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Colleagues,

I am by no means an academic on this subject, so I have hesitated 
putting my foot in my mouth during the last week or two of this 
discussion. However, let me open wide and proceed.

I've read a lot about the goals of the exhibit, the museum, the 
designer, the educator or the funder through this thread, but no much 
about the goals of the visitor. Do they fit in anywhere?

Certainly I have seen an exhibit 'improve' with the input of, and 
participation by the visitor. And I'm not talking about having them 
participate in 'formative evaluation.' What I mean is that, they have 
used an exhibit in an unintended way, to investigate their own interests 
or achieve their own goals, not necessarily those of the exhibit 
designer, educator or museum. It seems there is some value in that as 
well, which might be different than the original intention of the 
exhibit, but no less important.



Joe R.



On 10/31/2011 11:23 AM, Terri McNichol wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
>
> Dear Barbara,
>
> I don't think the current discussion is a matter of disparaging the evaluation field but one of expanding on its value as a learning tool. There is a fascinating article today in the New York Times about the well-known neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga famous for split brain theory. His new book challenges what we thought we knew about brain in that there is an unity between the so-called ‘intelligent’ hemisphere and the ‘irrational’ hemisphere as well as other parts of the brain. After countless experiements and asking what he calls "the simple question" he conceded that after 25 years, he has re-set his question to acknowledge emergent properties of the brain. For example, “Like generosity and pettiness, like love and suspiciousness, responsibility is what he calls a “strongly emergent” property — a property that, though derived from biological mechanisms, is fundamentally distinct and obeys different laws, as do ice and water. ..‘I see Gazzaniga’s poi
nt, and it would indeed be easiest if we could ignore conclusions derived from brain science and psychology when it comes to legal issues,” said Ap Dijksterhuis, a psychologist at Radboud University Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, in an e-mail. However, I do not think we can do this forever, and at some point, some key legal concepts such as accountability or responsibility will have to be redefined.’ Until then, Dr. Gazzaniga’s advice is to look for them where they’ve always been: in the hearts and moral intuitions of human beings, in their laws and customs. And, it should be said, in their stories.”
>
> Your dissertation sounds fascinating and I would be very interested in reading it.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/science/telling-the-story-of-the-brains-cacophony-of-competing-voices.html?_r=1&hpw
> Terri McNichol MA
> Independent Scholar
> Ren Associates imaginement™
> Adjunct Faculty
> Mercer County Community College
> Telephone +1.609.371.5354
> Cell +1.609.638.5878
> http://imaginement.wordpress.com/
>
> Just released: a companion online Learning Guide to The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook specifically for educators, leaders and managers.
>
> "The Art Museum as Laboratory for Re-Imagining a Sustainable Future"is included as chapter in Part III: APPRECIATIVE INTELLIGENCE PERSPECTIVES. Advances in Appreciative Inquiry- Positive Design and Appreciative Construction: From Sustainable Development to Sustainable Value v.3. Thatchenkery,T., Cooperrider, D.&  Avital, M. (Volume Eds). Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. 2010.
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Joe R
www.TheExhibitGuys.com

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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

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