Lynda Kelly on the learning in museums

Lynda Kelly, who presented at the third day of the recent Melbourne symposium, has posted her thoughts on the presentations from the morning. If anyone else has some comments feel free to make them here.

Learning Opportunities Seminar snapshot

Learning Opportunities Seminar – Key issues Onsite, Offsite, Online & Events
Melbourrne 15-17 September 2008
presented by envi -education network victoria in partnership with Museums Australia (Victoria)
5 host museums:

• City Museum at Old Treasury
• Melbourne Museum
• State Library of Victoria
• Australian Centre for the Moving Image
• National Gallery of Victoria

8 Site Visits:

• Heide Museum of Modern Art
• Immigration Museum
• Old Melbourne Gaol, Crime & Justice Experience
• Shrine of Remembrance
• The Johnston Collection
• Koorie Heritage Trust
• Jewish Museum of Australia
• Australian Centre for Contemporary Art

44 presentations: 17 invited speakers, 19 short papers, 11 showcase selections
2 meetings: MA education network general meeting & committee meeting
3 evening events: Welcome Reception, Seminar Dinner & Art Deco 1910-1939 Event
85 delegates from 52 museums and cultural organisations with representation from all States, ACT & NZ
Supported by History Council of Victoria & National Museum of Australia

Presentations from the Seminar will be posted on the blog
ian watts, seminar convenor

A Depression story in the National Archives

This post is an excerpt from a paper I’m writing about findability of National Archives of Australia collection items for the 2008 Australian Society of Archivists conference. The idea is that anyone’s description of a record could be put to work in the service of findability. So the following is an example of a description, of a single page from a single file (of 220 pages) from a single series (of 13,749 files) from the National Archives collection (of around 45,000 series). (You can see why findability is an issue for us!)

In February 1934, Victor Fitzgibbon wrote a note to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. The Department had provided him with four weeks’ work so that he could leave Canberra with his family. Having saved enough in that time to buy and recondition a truck, Mr Fitzgibbon sought a grant to register the vehicle for three months.

Victor Fitzgibbon’s request to the Department of the Interior for a grant to register his truck for three months so he could leave Canberra with his family.
National Archives of Australia: A659, 1939/1/16561

This note – the raw record – was used the same day it was written. CS Daley, the Assistant Secretary of the Civic Branch of the Department of the Interior, inserted Mr Fitzgibbon’s handwritten page into a typewriter to make his recommendation, which was to approve the grant ‘as a debit to the Alleviation of Distress, on the grounds that his continued residence in Canberra would be a greater burden to the Alleviation of Distress than the amount requested’. The Secretary of the Department must have been away, because he then added a further annotation: ‘In view of urgency, take action as proposed and resubmit for covering approval on Secretary’s return. CSD, 16.2.34′.

Another annotation suggests that the grant was issued four days later, and HC Brown, Secretary of the Department, noted his approval about a week after that.

In this first phase of the record’s life, it has served its purpose as attestation – to the need for the grant; and as documentation – of the Assistant Secretary’s recommendation for approval, and on what grounds; of the funds’ disbursal; and of the belated approval for such.

By reading the other documents in the file that relate to Mr Fitzgibbon, a fuller picture of the situation is revealed. It was the tail end of the Depression. Victor Fitzgibbon had arrived in Canberra after 1929, so he was ineligible for the rations available to other residents in similarly difficult circumstances. He was living at Ainslie married camp, with his pregnant wife and infant child. Several months prior to writing the letter described here, he had agreed to leave the Territory by mid-January if he was unable to find work. From the Department of the Interior’s point of view, the Fitzgibbon family had received special treatment up to that time, on account of the young child and Mrs Fitzgibbon’s pregnancy. In fact, one document notes that several years prior to this time, Victor Fitzgibbon’s father had been granted transport to go to Melbourne in 1929, and that he had returned ‘unannounced’ with Victor and his family.

Probably, the Department was keen to see the back of the Fitzgibbons, its sympathy having expired. The final instalment in the archival story is a small note pinned to the letter. ‘CD’ (presumably the Assistant Secretary, CS Daley) states ‘Has Fitzgerald [sic] actually left on the vehicle.’ Another hand has written ‘Please verify from police.’ A final note states ‘Fitzgibbon left Canberra Thursday last 22.2.34 – destination unknown’.

