Fitting a Museum Visit in the Curriculum
Post-visit tasks
Disseminate acquired knowledge and experiences (e.g. learners write articles for the local press, write a report for the school newspaper/website, organise a presentation for classes that did not participate in the museum visit)
Learners answer an evaluation questionnaire reflecting on their experience and providing the teacher with feedback for future museum visits.
Design follow-up tasks requiring a synthesis, analysis, intrpretation and evaluation of gathered information (e.g. create a poster/a PPT presentation, a youtube video etc.)
Pre-visit Planning
Create expectations and triggering learners' curiosity
Create links with other disciplines/setting learning goals aligned with curriculum goals
Activate latent content schemata and background knowldege
Search for information from a number of sources
Show a picture of an exhibit to activate learners' predicition skills
Ask questions to prompt learners' thinking (e.g. what do you expect to see in the museum?)
Show a video related to the theme of the museum
Science
Art
History
Social studies
Foreign Languages
Internet
School library
Brochures
Identify learners' needs and interests
Identify prerequisites as to knowledge and skills
While-visit process
cater for every learner's high personal involvement
give learners the opportunity to ask questions
provide learners with the opportunity to handle and examine artefacts (hands-on activities)
stimulate learners through all their senses
engage learners in unambiguous problem-solving tasks that allow time for observation
reinforce social learning through cooperative tasks (learning with and from peers)
Prepare well-structured worksheets containing tasks that promote discovery and experiential learning
engage learners in inquiry-based tasks that promote the development of higher order thinking skills