My first post on this topic promised to examine some of the reasons for museum education’s over-identification with formal education. A number of folks have offered thoughtful comments, both on this blog site and on various museum educator groups on LinkedIn. I took away three sets of ideas from these comments. · Some writers feel…
The Summer 2012 issue of the Journal of Museum Education contains a variety of interesting articles that assess recent practice in museum education and explore potential directions for the field. This in a context that is both worrying and exciting: an uncertain economy; a shifting cultural landscape; debates about museum authority; the explosion of digital…
Last week I participated in a Twitter chat on what kind of social media training and skills new and emerging museum professional should have. I was especially interested because during our recent teaching stint in India my co-teacher and I had for the first time worked a number of social media requirements and activities into…
My recent silence on this page has been due in large part to my travels and teaching in India during the month of July, and the attendant follow-up. As with my past visits in 2009 and 2011, the experience was exhilarating, and as much a time for learning as for teaching. A short video gives the…
In my last post I published the comments of five students on their motivations for entering the museum profession. I’m in Kolkata, India, teaching “Science Learning in Non Formal Settings” with my colleague Karen Lee as part of the MS in Science Communication program run by the National Council of Science Museums. This post features…
I’m in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, teaching a course on Science Learning in Non Formal Settings with my colleague Karen Lee. This course is part of the MS in Science Communication program created by the National Council of Science Museums, a consortium of over 20 science museums throughout India. About half the class consists of current staff…
Recent posts on Museum Commons have addressed issues of museum empathy and the use of social media to include the visitor voice. In this connection the Education Department of the Levine Museum of the New South contacted me about a new summer program that is using social media to connect more closely with the…
Karen Lee and I with our 2011 students after a prototyping session at Science City, Kolkata Teaching and learning in India Toward the end of June I’ll be traveling to India with Karen Lee, a former colleague who continues to work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Since 2009 Karen and I have…
(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) –e. e. cummings Recently I have been attending an Episcopal church where there are both men and women priests. This is a new experience for one who has spent a lifetime in a church that is inclusive in many…
Silence in My Twitterverse The other morning I was enjoying a cup of coffee and scanning through tweets. I had just finished reading an article about President Obama stating that if he had had a son, he would look like Trayvon. While I was zipping through Twitter, I was listening to commentary about the case…