phase. "Big-picture" needs, like adherence to mission, are considered alongside logistical components, like cleaning schedules, to ensure that museums cater to young children in a way that is beneficial to both the visitors and the institution. Drawing on current neurological research and best practices in early childhood education and development, this guide presents case studies from a variety of different institutions around the world that demonstrate that creating interesting, developmentally appropriate opportunities for young children is about much more than just simplifying what is already on offer. Erdman, Nguyen and Middleton demonstrate that the age and needs of the visitors must be taken into careful consideration, as well as the assets and potential obstacles of the institution. Welcoming Young Children into the Museum will be essential reading for professionals working in museums large and small, regardless of type. It will be useful to those who are considering setting up new programmes for early years audiences and those with existing programmes, who would like to improve their offering.

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! PDF

Author: Jack Prelutsky

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Published: 1998-04-20

Total Pages: 57

ISBN-13: 0679890084

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Started by Dr. Seuss, finished by Jack Prelutsky, and illustrated by Lane Smith, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! is a joyous ode to individuality starring unsinkable teacher Miss Bonkers and the quirky Diffendoofer School (which must prove it has taught its students how to think--or have them sent to dreary Flobbertown). Included is an introduction by Dr. Seuss's longtime editor explaining how the book came to be and reproductions of Dr. Seuss's original pencil sketches and hand-printed notes for the book—a true find for all Seuss collectors! Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith pay homage to the Good Doctor in their own distinctive ways, the result of which is the union of three one-of-a-kind voices in a brand-new, completely original book that is greater than the sum of its parts. For all of us who will never forget our school days and that special teacher, here is a book to give and to get.

Engaging Young Children in Museums

Engaging Young Children in Museums PDF

Author: Sharon E Shaffer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-06-16

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 131542956X

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What does a museum do with a kindergartner who walks through the door? The growth of interest in young children learning in museums has joined the national conversation on early childhood education. Written by Sharon Shaffer, the founding Executive Director of the innovative Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, this is the first book for museum professionals as well as students offering guidance on planning programming for young children.This groundbreaking book:-Explains the various ways in which children learn-Shows how to use this knowledge to design effective programs using a variety of teaching models-Includes examples of successful programs, tested activities, and a set of best practices

Perspectives on Object-Centered Learning in Museums

Perspectives on Object-Centered Learning in Museums PDF

Author: Scott G. Paris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-04

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1135645280

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The goal of this book is to cull from the last NSF conference, the "best ideas about how children interact with objects & through that interaction acquire new understandings, attitudes, and feelings."

Practical Evaluation Guide

Practical Evaluation Guide PDF

Author: Judy Diamond

Publisher: Altamira Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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Practical Evaluation Guide provides the necessary tools to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and exhibits in informal educational settings museums, science centers, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and parks."

Creating Meaningful Museum Experiences for K–12 Audiences

Creating Meaningful Museum Experiences for K–12 Audiences PDF

Author: Tara Young

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-10-30

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1538146800

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Creating Meaningful Museum Experiencesfor K–12 Audiences: How to Connect with Teachers and Engage Students is the first book in more than a decade to provide a comprehensive look at best practices in working with this crucial segment of museum visitors. With more than 40 contributors from art, history, science, natural history, and specialty museums across the country, the book asks probing questions about museum-school relationships, suggests new paradigms, and offers creative approaches. Fully up-to-date with current issues relevant to museums’ work with schools, including anti-racist teaching approaches and pivoting to virtual programming during the pandemic, this book is essential for both established and emerging museum educators to ensure they are current on best practices in the field. The book features four parts: Setting the Stage looks at the how museums establish and finance K-12 programs, and how to engage with the youngest audiences. Building Blocks considers the core elements of successful K-12 programming, including mission alignment, educator recruitment and training, working with teacher advisory boards, and anti-racist teaching practices. Questions and New Paradigms presents case studies in which practitioners reconsider established approaches to museums’ work with schools and engage in iterative processes to update and improve them—from evaluating K–12 museum programs to diversifying program content, to prioritizing virtual programming. Solutions and Innovative Models offers examples of programs that have been reimagined for the current landscape of museum-school collaborations, including practicing self-care for teachers and museum educators, investing in extended school relationships over one-time visits, and highlighting the stories of enslaved people who lived at historic sites.

Practical Evaluation Guide

Practical Evaluation Guide PDF

Author: Judy Diamond

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-03-01

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1442263555

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Administrators of museums and other informal-learning centers often need to demonstrate, in some tangible way, the effectiveness of their institutions as teaching tools. Practical Evaluation Guide discusses specific methods for analyzing audience learning and behavior in museums, zoos, botanic gardens, nature centers, camps, and youth programs. Evaluation is essential because it allows you to answer critical questions like: How can one measure the impacts of educational experiences in a museum, zoo, or aquarium? Are digital technologies more effective than traditional exhibits for enhancing visitor interest and understanding? How does one measure learning in these informal environments where visitors themselves decide what they will experience? Since we know many visitors come to informal institutions for social interaction and play, how does one access these social impacts? The Practical Evaluation Guide is an all-in-one resource to guide professionals working in museums and other informal educational institutions. This new edition includes updates throughout and features a brand-new chapter on evaluating digital interactive exhibits. The section on observational tools includes a new section on using video recordings and the section on interviews includes recent studies from countries outside the U.S. Practical Evaluation Guide serves as a basic, easy-to-follow guide for museum professionals and students who want to understand the effects of such public institutions on the people who visit them.