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Strategies for the Curiosity‐Driven Museum Visitor
Abstract
Tracking studies show that museum visitors typically view only 20 to 40 percent of an exhibition. Current literature states that this partial use sub-optimizes the educational benefit gained by the visitor, and that skilled visitors view an exhibition comprehensively and systematically. Contrary to that viewpoint, this paper argues that partial use of exhibitions is an intelligent and effective strategy for the visitor whose goal is to have curiosity piqued and satisfied. By using analytical approaches derived from “optimal foraging theory” in ecology, this paper demonstrates that the curiosity-driven visitor seeks to maximize the Total Interest Value of his or her museum visit. Such visitors use a set of simple heuristics to find and focus attention only on exhibit elements with high interest value and low search costs. Their selective use of exhibit elements results in greater achievement of their own goals than would be gained by using the exhibition comprehensively.
... In the last 150 years museum design theory has gradually moved from not technologically mediated visual methods to interpretative and experiential styles, enhancing the importance of design. Exhibition design as an intentional method to organize users' experience in a museum space begun to have some attention in the early '60 of the last century (Miles et al., 1988), whereas it is only from the beginning of this century that the qualities of the physical space in a museum have been specifically studied and recognized in their effect of modulating the visitor experience (Dernie, 2006;Falk & Dierking, 2000;Macdonald, 2007;Ng, 2003;Rounds, 2004). Studies on this topic have usually linked peculiar spatial features -layout, wayfinding, intensity and type of lighting, colours -to general self-report evaluations, such as satisfaction feeling. ...
... Visitors tend to look for environments suited to their physical, physiological and psychological characteristics (Ng, 2003;Rounds, 2004) and are attracted to those exhibitions that offer the greatest concordance with their needs and objectives, responding negatively to the environments that confuse and frustrate them (Pekarik & Schreiber, 2012;Rui Olds, 1994). ...
The Artistic goods represent a priceless asset of our cultural patrimony since they play a crucial role in defining and understanding the identity of communities. Nevertheless, they are not always adequately protected against possible dangers and hazards or the effects of time. In these last decades, the new technologies - such as the digital control, the 3D reconstructions etc. - have experienced great developments even in their application to the art collections, increasing the monitoring activities, the safety checking, and their interface with the community. The ARCO 2020 Conference collected contributions from different areas for the preservation, the enhancement, and the protection of the art goods exhibited in the Museums. This volume collects the proceeding of the sessions about Design and Museum Design, Digital Heritage, Historical Research and Posters of the ARCO 2020 international conference which took place on 21-23 September 2020 in Florence, Italy, at the Dipartimento di Architettura (DiDA).
... To support one's need for competence, museum professionals should make the design of their exhibits fun and easy for visitors to navigate freely [7]. Most museums offer free-choice learning, where navigation is guided by a visitor's needs and interests [8,9]. While this is important to satisfy one's need for autonomy, curators or exhibit designers should consider how to make use of a wide range of design options in presenting exhibits to visitors. ...
... Nevertheless, opportunities for future studies could be extended to include the impact of social interaction during virtual visits. Lastly, the authors also acknowledge that pre-recorded videos do not extend the same autonomy that museum visitors have during their free exploration [8,9]. Since many museums are shifting their attention to integrate technologies that enhance visitors' experiences, technologies like virtual reality or eye-tracking systems can easily address these limitations and can easily be analyzed using facial expression software to further support their studies. ...
Since the launch of online video portals in 2005, museums have encouraged visitors to upload and share their visits online. Although much has been written about visitors’ experiences in museums, very little exists on the impact virtual visits have on viewers. In this qualitative pilot study, a total of 2035 emotional reactions were recorded and analyzed after visiting 14 online museums using a facial expression recognition software. Following open and axial coding techniques, themes and subcategories emerged. Findings showed that while the background of the participant mediated how one experiences a museum online, certain architectural and exhibit attributes, if present, triggered similar emotions to those experienced in an in-person visit. Findings suggest that experiencing museums through online video portals may be as engaging as visiting museums in person—only if the creator captures a significant proportion of architectural details, transitioning of spaces and exhibits details. Further findings showed that facial expression software reveals what captures virtual visitors’ emotions, and what architectural and exhibit features keep them curious and engaged.
... In attempting to capture all that learning in the museum might encompass, Packer and Ballantyne (2002) argue that there has been a shift from focussing on learning to the broader category of experience. This is part of a move away in recent museology from a cultural transmission paradigm towards a visitor meaning-making paradigm (Rounds 2004). ...
