In this paper, Tara D. Knott of Evaluation Resources, Inc. discusses the importance of summative evaluation to assess the value of a museum program in addition to setting clear goals. Knott argues that summative evaluation helps museums establish accountability--to business, the government, schools, and to the public.
In this paper, researchers from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee discuss some of the advantages as well as challenges of self-directed learning environments such as museums. The authors discuss the methodology and findings from their study of visitor learning style preference and its effect upon learning in an informal setting. This evaluation took place at the "Rain Forest: Exploring Life on Earth" exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
In this paper, researchers from Michigan State University explore the relationship between media and learning. The authors suggest that integrating research from both formal (educational technology) and informal (museum studies) learning environments may help museum professionals more clearly understand the issues involved and be better prepared to be either competent consumers or designers of media related research.
This paper explains the Interactive Experience Model, which encompasses the actions that the visitor is engaged in during a museum visit. This model is useful for thinking about issues related to museum learning and provides a framework for understanding the totality of the museum experience--a socially, cognitively, kinesthetically, and aesthetically rich experience.
In this paper, evaluator Randi Korn of Randi Korn and Associates discusses the variety of experiences, in addition to learning, that museum visitors encounter during a visit that must be considered and integrated during the exhibit development process. Korn presents the work of a few scholars and researchers, who have written about and understand the visitor experience, to explore the visitor experience on other levels.
In this paper, Lisa Roberts of the Chicago Botanic Garden addresses some of the issues related to affective learning in the museum setting. She discusses two areas in particular: factors that have shaped attitudes in the museum toward affective experience; and the role affect plays in the whole learning process.
This paper outlines the front-end evaluation that researchers and staff conducted to design the Biodome de Montreal, a living museum of nature. It includes a discussion of the evaluation objectives, key findings, and applications as well as background information about the museum project itself.
This paper shares innovative evaluation techniques employed by staff at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris to plan, design, launch, and implement its newly renovated Grande Galeries de Zoologie. Their evaluation techniques combined quantitative and qualitative research techniques.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jacqueline EidelmanDenis SamsonBernard SchieleMichel Van Praet
This paper shares research findings that explore the link between conceptual understanding, free exploration of hands-on science center exhibits, and Piagetian cognitive developmental levels. Implications on museum exhibits and field trip experiences are examined as well.
This paper presents findings from a label study project at the Franklin Institute Science Museum, part of the Naive Knowledge Research Project, funded by NSF to identify "naive notions" about science, in particular the cause and nature of gravity, and test the power of interactive devices to alter them. The device which prompted this label study was designed to correct the misconception that spinning pulls things in and, more specifically, that the earth's rotation generates its gravitational pull.
This paper discusses the topic of visitor circulation through exhibition spaces. Specifically, this paper cites findings from a visitor tracking study through five traveling exhibits at the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Questions explored include: 1) How much influence does the spatial arrangement of objects within a gallery have on the behavior of visitors?; 2) How much do the characteristics of exhibit objects influence visitor behavior?; and 3) How effective are techniques for increasing visitation to a changing exhibit hall?
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BitgoodJoe HinesWayne HambergerWilliam Ford
In this paper, researchers from Colorado State University and the Denver Museum of Natural History discuss the topic of attitude persuasion in exhibits. First, they define the concepts attitude, belief and behavior and describe how to appropriately measure these concepts. Second, the researchers discuss how the concepts are related and also how they are related to future behaviors. Third, a technique for designing or improving an exhibit to increase the likelihood of visitor attitude change is explained. Finally, the researchers present an example from a study performed on the "Close to Home"
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jerome V. D' AgostinoRoss J. LoomisBetsy Webb