You can also see this record in Vrroom – virtual reading room.

envi explores new ground at the National Sports Museum

Patrick Watt, Manager of Education and Public Programs welcomed colleagues to the National Sports Museum on Wednesday 18 June. The evening began with a walk through the recently opened galleries followed by refreshments. With seating overlooking the MCG members of envi and museum colleagues gathered to listen to speakers “Exploring New Ground”. Ian Watts, convenor of the Learning Opportunities Seminar (16-17 September) invited those present to consider presenting a short paper and advised that Registration Forms would be made available by Museums Australia this week. Then it was time to listen to the guest speakers. Vera Gin, Programs Coordinator, National Sports Museum discussed The trials and tribulations of setting up the new museum.  Then Katrina Reynen, Assistant General Manafger, Innovation and Next Practice Division, DEECD presented new ground in Innovation and Next Practice. These spirited presentations illicited some excellent questions from those present. The evening proved to be a most enjoyable event.

Canadian museum educator seeks ideas

What built heritage experiences have you had? Below is a query from a museum educator in Nova Scotia.

Built heritage experiences

I am looking for examples of visitor experiences that you may have seen, participated in or created around the topic of ‘built heritage’. An example might be guided walks.

Near the end of April I will be facilitating a workshop in which I will be asking participants to come up with a variety of creative ideas that would involve visitors (specifically tourists) in:

• exploring
• learning about
• being entertained by

the built heritage of a small town (any town). It is a ‘beyond the guided walk’ type of thing!

It would be wise for me to go into this workshop armed with many clever ideas! (In my worst dream the group would have no ideas whatsoever, although I know that in reality, museum workers always do!)

Please take the time to jot down any examples you can think of, regardless of how much the idea would cost in money or staff time.

The reward? I will share the results of this query and the workshop itself with anyone who would like to hear about it!

Thanks so much – in advance.

Sally Warren
Museum and Gallery Education
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada

Teaching the teachers about Australian History

From 13 to 23 Jan 2008 the Australian National University, National Archives of Australia, Old Parliament House, National Museum of Australia and Australian War Memorial hosted 120 primary and secondary History teachers from across Australia. An initiative of the Australian Government, the Australian History teachers’ summer school provided a 10 day intensive program packed with amazing lecturers, research opportunities and site visits.

The National Archives of Australia provided two half day workshops which included dramatisation, demonstrations of experiential learning strategies, case studies and research opportunities. An evening event also presented ‘living archives’ – people who have stories to tell about their personal records in the Archives collection. Feedback from participants has been excellent. Here’s a recent article on the Summer School.

I was lucky enough to attend most of the lecturers associated with the ANU Summer School. The program was AMAZING. My personal highlights included:

• May Leckey, Precarious Empathy in Historical Understandings: Problems and possibilities
  
• Tracey Banivanau-Mar, Decolonising History: Hidden histories and silent voices
  
• Inga Clendinnen, Workshopping a Document for maximum results
  
• Ann Curthoys, Revisiting is History Fiction?
  
• Marilyn Lake, The Militarisation of Australian History
  

The Summer School really demonstrated how collections and cultural institutions cab be utilised by teachers. They are such valuable resources and are often at the cutting edge of education research, developments and theory. And of course the staff are always extremely helpful and approachable!

The ANU Summer School was a policy of the former government. It is yet to be confirmed whether the new government will take it on, although it looks a little doubtful. Follow up sessions and a website for participants has been set up to create a dialogue.

People Learning in Museums: then and now

On Tuesday 12 February envi (MA education network Victoria) met at the State Library of Victoria for a General Meeting. Our group was joined by colleagues from many Melbourne museums for a presentation about ‘People Learning in Museums’. The speakers were Kathleen Fennessy, author of the recently published ‘A People Learning: colonial Victorians and their public museums, 1860-1880″ and Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, National Gallery of Victoria. Kathy elaborated on the background to her book illuminated by some fascinating images from the early days of the Zoological Gardens. Frances commented on current trends in museum learning with examples from both the National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery. Andrew Hiskens, Manager, Learning Services Division, State Library of Victoria – and the new Chair of envi – hosted the event and led the spirited discussion which followed. Some fifty persons attended this event – a great start for our program in 2008!

A planning tool for developing teaching and learning programs and resources

Outreach Education is comprised of 10 Education officers based in cultural organisations in Adelaide. It is an organisation funded by the state Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS). Check out the Outreach Education website.

Because we are a team integrated across a number of institutions, the entire collection of learning programs is substantial, and from this we have extracted some principles for program development. A planning tool was developed as a guide for use in writing and developing teaching and learning resources associated with exhibitions, events, web sites, mobile learning technologies, travelling exhibitions teacher professional development and special events.

