Running head: LESSON INVESTIGATION: FINE ARTS CENTER 1

Lesson Investigation: Fine Arts Center

Erin Flores

Arizona State University

LESSON INVESTIGATION: FINE ARTS CENTER 2

Lesson Investigation: Fine Arts Center

“It has long been recognized that museums are educational institutions and that their

school audiences are critical in both sustaining visitation and, through offering a positive and

inspiring experience, can influence lifelong museum visiting habits” (Murawski, 2014). Learning

about the Arts from a classroom would be like learning how to cook by only watching a cooking

show. Art is a very emotional topic it is about what you feel about any piece of art work, it is

about what you see in the piece of art work. Different types of art can invoke different feels, the

artist my want to invoke the feeling of sadness or possible happiness. This can be seen in the

colors composition as well as the weight of the brush strokes, specifically in paintings. Different

art pieces also visualize different times in our history. The art gives the viewer a glance into the

past, giving a look at what is seen as beautiful, culture, as well as society. Learning about art

opens a wonderful opportunity to learning outside the classroom. When given the opportunity to

visit a Fine Arts Museum, students are able to see collections of pieces from any given time

period and get a sense of that period in a way that cannot be experienced from a book.

What Museums Offer

“Learning is facilitated by personal interest and ‘new’ knowledge is constructed from a

foundation of prior experience and knowledge” (Falk & Dierking, 2002). Museums offer an

extension to what is taught from a book in a classroom. In a classroom, students are able to learn

about an artwork, who created it, when it was created, and what it represents. However, at a

museum, students are able to build on that knowledge and see the art in person which can

increase the interest of the students. From the pages of a book students are not able to understand

the impact that a piece of artwork might possess, students are also not able to get up close to see

the individual strokes, or impressions that can be created. Expecting a student to have the same
LESSON INVESTIGATION: FINE ARTS CENTER 3

level of interest in a piece of art that is the size of a note card in a book is ridiculous, especially

when the actual size could cover a wall.

Learning

“Dempsey and Frost argue that it is not only the environment inside the classroom but also the

environment outside of the classroom that influences play and its enhancement of children’s

development.” (Integration of Play 2007) Any environment needs to foster the learning of the

students; the students need to be inspired and find interest in what they are learning. This same

logic can be seen in science classes, when taking a lab class, a student will be in a lab space, just

like an art student would work in a studio. If a student is to learn about art the student will be

most successful in an environment that exhibits works of fine art like a museum. The

environment that is created in any museum is carefully planned to create the best visual

experience. The staff at a museum “orchestrates a series of experiences around some specific

purpose” the purpose could center on a period of time or a specific theme. (Museums,

Conversations, and Learning 2014) The pieces that are showcased can be brought together to

show a time in history, or a theme that can be created using different pieces of style and from

different periods. By pulling different art works into a single space, students can infer ideas

about a time and place or ideas about the theme being represented. The inferences that the

students create could not be made possible from the confines of a classroom or the pages of a

textbook.
LESSON INVESTIGATION: FINE ARTS CENTER 4

References

Falk, J., & Dierking, L. (2002). Contextual Model of Learning. Retrieved from InterLab:

https://interlab100.com/literature-review-文献研究/informal-learning-science-centre-

education/contextual-model-of-learning-john-falk-and-lynn-dierking/

Murawski, M. (2014, November 19). Student Learning in Museums: What Do We Know?

Retrieved from Art Museum Teaching:

https://artmuseumteaching.com/2014/11/19/student-learning-in-museums-what-do-we-

LEINHARDT, G. (2014). Museums, Conversations, and Learning. Revista Colombiana De

Psicología, 23(1), 13-33.know/

Henderson, T., & Atencio, D. (2007). Integration of Play, Learning, and Experience: What

Museums Afford Young Visitors. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(3), 245-251.

doi:10.1007/s10643-007-0208-1