Ariel Sykes is an educator and teacher trainer who specializes in Philosophy for Children (P4C) and dialogic pedagogy, with a focus on ethics education and community engaged learning. She serves on the boards of the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO), the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum (SEAC), the National High School Ethics BowlContinue reading “What can museums learn from Philosophy for Children? Interview with Ariel Sykes”
Author Archives: Rebecca Shulman
What are effective practices in creating a Teacher Advisory Committee?
Image: Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston’s Teacher Advisory Group, 2022-23 A few weeks ago (in July 2023), a member of the museum-ed discussion list asked the group for recommendations of effective practices in Teacher Advisory Committees. This question provoked numerous responses from educators who also wanted to learn more, and a few responses from museums whoContinue reading “What are effective practices in creating a Teacher Advisory Committee?”
How do we plan and improve museum programs?
My last post, on the role of education research in planning museum programs, sparked debate in person and on LinkedIn about whether museums emphasize content knowledge or an understanding of pedagogy when hiring, training, and supporting museum education staff. For better or worse, it’s essential that museum educators know both. They need to understand the content they areContinue reading “How do we plan and improve museum programs?”
What do museum educators need to know about learning and impact in museums?
Recently, I have been thinking about the role of research in museum education work thanks to the podcast Sold a Story. This podcast shares the rise and fall of Reading Recovery, a popular reading program in elementary schools. Reading Recovery took schools by storm in the 1980s, but it is based on ideas that haveContinue reading “What do museum educators need to know about learning and impact in museums?”
What do museum educators need to know?
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]Continue reading “What do museum educators need to know?”
Do museums have a responsibility to name and address issues of contemporary importance?
In the past few months, I’ve visited the museum Eastern State Penitentiary twice. The museum is exemplary for its excellent audio tour (which you can hear parts of here) and the way it incorporates art into a historical site. More strikingly, it is notable for drawing attention to a contemporary issue (largely, but not exclusively,Continue reading “Do museums have a responsibility to name and address issues of contemporary importance? “
How do independent arts and museum professionals build supportive community?
Since I started the work of figuring out the next stage of my career, I’ve been having amazing conversations with museum colleagues from around the United States. These conversations remind me how much I love having a museum community, and how amazing our colleagues are. Museum educator, consultant, and self-proclaimed pirate Rachel Ropeik (who leftContinue reading “How do independent arts and museum professionals build supportive community?”
Does anyone read blogs anymore?
It has been over two years since my last Museum Questions post, in November 2020. To everyone reading this post: congratulations on getting through the past few years. What’s changed for you professionally since early 2020? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below. WordPress tells me there are nearly 1000 subscribers toContinue reading “Does anyone read blogs anymore?”
Should museums deaccession art to pay staff?
This post comes out of a conversation between Rebecca Shulman and Jackie Delamatre. You can see other Museum Questions blog posts by Jackie Delamatre here and here. Proceeds from the sale of non-living collections are to be used consistent with the established standards of the museum’s discipline, but in no event shall they be usedContinue reading “Should museums deaccession art to pay staff?”
How can storytelling promote change? Interview with Lane Beckes
Lane Beckes is Associate Professor of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience at Bradley University. Lane studies social processes at the intersection of cognition, emotion, and neurobiology. His research interests include social bonding, empathy, emotion, and prosocial behavior. Read a previous interview with Lane in Museum Questions here. Lane, over the past few months I have heard,Continue reading “How can storytelling promote change? Interview with Lane Beckes”
Museum Questions 