Bridging the gap between an author's works based on real life and historical accuracy can be a challenge for literary sites that symbolize both fiction and reality. Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, the home of the Alcott family and the place in which she wrote her most famous novel, "Little Women," also served as the setting for the…

This study investigates museum teachers' perceptions of instructional practices for emergent bilingual students (also known as "English language learners") within a field-trip setting. Through a survey, focus group, and interviews we explore how prepared museum teachers felt to teach emergent bilingual learners and what type of museum…

"ArtInSight" is a three-pronged constructivist education model for museum teaching. Utilizing (1) conversational tours, (2) mindfulness-based insight activities, and (3) art-making exercises, viewers develop critical and visual thinking skills and apply them to both arts-based experiences and to everyday life. This approach broadens…

The combination of pedagogy and political aims, a constant theme in the progressive school education literature, is reflected as well in the history of museum education. Museum educators, following the lead of John Dewey, advocated for experiential pedagogy, a natural course for museums since they emphasize learning from objects and experiences…

Learning occurs in myriad ways yet most art museums remain wedded to visual instruction. Adult visitors touring the galleries are offered audio guides or lecture style tours to complement the visual but are there other ways to enhance learning? This article reports on a case study that found that active, multi-sensory experiences in art museums…

"Bring Your Baby to the Danforth Museum of Art" is a program for mothers. Unlike other museum programs that focus on the needs of children, Bring Your Baby caters to the intellectual interests of the adult parent. Parents learn about artworks, play with babies in a beautiful environment, and socialize with other families. The program is…

As history teachers attempt to bring student thinking processes in line with that of historians, one of the major recommendations that appears in the end notes of nearly every study on the subject, and every set of state curriculum frameworks, is the injunction to partner with historic sites and museums to help students "learn about…

This article presents contributions from teaching artists about Teaching Artist professional development across the country in theater programs and through museum programs. In the process, the authors have come to realize how much they still have to learn about what is available (how badly they need a funded research project to inventory the state…