... An important contribution narrative inquiry is the opportunity to place museum visitation within the broader context of people's lives and that a narrative research design provides the opportunity to follow threads and identify tensions that influenced Cecilia's museum visitation. In tracing how Cecilia's relationship with the museum has changed over time, Everett's (2009) study provides depth to other research that identifies museums as important sites for fulfilling identity-related needs (Falk, Heimlich, & Bronnenkant, 2008;Rounds, 2004). ...
In this thesis, I attempt to trace the threads that links the theoretical concept of narrative to the museum blockbuster exhibition. I adopt a qualitative dialogic approach, exploring the topic of narrative from the perspective of both exhibition makers and museum visitors. Semi-structured interviews with museum professionals provide an insight into the strategies and practices involved in the encoding of narrative in museum exhibitions. Interviews with members of the public reveal how visitors decode exhibition narratives, while also illustrating the role museums play in the stories people tell about themselves. Narrative is a term that is often used in reference to museums but is frequently under-theorised. My case studies – three blockbuster exhibitions held at the British Museum from 2013 to 2015 – each approach the question of how is narrative as a concept relevant in helping us understand the critical issue of the museum from different perspectives. Drawing on the work of the Roland Barthes and the Mikhail Bakhtin, I investigate how concepts taken from literary theory such as plot structure and narratorial perspective might manifests themselves in the space of a museum exhibition. Using the concept of cultural capital taken from the work of the French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, I also explore the role a visitor’s social background and familiarity with museums plays in their decision to follow a narrative or reject it. Two threads run throughout my thesis. One is the use of the term narrative to describe the multimodal, multi-authored nature of museum-making. The other is the role museums play in the construction of narratives about the past. It is in the dialogue between the two narrative threads that this thesis seeks to explore and untangle.
... Finally, visitors may engage in museum visits out of curiosity about attractions, from guidance from related sites, and to seek opportunities for resources and business. Research consistently confirms that curiosity is a vital intrinsic factor that triggers individuals to seek information and engage in behaviors [59][60][61][62][63][64], and similar results are found in studies related to museum visitor behavior [56,65,66]. Berlyne conceptualized curiosity as a response to novel stimuli, involving feelings of attractiveness and uncertainty [67]. ...
As museums shift their responsibilities and functions towards audience-centered approaches, research on exploring museum cultural communication strategies through visitor experiences has gained increasing attention from both academia and industry. This study focuses on the newly opened Nan Song Deshou Palace Relics Site Museum in Hangzhou, China, completed at the end of 2022, and its visitors. Data were collected through on-site surveys and in-depth interviews. The research findings indicate that the current motivations of museum visitors manifest primarily in three forms: knowledge exploration, social interaction, and psychological restoration. After evaluating the existing museum service quality based on the field of experiential value in marketing management, two main issues and features were identified. The issues include sub-optimal visitor pathways and layout, dissatisfaction with staff services, and shortcomings in promotion and communication. The overall cultural learning and interactive experience for the entire visitor base also require improvement. The features are characterized by differentiated cultural and creative consumption in the museum and the emergence of interrelated consumer demands. Based on these findings, the study provides targeted recommendations for future museum construction and communication strategies.
... When discussing navigation within museums, we often need to look into wayfinding, as real-world locomotion typically involves physical walking. Previous research has highlighted that wayfinding can pose challenges for both museum curators and visitors [52]. It can be particularly tricky due to the complex layouts of museum interiors [53]. ...
... Esto conllevaría a un incremento de gastos de personal, que en muchos casos no puede ser solventado por los museos. En segundo lugar, las exposiciones de los museos suelen presentar una gran cantidad de colecciones que no pueden ser contempladas por los visitantes en un tiempo razonable (Rounds, 2004). Por lo tanto, los visitantes no recorren el museo de manera exhaustiva, sino que se centran en un pequeño grupo de obras (Kirchberg y Tröndle, 2012). ...
La gestión de los museos, desde inicios del siglo XXI, ha mostrado una creciente implementación de las nuevas tecnologías (códigos QR, Apps, realidad aumentada, realidad virtual, gamificación, entre otros), en aras de proporcionar una mayor satisfacción a sus visitantes. De hecho, la pandemia de la COVID-19 ha acelerado dicho uso, que ya venía gestándose desde inicios de este siglo. Hoy, las tecnologías son recursos clave para la gestión de museos. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el uso de nuevas tecnologías en museos, a partir de una revisión de la literatura entre el período 2000-2019, etapa previa a la COVID-19. Se ha elegido el período pre-pandemia, puesto que la COVID-19 marca un punto de inflexión, el cierre de un ciclo y el inicio de una nueva etapa. Para este análisis, se recopilaron 130 artículos publicados en revistas del Journal Citation Reports (JCR). La investigación arrojó tres hallazgos principales: el primero indicó que los sistemas multimedia han sido las herramientas tecnológicas más frecuentes dentro de los museos, las cuales en su mayoría están destinadas a la satisfacción de los visitantes. El segundo hallazgo indicó que los artículos académicos con mayor colaboración entre autores, son los más citados en el área académica, independientemente al factor de impacto de la revista. Finalmente, el último hallazgo determinó que la colaboración entre investigadores sigue siendo escasa, especialmente entre investigadores de distintas disciplinas. Este documento contribuye con una evaluación precisa del desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías en el campo de los museos, en la era pre-pandemia.
