This article examined 19 public university students who were pre-service teachers and their learning experiences of using the museum as a learning tool to teach social studies. They were given seven weeks of museum training, and a pre-museum visit questionnaire and then an activity evaluation form. The experiences provided permanent, hands-on learning experiences for these students. Teachers said they believed that the active learning opportunities afforded by the museum would make for a great learning experience for their students.
This article examined the literature (or lack of it) examining the role of music and sound in the museum experiences of young children. The researchers found that there is a gap in the literature and an opportunity for further research, especially since music is a great way to engage young children.
Based on a two-year study of pre-service teachers who participated in a university-museum partnership, this paper examined how these teachers were able to teach six graders in a hybrid space. Students seemed to benefit from the connections to the curriculum, and the pre-service teachers were able to expand their understanding of literacy.
"School in the Park" is an education program set in San Diego's museums in the Balboa Park area in which low-income students participated. The study found that there were significant short-term effects on students, but no noticeable long-term effects. The positive short-term effects were increased test scores and better behavorial outcomes. At-risk students had the largest gains by being in a non-traditional classroom setting.
The author of this study examined whether interactive opportunities at art museums were actually facilitating learning or distracting students instead. The site of this study was the family room at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The study revealed there were pros and cons for the interactive experiences and scaffolding was needed by other museum exhibits (rather than parents) to improve the eduational experiences.
This article provided an extensive look at the Master of Arts in Teaching program at the American Museum of Natural History. The paper explained how this program was actually an outgrowth of the museum's mission to promote educaton within our democracy.
This article examined how museums and other cultural institutional professionals can mentor preervice history teachers through partnerships with undergraduate institutions. The author argued that these cultural partnerships would provide future teachers with meaningful, relevant learning experiences to share with their students. Further, these partnershps would allow teachers to be part of active learning historical communities, rather than passive distributors of knowledge. Although, teachers and cultural professionals must ultimately answer to different audiences, the potential is there for the two to collaborate and to enhance K-12 education through this partnership.
This study examined three types of digital outreach used by history museums--assemblable exhibit, interactive hands-on exhibit, and an interactive experience. They considered how these types of outreach would work for students in schools that had difficulty accessing the museums in-person. In addition, these methods help advance the museum's mission of educating the diverse array of audiences that the museum serves. Further, it was found that these digital outreach ideas could even extend to other countries and be used there. The article ended with several key points that museum educators should keep in mind when planning a digital outreach initiative.
This article examined actual "knowledge retention" and "perceived presence" among 28 third grade students who were study participants regarding their perceptions of real museums versus virtual ones. The study divided students into two groups. One group only visited the museum virtually and the other one visited in person. The virtual students, when interviewed, retained more information from the museum, and interestingly enough virtual students had just as much a "perceived presence" as those who actually visited in real life.
This article studied 114 teacher candidates at a public university to understand their views on museums as learning environments. They found that these candidates favorably viewed museums for "ensuring permanent learning", "enabling students to learn better by seeing/living" and "providing information about the past" (p. 33). Candidates said reasons students might not benefit from museum experiences is due to financial challenges of getting there and/or behavior. This study was conducted in Turkey.
This study looked at 34 different learning activities used in nine places to teach students about museum artifacts for 36 seventh graders. Study results indicated the students gained a better understanding of historical knowledge, appreciation of the past, and an awareness of remembering and protecting historical artifacts. This study was conducted in Turkey.