Tothink,todream,todo:educational theoriesandtheiruseinmuseum educationpolicies

LisedenBrok,thesisforMasterofArtsinCulturalHeritage,2010.
TranslationoftheconclusionfromDutchintoEnglish. Forthefulldocument(inDutch)pleasegohere:http://igitur archive.library.uu.nl/studenttheses/20110124 200238/Lise%20den%20Brok%203113019%20masterscriptie.pdf Museumeducationisaninterestinganddynamicfieldwheremanydevelopments intherelationshipbetweenmuseumandvisitorhavetakenplaceinrecentyears. Museum education is a link between the work of art and the viewer of this artwork.Thiscanalsobeexplainedthroughthemetaphorofagameoftennis.To beabletoplaytennisyouneedtwoplayers.Ifoneplayerservestheballandthe other player does not know the rules of the game or does not know what is expectedofhim,thegamecanneverdevelopproperly.Museumeducationsitsin betweenthetwoplayers,themuseumandthemuseumvisitor,andfunctionsas mediator.Thequestionhereisin whichwaythismediationhappensand should happen,andhowmuseumssupporttheirchoicesfordifferentkindsofmuseum education. The main question of this research flows forth from these considerations. Howimportantisitformuseumstouseeducationaltheoriesinordertosupportand justifytheireducationalpolicies? Information from the museum sector indicates that there is much practical experience with museum education, but that educational theory is not often used. To obtain a clearer vision for the future and to gain more depth in their educational policies, it is advisable that museum educators have knowledge of educational theories and also communicate the purpose of their educational policies to the public. This will prevent contradictory signals. By integrating general educational theories in museum education policies, museums will gain moretoolstoanalysehowtheirvisitorslearnandconsequentiallyimprovetheir exhibitions. Where educational theories strengthen museum policies and activities, they can also provide more common ground in discussions with educationcolleaguesfromothermuseums. Thenumberofmuseumshasgrownrapidlyinthepastyears.Thereismoreneed tocollectandresearchobjectsfromthepast.Thefirstpublicmuseumsoriginated inthe18thcenturyfromthecollectionsofrichindividuals.TheLouvreinPariswas the first real public art museum. Museums add to our current society by constructing meaning, but they are being faced with a number of challenges as well. Competition with other leisure activities and the rise of new media makes

museums aware of their audiences and of the ways these audiences are addressed and engaged. Museum education plays an important role in this awareness. Thetermmuseumeducationcanononehandbeusedforallmuseumactivities, andontheotheritcanbeusedspecificallyforthedidacticaspectsofmuseums. Thefirstmuseumswereconsideredaseducationalinstitutionsandinsomecases as a addition to or alternative to schools. In the Netherlands the interest in museum education has been variable. Between 1920 and 1960 attention was mostly paid to building collections, but since the 80s museum education is back ontheagenda.Museumsaredevelopingnewstrategiestoattractaudiencesand the education department gained more and more freedom to develop new policiesandactivities. Thesepoliciesandactivitiesneedtobesupportedbyacertainvisiononmuseum education. This vision can be partly gained by examination of educational theories.Thereareanumberofdifferenttheories,eachofthemconcentratingon a different aspect of learning. Behaviourism emphasises causes and consequences. Constructivist theory sees learning as a process of physical and mental adaptation to influences from the learner's environment. As new information is internalised, existing information is adapted so it can correspond with the newly learned information. Discovery learning, where experience is crucial to complement mental structures with new information, is a related learningtheory. ThetheoriesofGardnerandKolbarenewlearningtheoriesthattakethelearner astheirstartingpoint.Differentstudentshavedifferentwaysoflearning.Thisis also called multiple intelligences. According to Gardner, there are nine different types ofintelligence andeachperson possessesalltheseintelligencesincertain compositions, which determines the most lucrative ways of learning. Kolbs theory of learning styles is based on a similar premise. Kolb distinguishes four learning styles, or personalities, that are based on the character of the learner. Thesegeneraleducationaltheoriesaredevelopedtoanalyselearninginschools, butcanalsobeusedinothersituationslikethemuseum. MuseumDePaviljoensinAlmereisacontemporaryartmuseumthathasaunique architecture. Because of this architecture which includes large windows and interlinking pavilions most exhibitions in the museum include installations. Because contemporary art is not generally seen as accessible by the public, it is importantthattheeducationaldepartmenthelpsvisitorsfindwaystoappreciate theart.InMuseumDePaviljoens,thishappensthroughinteractiveguidedtours andworkshopsforchildren.MuseumeducatorAnnelienKersstatesthattheart theory of Michael Parsons stands at the basis of the interactivity in the contemporary art museum, combined with practical experience and theoretical knowledgeofarthistoryandeducation.However,themethodologyofParsonsis only suited for the guided tours and not for the other educational activities. A theory that would match well with the purposes and mission of Museum De