... The free-choice learning theory places the learner at the center of the learning process, enabling them to choose when, where, and with whom to learn, among other factors that influence learning (Falk, 2001;Falk & Dierking, 1998). In many instances, learning is a voluntary pursuit, and individuals of all ages derive pleasure from acquiring new knowledge (Falk et al., 1992;Hsu & Lin, 2021;Rounds, 2004). However, free-choice learning primarily takes place beyond the confines of formal education, including settings such as museums, natural science centers, the internet, or even within the home (Dierking, 2005;Falk, 2001). ...
In recent years, citizen science has emerged as a vital component of large-scale scientific research, relying on the collaboration of participants and scientists in gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating new discoveries. Research has shown that citizen science participants not only assist in data collection but also make significant contributions to their scientific and environmental education. However, the wide range of learning process and approach associated with citizen science has resulted in numerous studies using different theories to examine learning outcomes. This paper seeks to compile various learning theories that align with citizen science participation and engagement. The theories to be explored include experiential learning, sociocultural theory, social learning theory, free-choice learning, constructivism learning theory, and situated learning. By synthesizing these theories, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive reference for the growing body of research on learning with citizen scientists.
... In Reinforcement learning (RL), environment is basically learning from the extrinsic reward based mechanism which sometimes saturates the amount of learning while running the real time scenario based application like vehicular networking. Thus, several intrinsic reward based mechanisms are exist in the literature, which highlights the importance of learning intrinsically to the environment [7][8][9][10][11][12]. In the direction of multi agent RL based environments, in [13], authors recommend that states be distributed. ...
Due to the rapid expansion of heterogeneous mobile networks, there has been a significant increase in the need for a network, processing, and caching resources. A dynamic vehicular network requires the ability to effectively and efficiently manage multiple resources. This is in accord with the majority of previous research on resource management. Due to this, it is imperative to focus on dynamic networks that change rapidly over time and require a large number of connections. Using curiosity-enabled learning, this study investigates how distributed resource allocation mechanisms for mobile vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications can be applied to medium and dense traffic scenarios. By utilizing the distributed resource allocation mechanism, an autonomous “agent” such as a vehicle can determine the optimal sub-band and power level for transmission without relying on global information. It is believed that the environment learns from extrinsic rewards because they can provide high levels of repetition and heavy fluctuations in decisions. We model curiosity in accordance with exit locations in mobility models. In addition to providing intrinsic rewards to the environment, a variety of curiosities will improve the performance of the system. We find that each agent can satisfy latency constraints with resource allocation for V2I links with a minimum prediction error when learning from intrinsic rewards.
... Object-based learning begins before, during, and after handling an artifact. First, simply searching for artifacts embodies the joy of not knowing what may be found, the unexpectedness of an initial encounter, and the chance for tactile engagement (Falk & Dierking, 2000;Rounds, 2004;Woodall, 2015). Then, once an artifact is found, haptic engagement aids learners in perceiving physical properties as well as recalling details of that object later (Tiballi, 2015). ...
Object-based learning includes the active incorporation of historic artifacts into educational environments, which may yield meaningful learning experiences. However, gaining access to artifacts and coordinating object-based curricula with museum staff pose immense challenges to educators. Furthermore, digital representations of historic artifacts are often removed from authentic, culturally-situated surroundings. By providing a system-level overview of a game currently under development titled Kresy, this emerging technology report explains how video game affordances, particularly interactive narrative, may support object-based learning in digital environments. To support object-based learning and engagement with 20th-century Eastern European history, Kresy weaves story through evidence collection and inquiry mechanics. In presenting these design considerations, this report shows the viability of merging game- and object-based learning within an immersive virtual environment.
... Therefore, the authentic object should still retain centre stage (von Borries, 1997). The 3D prints of Digging up Memories are still used for public engagement events and group visits, and are effective conversation openers when exploring the function, morphology and viewer curiosity of objects (Cooper, 2019;Rounds, 2004;Valdecasas et al., 2006). ...
