Education Beyond the Classroom Walls: Teaching and Learning in Cultural Institutions

Explore teaching and learning beyond classroom walls. We will focus on teaching/learning in cultural institutions (museums, historic houses, children’s museums). We will begin with our own experiences with this kind of learning, then explore the pedagogical methods, underlying philosophies and learning theories, debates, and goals of informal education today. What kind of learning happens in cultural institutions? How does it compare to learning in schools? Which pedagogical methods are most common in cultural institutions today and how do they align with stated goals? What are the debates within the field and what are our visions for the future of the field?