Over the past few years, my home state of Florida has endured major upheavals to the public education system. Issues such as funding charter schools, redesigning standardized testing, and improving teacher evaluations are continually being debated. Reading about these reform efforts has made me reflect on the role public institutions like museums play in our education.
Some of my classes have discussed what is known as the Museum School model. The main theory behind this model is that students learn best through hands-on experience. Museum schools allow students to explore topics in ways that traditional schools are unable to provide, due to their partnerships with museums and other research institutions. Museum school curriculums are project-based, and allow students to create their own exhibits to share what they've learned.
With schools across the country cutting back on field trips in an effort to save money, the Museum School model is especially interesting to me. I was thinking about comparing traditional and Museum School curriculums as a basis for my thesis. I want to do more research about the benefits of experiential learning, and maybe I'll find a way to narrow down my topic to a specific research question.
This is a great topic and I think you have a lot of options for research questions here. If you were looking to do something more project-based, it might be interesting to develop a sample Museum School curriculum tailored specifically to Florida students (such as Florida state history, etc).
ReplyDeleteYour ideas remind me a lot of the Margret Woodbury-Strong pre-K program at the Strong Museum. The program functions along the same lines you've presented here, although the target audience is much younger. Maybe it could be a resource as you look more into this untraditional learning method.
ReplyDeleteThe challenges faced by the educational systems in your home state remind me of those faced where I live. In these times, it may be significant to reexamine how informal learning can compliment formal learning. How objects specifically affect the learning experience may be of interest.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, there are already some great suggestions above, including a local example at Strong noted by Kayla. Let me add that it might be interesting to think about museum-school partnerships, too. These are less tethered to the museum yet allow for seamless integration of informal learning to multiple audiences from multiple schools. Delighted to see where your continued exploration leads!
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