Digital exhibits allow museums to showcase artefacts to the public irrespective of distance, museum closures, and delicacy of the object. Vindolanda Museum developed the Digging up Memories – Making Connections digital exhibition to present wooden artefacts with a focus on maintained narrative of Roman history and emotive responses from museum workers. The exhibition content was developed and co-curated by the Vindolanda Trust team, who picked their favourite wooden objects and discussed their emotional connections to them. The display represents their responses through creative writing, voice recordings, and short film clips, with 3D models of the chosen artefacts embedded for enhancement. Over 10,000 visits were made during the three-month opening, with an average of 1:35 min spent per page. The exhibition was supplemented with 3D prints to allow public handling of accurate replicas within the context of the museum and original artefact on display. Recommendations for future digital exhibitions are provided.
... It imagines how they first perceive the display, how it catches their attention within the busy and noisy exhibition environment. Rounds (2004) takes this idea further. Adopting approaches from behavioral ecology, he proposes that the curiosity-driven visitor forages an exhibition to maximize the "Total Interest Value" of their visit. ...
... A person's individual interest can be described as "a relatively stable tendency to occupy oneself with an object of interest" and consists of cognitive, affective (enjoyment), and value-related components (Krapp & Prenzel, 2011, p. 31). Such interest developed in the past can not only move someone to visit a particular museum but can also direct his or her attention during the visit, while an (increased) interest in the museum's or exhibition's topic can also be an outcome of a museum visit (Csikszentmih alyi & Hermanson, 1995;Falk & Adelman, 2003;Lewalter et al., 2015;Nakamura & Csikszentmih alyi, 2002;Rounds, 2004). Individual interest has also been linked to knowledge gain in a museum (Falk & Adelman, 2003;Lewalter et al., 2014). ...
Visit motivation is a multidimensional construct that can be viewed as a convergence of various elements of a visitor’s personal context that lead him or her to visit a particular museum on a particular day. We explored associations between six visit motivation categories, four personal characteristics and three visit-related characteristics that have previously been linked to visit motivation and museum learning. Our main aim was to increase our understanding of how visit motivation is embedded in visitors’ wider personal context. Results showed an effect of visit company on two ‘social’ visit motivation categories, and positive correlations between three different visit motivation categories and visitors’ interest in science, their self-efficacy beliefs, their visit frequency and their visit strategy. Our findings help to better understand how visitors’ personal and visit-related characteristics are associated with their motivation to visit a science museum, which can ultimately support museum professionals in providing customized visit experiences.
... Meanwhile, empirical studies on learning in the museum found that people visit museum spaces with a variety of goals, such as content acquisition, restoration and relaxation (Greene et al., 2014;Leinhardt, 2014;Packer, 2008;Rounds, 2004). Furthermore, studies found learning in museum visits is unpredictable because it is affected by prior knowledge, interests, skills, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of the visitors (Falk and Dierking, 2000). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this theoretical paper is to propose that museums can be useful sites in intervening the theory–practice divide in teacher education. The authors draw from their visit to the Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR or Center hereafter) to explore the potential of a local museum as a powerful intervention in the preservice teacher education theory/practice divide.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ theoretical framework draws off of “thinking with theory,” a method of using concepts to make sense of data by “plugging” a concept “into” data (Jackson and Mazzei, 2011). The authors believe that everyone, even their preservice teachers think with theories in an attempt to make sense of information and events. In their social studies methods courses, the authors offer readings, texts, videos and experiences that present ideas and concepts that are new to their preservice teachers in order to expose underlying theories that frame worldviews.
Findings
The authors provide four “snapshots” or findings. These include: heroification and villainification, White–Black binary and messianic meta-narratives, empathy and simulation and critical Black patriotism. Each of these snapshots is grounded in theories from scholars in the field of social studies, demonstrating one way to put theory to work.
Originality/value
As the aforementioned snapshots show, the authors found a place like CCHR that can serve as important space to think with theory and deconstruct presented narratives. The authors “plugged” concepts from social studies scholarship “into” the narratives presented at the CCHR. Specifically, the authors used villainification (van Kessel and Crowley, 2017), AsianCrit (Chang, 1993), Black Patriotism (Busey and Walker, 2017) and messianic narratives and martyrdom (Alridge, 2006).
