Karen Knutson

Kevin Crowley

Gaea Leinhardt

What do people learn from visiting museums and how do they learn it? The editors approach this question by focusing on conversations as both the process and the outcome of museum learning. People do not come to museums to talk, but they often do talk. This talk can drift from discussions of managing the visit, to remembrances of family members and friends not present, to close analyses of particular objects or displays. This volume explores how these conversations reflect and change a visitor's identity, discipline-specific knowledge, and engagement with an informal learning environment that has been purposefully constructed by an almost invisible community of designers, planners, and educators. Fitting nicely into a small but rapidly expanding market, this book presents: *one of the first theoretically grounded set of studies on museum learning; *an explicit presentation of innovative and rich methodologies on learning in museums; *information on a variety of museums and subject matter; *a study on exhibitions, ranging from art to science content; *authors from the museum and the academic world; *a range of methods--from the analysis of diaries written to record museum visits, to studies of preservice teachers using pre- and post-museum visit tests; *an examination of visitors ranging from age 4-75 years of age, and from known and unknown sample populations; and *a lens that examines museum visits in a fine grained (1 second) or big picture (week, year long) way.

Learning Conversations in Museums

The main plot of "Th e App le of Love" is based on a true story: During the Great Depression Harry and Emily had a fi ve year love affair as young adults that reignites sixty years later when Harry's wife is in a nursing home. The drama unfolds through the eyes of an old man, his convalescent wife and their daughter, Marie. Marie uses her perception of what her parents experienced, her understanding of what they told her and her wild imagination to tell the story.

The Apple of Love

Takeshi Okada

This book explores learning in the arts and highlights ways in which art and creativity can ignite learning in schools, informal learning spaces, and higher education. The focus is on learning in, with, and through the arts. Written from a range of international perspectives, Multidisciplinary Approaches to Art Learning and Creativity draws upon the fields of cognitive science, art education, technology and digital arts; the learning sciences; and museum studies to explore the theoretical underpinnings of artistic creativity and inspiration, and provide empirical explorations of mechanisms that support learning in the arts. Critical factors that help to facilitate the creative process are considered, and chapters highlight connections between research and practice in art learning. This volume offers a rich variety of positions and projects which underpin creativity in schools, museums, and other venues. An illustrative text for researchers and educators in the arts, Multidisciplinary Approaches to Art Learning and Creativity demonstrates how artistic ways of thinking and working with artists empower art learners and support their needs and opportunities across the lifespan.

Karen Knutson

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