This article investigated the multifaceted role of artists in educational programmes, focusing on the challenges they face while balancing their identity as artist-teacher, artist teacher, artist-educator, and artist educator. This research was conducted in two phases. Phase one interrogated the effectiveness of artists taking on dual roles as…

Striking weight biases emerge early in development, yet cognitive-developmental research has largely ignored weight as a social characteristic of interest. How do children conceive of weight? In particular, do children hold essentialist views of weight (i.e. do they view weight as natural, stable, inductively meaningful, and reflective of people's…

The Object-Based Learning (OBL) program at the Chau Chak Wing Museum provides bespoke experiences supported by the Academic Engagement team. This paper explores OBL as a pedagogical approach to stimulating student interest in studying the history of pharmacy. OBL workshops were implemented for a cohort of 311 first-year undergraduate pharmacy…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) is leading the development of the Agency's first Learning Agenda, which is organized around actionable learnings to three research and evaluation priorities: child reading literacy, future of museums and equity grantmaking. The Learning Agenda's primary…

There is growing evidence for the impact of arts engagement on later life cognition. However, confounding by socioeconomic factors may have led to an overestimation of this association. We analyzed data from 4,344 older adults in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We measured participatory (e.g. painting, making music, crafts) and receptive (e.g.…

Informal science learning centers (ISLCs) like zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens are trusted community assets and perceived as critical sites for learning outside the classroom for multigenerational learners. Moreover, their role in engaging the public in critical topics, such as climate change is widely recognized. As extreme weather events…

We examine the notion of "person" in cultural heritage settings (libraries, museums, and archives) and how this notion has implications for their function and purpose. Variations in the way persons are described, represented, and discussed have taken on new significance in emerging online environments predicated on reusing and sharing…

There is a growing emphasis on integrating school subjects and cross disciplinary boundaries to address local and global challenges, particularly when teaching about complex and sensitive issues such as disasters. This study explores how the integration of science and history can facilitate learning about disasters through a cross-curricular…

For the past seven years, we -- a museum educator and an academic radiologist -- have co-taught Seeing in Art and Medical Imaging, a first-of-its-kind medical humanities curriculum for residents in nuclear medicine and radiology based at the Harvard Art Museums. The program aims to foster residents' close looking and clinical skills,…

This article explores the innovative concept of narrative medicine, an interdisciplinary field merging humanities, arts, clinical practice, and healthcare justice, which seeks to deepen the understanding of patient experiences within healthcare settings. It highlights the transformative impact of using art museums, such as The Art Institute of…

Children Summer Takeover: Creative Day Camp demonstrates a transformative shift in the curatorial approach of museum learning at the newly opened M+ Museum in Hong Kong. Rather than simply curating for children or providing them with learning opportunities and family-friendly access, M+ redefines engagement by curating with children--fostering…

Intergenerational science education programs provide many opportunities to enhance content connection-making, foster classroom community, and cultivate science identity for participants. The Early Adventures Program (EAP) at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) serves as a model for adult-child co-learning programs for children (ages…

This study explores what affordances and challenges teacher candidates experience and consider pedagogically in an individual virtual reality (VR) history experience versus a collective VR history experience and what potential they see in using VR technology in their future history teaching. Study participants were teacher candidates enrolled in a…

This paper critically explores the pedagogy of "Science World" in creating disciplined, birthing patients within the sexuality education BodyWorks gallery on display in Vancouver, Canada. Using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, I explore the ways in which power/knowledge circulates to regulate and de-agentalise bodies in a science…

Educators working in museums, zoos, and botanic gardens are increasingly required to demonstrate impact. These requirements position 'performative evaluation' as the dominant model, one which also acts as a political, non-neutral, and managerial form of accountability. In contrast, 'practice evaluation' is intended to be democratic, dialogic, and…