... a. Falk 2009;Falk und Dierking 2002;Hooper-Greenhill 2007). Das Besuchsverhalten reicht von einem systematischen und elaborierten Vorgehen bis zu einer von Neugier geleiteten, kurzzeitigen Beschäftigung mit einzelnen Exponaten, die schon nach wenigen Sekunden abgebrochen wird (Falk 2009;Rounds 2004;Serrell 1998). Zudem werden Museen und Ausstellungen meist in sozialen Gruppen (Familie, Freunde, Kollegen) besucht, so dass die Informationsrezeption zu einem beachtlichen Teil von sozialen Interaktionen bestimmt wird (u. ...
Computer-unterstütztes kooperatives Lernen (CSCL) bedeutet, dass mehrere Lernende gemeinsam Lernaufgaben bearbeiten und dabei von Computern unterstützt werden. Basierend auf Merkmalen von Lernaufgaben sowie verschiedenen technischen Unterstützungsmöglichkeiten wird hier ein Modell von CSCL-Szenarien vorgestellt. Das Modell ermöglicht es Wirkzusammenhänge von Unterstützungsmaßnahmen für CSCL-Szenarien einschätzen und überdauernde Gestaltungsmerkmale für CSCL-Szenarien entwickeln zu können.
... and many mentioned that they would look into certain aspects more, even if fewer engaged in further exploration and actively explored the extra material available in the app (e.g., links to the literature sources, relevant games, documentaries and press articles). In any case, the triggered curiosity must be seen as a better quality of visitor experience [24,25], also linked to venue sustainability [26]. One cultural informatics expert used the app and mentioned that she liked it so much that she (S7_P6) "needed longer time and wanted more stuff". ...
Sustainability in Cultural Heritage (CH) is a complex question that needs to be addressed by a group of experts tackling the different issues. In this light, the present work wishes to provide a multi-level analysis of the sustainability in CH, using as an example a recent European H2020 project (CrossCult) and the lessons learnt from its design, implementation and evaluation. The sustainability of CH has qualitatively changed over the last few years, under the developments in digital technology that seems to affect the very nature of the cultural experience. We discuss sustainability in venues using digital technologies, covering a span of needs of small/unknown and large/popular venues, which try to enhance the visitor experience, attract visitors, form venue networks, etc. Moreover, we explore issues of sustainability of digital content and its re usability through holistic design. Aspects of technology, human networks and data sustainability are also presented, and we conclude with the arguments concerning the sustainability of visitor reflection, the interpretation of social and historical phenomena and the creation of meaning.
... For example, people learn about science while engaged in personal investigations, through civic organizations and active leisure pursuits, such as visits to national parks, science centres and botanical gardens (Falk et al., 2007). Adults take their children to these settings because they feel such experience are worthwhile, educational and fun, and that they and their children learn science in the process [e.g., Borun et al. (1997), Rounds (2004), Ballantyne and Packer (2005)]. Similar motivations and findings can be ascribed to watching nature or science specials on television, using the Internet to access science-, environmental-or health-related information, and engaging in science-related hobbies and special interest groups (e.g., Elder et al., 1998;Eveland and Dunwoody, 1998;Batts et al., 2008;Warden, 2010). ...
Social inclusion in science is a complex issue. During the past decades, research centres, science centres, museums and other institutions invested in science communication aiming to promote cultural activities to diverse audiences. Despite this investment, science communicators from all over the world face the same challenge: how to reach citizens that are not interested in science? The main goals for this project were to explore innovative techniques to engage socially-vulnerable communities with science, and propose a model of science communication built on this practice-based research. The project, named “Embodying Memories”, was developed in a collaborative way between science partners (IGC - Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, iNOVA Media Lab), art partners (museum from FCG – Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian) and administrative partners (Câmara Municipal de Oeiras). The target audience, a senior community of women, most illiterate and migrant from Africa, was involved on the project plan since early stages, starting with the topic choice - Memory. The project implementation consisted of eight sessions that took place over a period of more than two months in 2018, covering several themes related to memory and brain. Diverse formats were used for the session’s activities, from scientific presentations, neuroscience stories or study cases, community memories sharing, to more interactive activities stimulating body movement, abstraction and self-expression. Besides in-door sessions at the migrant support centre, a visit to the FCG museum and a visit to IGC laboratories were organized, and a project public presentation was performed. The project was qualitatively evaluated to identify changes in awareness, knowledge, engagement, attitude and social inclusion, which was made by the analysis of field notes, attendance record, pre/post assessment focus group, community project evaluation, project narrative, and public presentation content. Overall, it was considered that the project had a moderate achievement, from a balance between very high attendance and willingness to participate in new cultural experiences, high engagement with the project, moderate increase in knowledge about neuroscience, and some increase in awareness and engagement with science, stimulation of curiosity, abstraction and self-expression. To achieve a high level of engagement, a dynamic equilibrium was constantly in a trial between the six axes of the project (science education, art education, cultural entertainment, social inclusion, mental health promotion, institutional advertising), and respective institutions. The most important project achievements were the fluidity and fruition of the project itself, and the opportunity given to participants to engage with Science & Art, to visit the museum and laboratories, to meet scientists and science instruments. A relevant asset of the project, was the existence of the boundary spanner, which was developed along pre- and during sessions by taking actions, visits, share experiences and events to inhabit the laboratory sphere, the museum sphere, and the community world. The role of the boundary spanner was crucial, yet challenging to balance between how much would be desirable for each partner to stay in and out of their comfort zones and territories. Based on insights gained from the project development and evaluation, a model was proposed to guide science communication projects using Science & Art approaches to promote social inclusion. The model entails the following phases: Phase 1. Design, plan and collaboration; Phase 2. Implementation; and Phase 3. Evaluation.
