University of New Brunswick
(Fredericton)
Did you know that there are more than 1,500 museums in
Canada? Museums encompass many
disciplines of study, including history, science, nature, and the arts. Their collections range from tangible objects
to intangible ideas, and their methods of presentation range from static
displays to participatory environments.
From a pedagogical point of view, museums present rich
learning environments, where constructed narratives are communicated through
the use of sight, sound, touch, smell, and emotion. Within such narrative constructs, as
Trofanenko and Segall (2014) have pointed out, pedagogy is often positioned “to
assume particular assumptions, perspectives, and views about the world and its
people” (p. 1). In this sense, while
museums can provide powerful sites for learning, they can also be exclusionary
and restrictive.
As teaching tools, museums also present their own
distinct challenges. This is because what
constitutes learning in a museum involves multiple sensory experiences, personal
interaction, and extended learning outcomes that change over time. For this reason, learning in a museum is seldom
immediately apparent or easily assessed (Wertsch, 2002, p. 114; see also Falk
& Dierking, 2000; Kelly, 2011; Wallace-Casey, 2013). Falk and Dierking’s (2013) Contextual Model of Learning, identifies
four broad contexts for analyzing learning in a museum setting: personal,
sociocultural, physical, and temporal. Such
a model also acknowledges (regardless of age or subject discipline) that
“Learning begins with the individual. Learning involves others. Learning takes
place somewhere” (Falk & Dierking, 2002, p. 36), and learning continues
over time (Falk & Dierking, 2013). This model, while reminiscent of constructivist
pedagogy, recognises the complex nature of learning in a museum, and calls for
more robust measures for assessment that extend beyond mere appropriation of a
desired narrative claim.
