Learning from Museums : Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning

by Falk, John H.; Dierking, Lynn D.

• ISBN13: 9780742502956
• ISBN10: 0742502953
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-10
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Summary

Why do people go to museums and what do they learn there? What roles can museums serve in a learning community? How can museums facilitate more effective learning experiences? John H. Falk and Lynn D. Dierking investigate these questions in Learning from Museums. Synthesizing theories and research from a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, education, anthropology, neuroscience and museum research, Falk and Dierking explain the nature and process of learning as it occurs within the museum context and provides advice on how museums can create better learning environments. Visit the authors' web page

Author Biography

John H. Falk is currently director of the Institute for Learning Innovation, a nonprofit research and development organization in Annapolis, Maryland Lynn D. Dierking is associate director of the Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, Maryland

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Preface	ix
Learning from Museums: An Introduction	1	(14)
The Personal Context	15	(22)
The Sociocultural Context	37	(16)
The Physical Context	53	(16)
Museums and the Individual	69	(22)
Communities of Learners	91	(22)
A Place for Learning	113	(22)
The Contextual Model of Learning	135	(14)
Documenting Learning from Museums	149	(28)
Making Museums Better Learning Experiences	177	(28)
Museums in the Larger Society	205	(14)
The Future of Museums	219	(18)
References	237	(28)
Index	265	(6)
About the Authors	271