... A trip to a museum can be discouraging for this reason, although most visitors ignore such explanations anyway. Only ~20%-40% of visitors read labels and then only for a few seconds (Rounds, 2004). For most visitors, detailed scientifi c information that includes technical names, locality, and ecology, for example, have little meaning and are mostly irrelevant to visitors; thus, much of the information and the exhibit itself are soon forgotten. ...
Natural history museums have evolved over the past 500 years to become vanguards of science literacy and thus institutions of democracy. Curiosity about nature and distant cultures has proven to be a powerful lure, and museums have progressively improved public engagement through increasingly immersive exhibits, participation in field expeditions, and research using museum holdings, all facilitated by new technology. Natural history museums have dispersed across the globe and demonstrated that public fascination with ancient life, vanished environments, exotic animals in remote habitats, cultural diversity, and our place in the cosmos is universal. This volume samples the story of museum development and illustrates that the historical successes of natural history museums have positioned them to be preeminent facilitators of science literacy well into the future.
... The environment of the ship was a novel one for us, yet the initial decks on the visitor route were laid out in ways that we could connect with, addressing three concepts; eating, sleeping and spare time on board. Tom found the ship interesting, becoming intrinsically motivated to learn rather than see the need to acquire knowledge with extrinsic benefits (Rounds, 2004). ...
Learning in museums is not merely a process of the assimilation of knowledge but one of meaning making in which both the museum and the visitor play a part. This thesis looks at how meanings are constructed as a process of co-creation in the museum by family learners. I look critically at how self-guided family visitors learn in museums in free-choice learning settings. In this research, an ethnographic, naturalist enquiry, I seek to understand family learning in museums through a series of case studies in different cultural institutions such as the Horniman museum and HMS Belfast. I seek to establish how family learning happens, in terms of meaning making, and how museums best enable it to happen with a particular focus on museum interpretation. Throughout this research, my thinking and professional experience have developed as I have moved from being a family visitor, to volunteering, to gaining work as a museum educator. The bearing this has had on this research is acknowledged and it has served to create a framework for heuristic practice, around which I have developed ideas. Exploring a wide-rage of literature on family learning, I often draw on research in art galleries concerning families as I have found it relevant to my field of inquiry. The theory of knowledge that underlies my thinking is one of constructivism, where meanings are actively constructed in the dialogue between the family and museum. In this thesis I examine the place of information in museum interpretation and argue that it can also equip families to learn, scaffolding the experience, creating conditions for learning. I uncover ways in which museum interpretation, as well as being a means by which information is presented to visitors, could also attend to visitor skills, facilitating engagement by providing opportunities and entry points for visitors to access objects.
... a. Falk 2009;Falk und Dierking 2002;Hooper-Greenhill 2007). Das Besuchsverhalten reicht von einem systematischen und elaborierten Vorgehen bis zu einer von Neugier geleiteten, kurzzeitigen Beschäftigung mit einzelnen Exponaten, die schon nach wenigen Sekunden abgebrochen wird (Falk 2009;Rounds 2004;Serrell 1998). Zudem werden Museen und Ausstellungen meist in sozialen Gruppen (Familie, Freunde, Kollegen) besucht, so dass die Informationsrezeption zu einem beachtlichen Teil von sozialen Interaktionen bestimmt wird (u. ...
... Related but peripheral work can add some indirect insights around the notion of inspiration in the museum context: aesthetic (cf. Leder et al., 2004), spiritual (Latham, 2013), flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), the "Museum Effect" (Smith, 2014), attention and interest (Bitgood, 2013;Rounds, 2004), attention restoration (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1995;Kaplan et al., 1993), and profound learning (Perry, 2002). Many of these, however, are models and meant to be instructive rather than exploratory or descriptive. ...
