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T he Effect of Visitors ‘ Agendas on Museum Learning
Author(s) -
FALK JOHN H.,
MOUSSOURI THEANO,
COULSON DOUGLAS
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
curator: the museum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2151-6952
pISSN - 0011-3069
DOI - 10.1111/j.2151-6952.1998.tb00822.x
Subject(s) - visitor pattern , exhibition , meaning (existential) , entertainment , informal learning , natural (archaeology) , sociology , test (biology) , psychology , visual arts , public relations , pedagogy , history , political science , art , computer science , archaeology , ecology , biology , psychotherapist , programming language
It has been argued that visitors' pre‐visit “agendas” directly influence visits. This study attempted to directly test the effects of different museum visit agendas on visitor learning. Two new tools were developed for this purpose: (1) a tool for measuring visitor agendas; and (2) a tool for measuring visitor learning (Personal Meaning Mapping). Visitor agenda was defined as having two dimensions: motivations and strategies. Personal Meaning Mapping is a constructivist approach that measures change in understanding along four semi‐independent dimensions: extent, breadth, depth, and mastery. The study looked at 40 randomly‐selected adults who were visiting the National Museum of Natural History's Geology, Gems and Minerals exhibition. Visitor agendas did significantly impact how, what, and how much individuals learned. Results are discussed in terms of the current debate about education vs. entertainment.