Abstract
In this chapter we explore the question of what families learn about art during visits to an art museum. Museums are informal learning environments that can be designed to provide experiences that reflect disciplinary thinking and support explanatory engagement (National Academy of Sciences, 2009, Learning science in informal environments: Places, people, and pursuits. Washington, DC: National Academies Press). Conversation is a natural part of a museum visit, and researchers have discovered that analyzing these conversations provides access to the processes of learning that take place in informal settings. Studying conversations allows researchers to explore the ways in which prior knowledge, motivation, and the specifics of a particular moment create a context in which a learning experience transpires. Science museums in particular have looked closely at the ways in which mediation helps to shape more fruitful learning experiences, and they have designed environments to support the learning of particular concepts or learning behaviors (Borun et al., 1998, Family learning in museums: The PISEC perspective. Philadelphia: The Franklin Institute; Humphrey, Gutwill et al., 2005, Fostering active prolonged engagement: The art of creating APE exhibits. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press).
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Notes
- 1.
Callaghan (1997) found that it is uncommon for average adult art viewers to refer to either the artist or the viewer when asked to justify a classification of an artwork. Most focused on the qualities of marks made (50%), one-third focused on the subject matter and only 2% made an explicit reference to artist or viewer. This suggests that visitors need more help to think about the intention and the interpretive process.
- 2.
Although most families use the family room as a learning environment, some use it as a playground. The reality is that children sometimes need to take a break from the museum to blow off steam and touch something without getting yelled at by guards. And parents sometimes need a break too. There are always a few who sit off to the side, talk on their cell phones, chat with each other, or glance through pamphlets while their children bounce from activity to activity. It is important for museums to provide this kind of place for families, and these activities serve the outcomes of making the day a pleasant outing, of valuing families’ needs, and even perhaps ensuring, with fun, that children might become lifelong users of museums. However, these goals do not advance the museum’s art-specific learning objectives.
- 3.
The family room has a lot of advantages as a learning environment, but as a separate space that is not filled with authentic art objects, it will always be encumbered with the transfer problem. Perhaps new technologies (such as PDAs or cell phones) will make it possible to do more “just-in-time” mediation directly on the gallery floors when families are standing in front of the objects.
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Knutson, K., Crowley, K. (2010). Connecting with Art: How Families Talk About Art in a Museum Setting. In: Stein, M., Kucan, L. (eds) Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0594-9_12
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