How are information and inspiration connected? Answering this question can help information professionals facilitate the pathways to inspiration. Inspiration has previously been conceptualized as a goal or mode of information seeking, but this says little about the nature of inspiration or how it is experienced. In this study, we explore the connection between information and inspiration through a qualitative approach, using the museum as our setting; specifically, the researchers’ own visits to three separate museums. We use collaborative auto-hermeneutics, a methodology specifically suited to such a reflexive exploration, to document and analyze three individual museum visits. The following research questions were the main driver for this exploratory study: What is inspiration, and How are inspiration and information related? In answer, we present an inductive definition of inspiration as a kind of information, and we discuss how this definition fits in with the information science literature as well as offer some practical applications.
... Macdonald (2011, p. 368) reported 'the typical museum visitor' was in the upper education, occupation and income groups, usually looking for opportunities to learn, to experience something new, to do something worthwhile, to feel ease and comfort, and also to participate actively. According to Rounds (2004), only a minor part of visitors attend the exhibitions in a thorough manner. What they attempt to achieve is the maximisation of their 'Total Interest Value' of the museum visit by focusing on 'those exhibit elements with high interest value and low search costs. ...
... Display conditions applied for Conservation The visitors' inclination to imitate other visitors' behaviour (Falk and Dierking 1992, 52-53;Vom Lehn et al. 2001;Rounds 2004) must have reinforced the phenomenon observed too. ...
This work suggests that Conservation, an important mission and on-going duty of cultural heritage museums worldwide is informally transmitted to the public via a series of specific environmental conditions and restrictions imposed for the preservation of their exhibits, which operate as indices of informal communication. Furthermore, it supports that Conservation has the appropriate characteristics to be used as an interpretation tool for formal museum communication with the visitors in order to enhance constructivist meaning making and further affiliate them with cultural heritage exhibitions.
The three most appointed museums of Athens, the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum and the Benaki Museum have been selected to monitor the visitors’ time spent in front of exhibits displayed under low light conditions, inside showcases, behind fences and bars and for which touching and flash photography was restricted. Moreover to investigate their knowledge and understanding of the above conditions and restrictions, their perception of Conservation and their interest in seeing it included amongst the interpretation lines of the museums. The conservation managers were asked to provide the museums’ aspect on the issue.
The results confirmed the visitors’ tendency to stay longer in front of the particularly displayed exhibits, their knowledge and understanding of the reasons behind the restrictions and the environmental conditions imposed, their respect for conservation, their ability to distinguish and comment on conservation interventions and their interest for conservation-related museum interpretations. The latter, wherever they existed helped visitors to remember the exhibits for longer. The conservation managers recognised their publics’ interest and the lack of conservation communication and discussed the need for an integrated museum communication policy that will embrace Conservation too. All findings supported the use of Conservation amongst the interpretation lines of the cultural heritage museums via its educational and engaging potential for numerous interpreting museum communities.
... Museums, zoos or other types of ELS are well suited to support this basic need. They offer a wide range of information that visitors can approach voluntarily and process in their own manner, at their own pace, and in their own chosen order (Rounds 2004). Second is the need for competence, which describes a person's desire to feel effective; that is, to master the given demands of a task or learning situation and feel neither unchallenged nor overstrained. ...
Motivations for visiting educational leisure settings (ELS) are a lasting research focus for academics and museum practitioners alike. Insights into visit motivations have proven valuable in drawing audiences, creating satisfying experiences and for better understanding visitors’ learning processes. However, the lack of an instrument offering a reasonable degree of measurement invariance to use across sites has challenged attempts to make valid comparisons across different types of ELS. We therefore developed a short scale to enable quick and valid comparisons of visit motivations across ELS and investigated its dimensionality, reliability and measurement invariance across three sites (science museum, art museum, zoo; N = 605). Our 17-item short scale captures six theoretically important visit motivation categories with sufficient reliability (ρ .65 < .85). Analysis indicates an approximate scalar invariance of factor loadings and item intercepts, allowing for a comparison of latent factor means across sites. Subsequently, we found plausible mean differences in visit motivation dimensions across ELS, providing preliminary evidence that the scale enables meaningful comparisons across sites.
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... Studies about cognitive experiences in a science museum are mostly devoted to measuring cognitive outcomes or meaning-making by means of pre-post tests (Holmes 2011;Spiegel et al. 2012), interviews (Anderson et al. 2000;Mortensen 2011), discourse analysis (Ash 2003;Mortensen and Smart 2007;Rahm 2004), and questionnaires (Gutwill and Sindorf 2015;Martin et al. 2016). Looking at the affective experience includes the assessment of visitors' interest (Rounds 2004), motivation (Holmes 2011;Stavrova and Urhahne 2010), and expectations (Packer 2008;Sheng and Chen 2012). These cognitive and affective experiences are both part of the Bpersonal context^part of Falk and Dierking's model, which addresses visitors' background, interests, previous experiences, prior knowledge, and the way they construct knowledge from the artifacts or mediation tools (Falk 2009, p. 141). ...