For example, identifying and making explicit the key concepts or big ideas that students will take away with them is fundamental. They will approach it in different ways and it is important to acknowledge their prior knowledge and experience. They will form their own interpretations and have different experiences but it is engagement with the key concept that allows them to enter into deeper levels of thinking and consideration of issues.

Discussion and refinement is also fundamental in this process. Conversation and collaboration with people who have similar content knowledge, different thinking preferences, or who are unfamiliar with your expertise, is useful in providing different ways of looking at and evaluating the concept. Trial and evaluation with teachers, students and exhibition staff is implicit throughout this process. The Outreach Education guide is based upon Julia Atkin’s Integral Learning/thinking model which was adapted from work done by Ned Hermann.

The theory

The focus of Dr Julia Atkin’s work has been on researching how people learn. Atkin has developed and continues to refine her own model of Integral Learning. This model explores how learning can be deepened by integrating our multiple ways of knowing. Atkin’s builds on Ned Herman’s Whole Brain Model of learning, thinking and doing which highlights ways of processing: (Hermann, 1996)

• abstract, rational, conceptual (cerebral)
• sensory, kinaesthetic, emotional (limbic)

She describes these multiple ways of knowing as our ‘four thinking selves’:

• our rational, theoretical self
• our ordered, safe keeping self
• our emotional, interpersonal self
• our imaginative, experiential self

We use all ways of knowing and processing and we differ in the extent to which we use or rely upon each way of knowing – we have different thinking preferences. Powerful learning can occur when educators stimulate learners by providing a range of processes that develop these different ways of knowing. [i] (Atkins, 2000)

Chris Nobbs (and Outreach Education colleagues)
Education Officer
South Australian Museum

[i] See a more detailed outline of Dr Julia Atkin’s Integral Learning model (pdf)

Museum Education and Social Media: 10 points from the conference

I was at the social media and Cultural communication conference last Friday which looked at the way the latest developments in internet interactivity (called web 2.0) could be used to enhance the reach and impact of museums. So here are 10 of the more salient points I took.

1. Kevin von Appen, Ontario Science Centre, gave examples of museums which are using web capabilities to engage their “community” in co-creation of content. Questacon’s own Climate x change being a perfect example.
2. Caroline Payson, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum’s online Educator Resource Center suggested that in the first instance at least we should not use the opportunity offered by social media to pursue new audiences but to creatively engage important current audiences with an “A+” experience.
3. Seb Chan, Powerhouse Museum, spoke about the opportunity of learning from the way our audience use and interact with our web presence to inform our “physical” museum activities. See Seb’s work.
4. Seb again, we need to look to the ability of web activities to build our impact and influence. That the effort may not generate direct physical visitors to our door, but can enhance the reputation of the Museum among different and enlarged audiences.
5. Lynda Kelly, the Australian Museum, highlighted research they have done which had teenagers explaining that museums do not need to try to be “cool” but rather the audience knows what we are, and if they are visiting our sites they are there to use us as Museums. They have plenty of other places to play games and socialise. Lynda has a very informative audience research blog.
6. Tim Hart, Museum Victoria, posed the question of how we will support 21st century learners, those people who are learning to be participants ion a future we can’t really see and certainly don’t understand.
7. Tim Hart again, from the film Shift happens, China has more gifted and talented students than Australia has students. How can museums be part of ensuring we don’t fall behind in the clever country race?
8. Brett McLennan, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, told us how the brains of “digital natives” think and act differently.
9. Brett again, as quick as we train teachers, new and old, in the new contexts of knowledge and understanding – that training becomes outdated.
10. Damien Tampling, Deloitte’s Corporate Finance Advisory group, encouraged us to see the highly innovative way the modern museum/cultural worker thinks.

I am sure others who were there will add their input soon. I will have more after a little time to digest it.

A climate change web 2.0 idea

The Aus Pacific Network of Science Centres and Questacon have created a tool for sharing your climate change observations and stories. Using a Google map to locate people you can watch videos, see images and text describing people’s initiatives to reduce their climate impacts.

I know the Powerhouse is trialling a mapping tool for people to search for objects in our collection but climate x change is engaging the community in creating the content. If we could get people to publish materials associated with the objects in our collection – historic footage of our machines working, photos of themselves in a frock from the collection, or podcast of an event discussing museum things I think it would be wonderfully engaging for everyone.

I have always liked the idea that our collections are the tip of icebergs when compared to the knowledge and material in homes and offices around the globe. I am not alone in a desire to see the public at large able to provide meaning and interpretation of museum content, see:

• Reading the textbook is not enough
• Not learning, making
• A collection of secrets

just as a start.