Final Project (M.A.)--John F. Kennedy University, 2007. / "June 15, 2007"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-91).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University, 1989. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-230).

The focus of this dissertation is my investigation into how primary school teachers can be guided to provide effective conditions for student learning on teacher-led school excursions to museums. The dissertation follows my learning journey, beginning with my entering experiences as a teacher, museum educator and teacher educator and then following stages of literature search, questions, action and reflection. The research design has affinity with action research and utilises an assemblage of methodologies which are empathetic with the study itself, principally observations and interviews. My thesis is that a framework based on strategies which reflect informal learning behaviours of family groups, learner-centred teaching approaches, and meaningful integration of school and museum studies, can create favourable conditions for student learning on excursions. Further, with minimal professional development, classroom teachers can implement such a framework. The first of three field studies tested my understandings about current practices on teacher-led school excursions to museums. Observations of 12 school excursions in Sydney, Australia, revealed a strong teacher orientation toward task completion rather than learning, and underlined the need to search for an alternative approach. Following a literature search on school visits to museums, social constructivist learning and teaching, and family visits, a School-Museum Learning Framework (SMLF) was designed. The SMLF was trialed in the second field study in which I was the principal teacher as well as researcher, working with a Year 5/6 class. The most significant finding was the students' recognition and declaration of their own learning in an environment in which they had choice and ownership of their learning. Consideration of the nature and measurement of learning in informal settings led to a tentative tool for indicating engagement in learning processes. In my third field study I investigated the broader application of the SMLF in four trials involving seven teachers. The teachers participated in a one-day professional development seminar and then conducted their own school-museum programs. The results showed the SMLF to be robust under a range of circumstances. My findings from the trials led to a refined flexible framework: School-Museum Integrated Learning Experiences in Science, which is based on three Guiding Principles: integration of school and museum learning; provision of conditions for self-directed learning and facilitation of learning strategies appropriate to the setting. The findings from this research have significance for students, teachers, teacher educators and museum educators.

The focus of this dissertation is my investigation into how primary school teachers can be guided to provide effective conditions for student learning on teacher-led school excursions to museums. The dissertation follows my learning journey, beginning with my entering experiences as a teacher, museum educator and teacher educator and then following stages of literature search, questions, action and reflection. The research design has affinity with action research and utilises an assemblage of methodologies which are empathetic with the study itself, principally observations and interviews. My thesis is that a framework based on strategies which reflect informal learning behaviours of family groups, learner-centred teaching approaches, and meaningful integration of school and museum studies, can create favourable conditions for student learning on excursions. Further, with minimal professional development, classroom teachers can implement such a framework. The first of three field studies tested my understandings about current practices on teacher-led school excursions to museums. Observations of 12 school excursions in Sydney, Australia, revealed a strong teacher orientation toward task completion rather than learning, and underlined the need to search for an alternative approach. Following a literature search on school visits to museums, social constructivist learning and teaching, and family visits, a School-Museum Learning Framework (SMLF) was designed. The SMLF was trialed in the second field study in which I was the principal teacher as well as researcher, working with a Year 5/6 class. The most significant finding was the students' recognition and declaration of their own learning in an environment in which they had choice and ownership of their learning. Consideration of the nature and measurement of learning in informal settings led to a tentative tool for indicating engagement in learning processes. In my third field study I investigated the broader application of the SMLF in four trials involving seven teachers. The teachers participated in a one-day professional development seminar and then conducted their own school-museum programs. The results showed the SMLF to be robust under a range of circumstances. My findings from the trials led to a refined flexible framework: School-Museum Integrated Learning Experiences in Science, which is based on three Guiding Principles: integration of school and museum learning; provision of conditions for self-directed learning and facilitation of learning strategies appropriate to the setting. The findings from this research have significance for students, teachers, teacher educators and museum educators.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 242 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-242).

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2009. / Vita. Reproduction permission applies to print copy: Blanket permission granted per author to reproduce. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-83).

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2009. / Vita. Reproduction permission applies to print copy: Blanket permission granted per author to reproduce. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-83).

This study examined two art museum and school partnerships in order to learn how partnerships enable an integration of goals, participants' beliefs and values, and learning objectives. This study examined the partnerships through a social constructivist lens and used narrative analysis as way to interpret participants' stories about collaboration. The research found three major themes among participants' stories. Participants: a) valued good communication to establish relationships between partners, b) believed partnership offered students experiences that educated the whole person, and c) felt that students making meaning by interacting in the museum environment was an indicator of success. The study closes with discussion of the researchers' own constructions as they developed throughout the study.

This study concerned the methods in which fourth and fifth grade teachers in one of the larger suburbs of Dallas, Texas, prepared themselves and their classes for a visit to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Twenty teachers who had visited the Dallas museum in the last two years were interviewed using a validated interview questionnaire. The majority of teachers were concerned with both visual and written resources. Although, additional materials were requested, many teachers were uniformed about preparation resources provided by the museum. The teachers' idea and attitudes were found to be supportive of the museum and its programs.

A research report submitted to the School of the Arts, Faculty of the Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Arts August 2015 / South African heritage sites are places that have the potential to support curriculum learning outcomes, and visits to heritage sites are sometimes included in the school timetable. Learning in museums is difficult to quantify, but it has been suggested that “something generally [does] happen” during visits to cultural sites (Hooper-Greenhill 2007:47). The focus of this research report is Constitution Hill, which is a prominent feature in the heritage landscape of Johannesburg that focuses on the atrocities, and the injustices of the past, while strengthening understanding of democracy and human rights. This research report evaluates the experiences of learners from the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase visiting Constitution Hill and participating in the Saturday Workshops run by Constitution Hill Education Project and attempts to identify what is the ‘something’ that ‘generally happens’. The data was obtained through semi-structured, open-ended interviews with learners, educators and programme co-ordinators. The data was analysed using the Generic Learning Outcomes Model, an evaluation tool developed in the United Kingdom. The research report proposes, despite the best efforts of schools and educators, many learners, regardless of socio economic background, struggle with making connections between South African history and their own daily realities and that this may influence the value they place on their democratic rights. However, the dynamic interaction with Constitution Hill, provided by the Constitution Hill Education Project, resulted in shifts in attitudes and perspectives suggesting that the ‘something’ that happens is positive and potentially far reaching. This research report also reflects on the interpretive strategies that characterise the engagement at Constitution Hill.