The focus of this thesis was to gather data by survey on the utilization of VMFA resources by Virginia, K-12 public and private school teachers. Currently there is a lack of research on how teachers utilize art museum resources. I sent a Web-based survey to 800 teachers in the state of Virginia. One hundred seventy six teachers responded and the data was analyzed to determine their backgrounds and utilization of VMFA resources. All data was entered into tables in both numerical form and percentages. My analysis of the data showed that teachers utilize resources most frequently for art history discussion and studio project motivation. In their classrooms, teachers most frequently use poster kits and video/DVD from VMFA.

This museum thesis project considers the challenges involved in developing engaging museum tours. The purpose of this project was to develop a fifty-minute, guided gallery tour that uses inquiry-based instruction to engage participants in dialogue and critical thinking about artworks. The tour was designed specifically for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia, using artworks selected from the museum’s twenty-first-century art collection that relate to the theme hybridity. This project contributes to the museum studies field by exemplifying how gallery tours can stimulate active learning, encourage visitors to find meaning in artworks, and form their own conclusions about objects in the museum. The project provides a model for integrating inquiry-generated dialogue within the gallery tour structure. Finally, it demonstrates that dialogue-based teaching can be used with teens and adults, audiences that some educators perceive as more reticent than younger learners to engage with this style of education.