In Principle, in Practice: Museums as Learning Institutions

This anthology is the first in a series of Learning Innovations. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. — K. Marantz, emeritus, Ohio State University

This will be a useful book for people in the field, especially those new to the profession who want to understand where the field stands today on how people learn in a museum setting. Those with more of a research bent will find a number of the articles enlightening. Practitioners will find structures that help them improve their practice. And those who wish to think deeply about the meaning and purpose of museums will be inspired. — Dennis Schatz, Vice President for Education, Pacific Science Center

In Principle, In Practice should quickly become one of the primary sources of information and guidance for any museum seeking to optimize its role as a learning institution. This compilation of knowledge gained from years of studying learning in museums, combined with practical advice for fostering learning through museum experiences, will be a valuable tool for museum professionals for years to come. — Dan Freas, Museum Experience Director, Conner Prairie

This book is a provocative inquiry into what learning means in a museum environment, and academics and practitioners alike will find lasting value in this broad, deep, and rich exploration of the museum experience. Because learning lies at the heart of a museum’s public value, In Principle, In Practice is essential reading for all those who care about the meaning and value of museums as social institutions. — Robert R. Janes, Editor-in-Chief, Museum Management and Curatorship

In Principle, In Practice offers a vital progress report on museum-based learning research to the international community of museum professionals. The essays, taken together, show that the learning research field is in media res, but has made enormous strides over the past decade. — Carol A. Parssinen, Senior Vice President, Center for Innovation, The Franklin Institute Science Museum

This collection of articles is packed with useful information, examples of exciting museum practice and some research reports that are, at times, pretty heavy going….It is a worthy addition to the Top Ten Museum Education Books started by Christine Castle on the Ham-Ed blog. — May/June 2008

The articles share visitor and learning research results, innovative learning and community collaboration case studies, ideas for more meaningfully engaging larger audiences, and visions of what can be studied and designed for future museum experiences….In Principle, In Practice provides an important resource for museum education professionals.

This holistic approach provides a more balanced approach to education that encompasses not only learning, but critical evauation of the methodology of teaching and the contructions of knowledge. Museum educators, especiallt curators, would benefit from more critical analysis of the methods they use to construct knowledge and communicate information to visitors. This in itself might deliver more appropriate learning outcomes for visitors in the next decade…”

Lynn D. Dierking is Director of Strategy & Partnerships, Institute for Learning Innovation, and Professor, Free-Choice Learning, Oregon State University. Her research on lifelong, out-of-school learning (after-school, home- and community-based contexts), with youth and families, focuses primarily on youth/families living in poverty and/or not historically engaged in free-choice learning from cultural institutions/organizations. Dr. Dierking is PI of a US-NSF project, SYNERGIES: Customizing Interventions to Sustain Youth STEM Interest and ParticipationPathways,studying youths’ STEM interest and participation longitudinally in an under-resourced community. She also is co-PI of a US-NSF/UK-Wellcome Trust Science Learning+ Partnership project, Partnering for ‘Equitable STEM Pathways’ for Youth Underrepresented in STEM. She is on Editorial Boards for Connected Science Learning, Afterschool Matters and Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship. Awards include the 2010 American Alliance of Museums’ John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership and a 2016 NARST Distinguished Contributions to Science Education through Research award for helping to establish the field of free-choice learning research.