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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Hello Alisa,

I noticed your posting and I thought I would throw in a few comments 
that you might not otherwise hear. I can't really respond to your 
specific questions, but felt a need to speak to some points suggested in 
your note.

Firstly, I think, in the 'informal' world the visitor is the primary 
educator. We can provide tools for learning, props, but it is the 
visitors that learn. This is so often missed in the rhetoric we now use. 
As soon we move toward facilitation - whether it be in a program or a 
workshop, we step toward the world of 'formal' education, though mostly, 
because there is no formal organization, it is still considered 
'informal.' Even when an 'explainer' follows a scripted answer, rather 
than engaging in a true conversation with a visitors, the world of 
'informal' is left behind. We should also remember that it is in the 
very nature of 'informal education' that most of what visitors 'learn' 
is completely unknowable, untestable, un-surveyable. This is partly the 
allure to visitors for these kinds of places, the surprise of discovery, 
the unexpected thing that will strike a spark. That can't be scripted. 
Sometimes it is a simple little thing like the poetry of Pi or as 
profound as one's self, in subtle ways, that cannot be articulated.

There has been a movement in recent years to bring these museums more 
and more in line with state education guidelines, or to show in some way 
how they help reach certain education goals. Unfortunately, this 
movement largely quashes out the joy of discovery and the hope for 
surprise that so many visitors unknowingly come to museums to find. 
Making museums outcome based, making them feel more like an extension of 
formal learning is, in my opinion, the surest way to insure their 
eventual failure.

Luckily, despite all our efforts to 'teach,' visitors continually find 
ways to 'learn' unintended things all on their own. They experiment and 
explore, they use an exhibit 'wrong' and make magical discoveries that 
no one could anticipate. It is this basic curiosity that most of us 
still have alive in us, that keep museums going.

Good luck in your survey

Joe Ruggiero




Alisa Y Reynolds wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> I am an education/ museum studies student studying informal learning vs
> formal environments. Currently, I am examining the role of the educator
> in shaping the learning experience. I was hoping to find about a dozen or
> so Museum Directors/Educators who would be willing to answer a couple of
> questions for me. Here they go:
> 
> 1) What is the mission statement of your institution and what is your
> main audience?
> 2) How do you see your institution addressing that mission?
> 3) In what ways do you see your institution providing those types of
> experiences?
> 4) How does your institution address or recognize state or national
> educational standards?
> 5) In what ways does your program address the needs of your local school
> districts or it's educators?
> 
> As an educator:
> 6) What is the purpose of education?
> 7) How do you believe children learn?
> 
> Thank you in advance for your replies.
> 
> Alisa Reynolds
> [log in to unmask]
> Grad. student - Prescott College
> 
> 

-- 
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