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Crafting Museum Experiences in Light of Research on Learning: Implications of the National Research Council’s Report on Informal Science Education
Author(s) -
Shouse Andrew,
Lewenstein Bruce V.,
Feder Michael,
Bell Philip
Publication year - 2010
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.2151-6952.2010.00015.x
Subject(s) - informal learning , diversity (politics) , learning sciences , resource (disambiguation) , research council , museum education , sociology , pedagogy , engineering ethics , experiential learning , engineering , computer science , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics) , anthropology
In this article, the editors of the recent National Research Council report Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits discuss the report’s implications for museum professionals. The report is a synthesis of some 2,000 studies and evaluations of learning in non‐school settings such as museums. Here we focus on three specific topics discussed in the full report, which we see as particularly important for museum professionals. These are: a framework for developing and studying science learning experiences; cultural diversity as an integral resource for learning; and assessment of learning. Many museums include “learning” among their goals and many researchers concern themselves with how museums and other settings can be organized to support learning. Yet this wealth of research is rarely brought into focus and offered as guidance to the museum community.