Over the past few months, numerous experiences have been driving me toward the question: What do museum educators need to know? First, in February I attended a MuseumExpert webinar during which Martin Storksdiek discussed an attempt by ASTC and NSF to identify “the skills, knowledge, values, and other capabilities that enable [an informal science educator] to be effective in their job.”  More recently, while in conversation with a group of museum educators, I learned that many program developers don’t use a toolbox with known effective practices; instead, they think about what program might work, try it, and if it works, great!  But what was the goal? How did they define success? And what about the program worked?  A number of podcasts and articles have raised similar questions about research and academic approaches that professionals in different fields use, leading me to think about the limited research about various approaches in museum education.* (More on all of these to come in future posts!)

With this in mind, over the coming months, I will be thinking about what museum educators need to know to create and lead the strongest programming possible. Because of my background, my explorations may skew toward practices in art and children’s museums, but I hope to balance that out by including other voices here. If you have strong feelings on this subject and would like to contribute to this series, or know someone else I should talk to, please let me know.

It’s useful to place this investigation of our profession in a historical context. For art museums, I recommend reading the chapter “A Brief History of Teaching in the Art Museum,” by Elliott Kai-Kee, in the book Teaching in the Art Museum. For children’s museums, I recommend the Boston Children’s Museum’s book Boston Stories; I also edited a virtual issue of Curator Journal that looks at the history of literature on children’s museums from that journal (if you cannot access that easily, your local library may be able to help).  I invite you to share any additional encapsulations of the history of museum education, especially in science,history, or living museums, in the comments below.

To jump-start this investigation, here are a few questions:

What do we teach?

• Are we expected to be content experts or delivery experts, or both?
• Are museums spaces to teach information, teach field-related skills, or incite curiosity? Are art museums spaces to share academic information or to cultivate aesthetic approaches to art? Are history museums spaces for civic engagement or instruction about past events and movements? Are science museums spaces for fostering careful observation and investigation, or teaching scientific information? Can museums do all these things, and if so, how?
• Are we expected to be content experts or delivery experts, or both?
• Are museums spaces to teach information, teach field-related skills, or incite curiosity? Are art museums spaces to share academic information or to cultivate aesthetic approaches to art? Are history museums spaces for civic engagement or instruction about past events and movements? Are science museums spaces for fostering careful observation and investigation, or teaching scientific information? Can museums do all these things, and if so, how?

How do we teach?

• What do we know about learning in museums and more generally?
• What is or should be in the toolbox for museum educators of any museum type?
• Museum educators often offer professional development for classroom teachers – what expertise do we share in this context?

What do museums look for in their education staff?

• Are we teaching or engaging? When should we think about what people are learning, and when should we think about how they are experiencing exhibits and programs? What do we mean by engage? 
• What skills do museums prioritize when they hire educators? How do they train? What skills do educators think they should have to excel in their work?
• What criteria do administrators use when conducting annual reviews of educators?

What questions am I missing? What else do we need to think about to define what museum educators need to know to be successful in their work? Please share your thoughts in the comments or on my LinkedIn post about this article!

*A search of informalscience.org’s community repository for research in museums offered only two studies that appear to share research on what program frameworks lead to specific learning outcomes: a study on the impact of programs on STEM careers and a dissertation on the role of novelty and motivation on developing interest in science.