Paviljoens is Gardners multiple intelligences, but Kolbs learning styles would fit too. The Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven shows modern and contemporary art, including El Lissitzky and Picasso. The museum building is quite large and this offersthepossibilityofhostingseveralsmallerexhibitionsatonetime.Thevision oftheVanAbbemuseumisaboutbeingradicalononeandhandandwelcoming ontheother.Thisisalsovisibleintheeducationpolicy.LoesJanssen,educatorat the Van Abbemuseum, states that there is no clear theoretical basis for the educational policy, but that she gains her knowledge from the practical experiencesandbestpracticesinthemuseumsector.Shedoesindicatethatshe considers theory important and that she would like the opportunity to have a closer look at education theory. The educational activities in the museum are similartothoseinMuseumDePaviljoens:interactiveguidedtoursandchildrens workshops. In the Van Abbemuseum it will not be difficult either to implement KolbsandGardnerstheories. As mentioned before, Museum De Paviljoens and the Van Abbemuseum display some similarities and differences concerning their educational programming. Their collections and their large research projects are quite similar too. The museums differ on their architecture and their visitor number. The Van Abbemuseumisconcernedwithprojectsonmuseumconventions,whileMuseum DePaviljoensasksquestionsaboutsocietyandtheDutchidentity.Bothmuseums cangaininspirationfromtheothersworkingmethod.TheVanAbbemuseumcan, for example, display its educational goals on its website, like Museum De Paviljoens. The museum from Almere can find a good practice in how the Van Abbemuseum has solved its problems with written information in the galleries: through training hosts and cicerones that serve as information points for the visitors. The answer to the main research question, that deals with how museums can apply educational theories to their educational policies, has a number of facets. Firstly, both museums legitimise their educational activities through experience andbestpractices.Themuseumeducatorstrusttheirknowledgeofthemuseum field and their practical experience to successfully develop useful and fun activities. Added to that, both organisations indicate that theory does play an importantrole.ParsonstheoryisusedfortheinteractiveguidedtoursinMuseum De Pavijoens. This is also stated on the website and the museum docents are trained accordingly. However, this theory is not suitable for other educational activities,asitonlyfocusesonguidedtours.Thereisnotheoreticalbasisforthe educationalpolicyintheVanAbbemuseum,buttheeducatorindicatesthatthisis apriorityintheplannedprojectPlayVanAbbe. The educational theories of Kolb and Gardner could be very useful for both museums.Ononehandthesetheoriesemphasisetheindividualityofthestudent, whichcorrelateswithtrendsinthemuseumsectortoengageaudiencesontheir personal interests. On the other hand, the theories are very flexible and can be usedbythemuseumwithoutthefearthattheywillbecomeoutdatedwhenthe

policychanges.TheexactapplicationofthesetheoriesintheVanAbbemuseum andMuseumDePaviljoensisaninterestingtopicforfurtherresearch,aswellas thequestionwhetherothermuseumswillprofitfromthesefindings. The connection between theory and practice when trying to underpin the educational policies is both for the Van Abbemuseum and for Museum De Paviljoens the most important argument. Many museums are very focused on practice,andconverselyatsomeconferencesthereisalotoftalkaboutacertain theory without connecting this to museum sector practice. Educational theories cancreateclarityandmakesurethattheinformationtransferfromtheheritage organisationtothepublicgoessmoother.Therealbasisofmuseumeducationis ofcoursetheprofessionalcapacityandknowledgeofthemuseumeducator,but museumeducationtheorieslikeGardnersorKolbscanhavepositiveinfluences onmuseumeducationpoliciesincontemporaryandmodernartmuseums.