This mixed-method research focuses on how school children visiting a science museum with their class perceive the overall experience of their visit to the science museum and which aspects of the science museum experience they recall as significant. The study participants were seventy two 4th grade students (age 9–10) who came to the museum with their class for a day visit. Our research revealed that the students perceive two different types of activities in the visit, according to the level of choice given to them, and that their experiences in these activities are described differently. The physical interaction during the visit is dominant, and students report at length what they have learned about how to operate the exhibits in the museum. Additionally, the students see the facilitators as traditional knowledge transmitters, repeating their explanations and referring to their contents as something they have learned. Our findings expand what is known about student visitors’ experiences and can therefore help make the museum experience more meaningful for school students.
... As free-choice learning settings, museums give visitors the freedom to decide what to attend to, when and for how long. Similar to the underlying principle of the ELM, visitors' motivation and ability play an important role in the themes they choose to deal with and how deeply they process the information on display (Csikszentmihalyi & Hermanson, 1995;Falk & Dierking, 2000;Petty, Rucker, Bizer, & Cacioppo, 2004), with personal interests and curiosity guiding their selection of objects (Rounds, 2004). Webb (1997, p. 276) suggests that exhibit designers attempt to activate the visitors' affective side, which "has its antennae up all the time," with the aim of subsequently provoking a cognitive response. ...
Visitors to modern science museums are likely to encounter exhibitions presenting conflicting information, such as risks and benefits of new scientific developments. Such exhibitions encourage visitors to reflect upon different sides of a story and to form or adjust their attitudes toward the topic on display. However, there is very little evidence of museum visits influencing visitors’ attitudes. Using a risk–benefit museum text, we set out to explore this blind spot of attitude change in a science museum, with visual and auditory text as information conditions. Our results show a small average change in visitors’ attitude toward the text topic after information (N=225). No significant differenceswere found between participants’ attitude change in the two information conditions.We also explored whether participants’ attitude change can be predicted based on presentation
modality and four dimensions of attitude strength (prior knowledge, attitudinal certainty, attitudinal importance, and attitudinal ambivalence) that are known to play a role in attitude change. Results indicate that this model explained a small part of the variance, but only ambivalence added statistically significantly to the prediction. Overall, our findings suggest that risk–benefit information can on average change visitors’ attitudes and that prior attitudinal ambivalence can influence that change.
Designing museum exhibitions is a hot topic for architects, designers, museologists, and scholars since museography represents a powerful tool for valorizing collections, promoting education, communicating cultural values, and ensuring suitable conservation conditions for the exhibited specimens. This is especially true for museums displaying authentic objects which are conveyors of scientific, cultural, social, and ethical values. In particular, natural history and science museums often compete with the leisure industry, and thus their museographic solutions have to meet more and more demanding requirements to increase visitor engagement. This paper describes the museographic concepts beneath the Italian Museum of Planetary Sciences in Prato (Italy, hereinafter MISP). MISP is the only museum in Italy entirely devoted to illustrating planetary sciences and displays important collections of extraterrestrial materials (meteorites, tektites, and impactites). The exhibition layout, characterized by a continuous wall belt design, recalls the outer space while providing non-invasive visual means to improve visitors’ emotional engagement with the displayed specimens. MISP museographic strategies also outline the importance of spatial designs and transpositions focusing on the illustration of the exhibited collections, thus going against some current museographic practices emphasizing, for example, the use of augmented reality and digital stimuli.
Graphical abstract
Cette thèse s'intéresse à la recommandation de visites culturelles à travers une approche interdisciplinaire. Ces travaux mêlent des techniques issues de la Recherche Opérationnelle et du traitement automatique de la langue naturelle écrite tout en se basant sur des concepts issus de la sociologie des publics et de la géographie. Nous proposons de nouvelles méthodes autour de l'évaluation des points d'intérêt culturel ainsi que la création automatique de parcours touristiques prenant en compte les envies exprimées par un visiteur. Ces principes sont appliqués à deux échelles et contextes différents, la visite de musées et les parcours culturels dans une ville.Dans une première partie, nous nous concentrons sur les visites dans les musées d'art en fonction des préférences exprimées par le visiteur et du prestige des œuvres. Cette double approche permet de classer les œuvres à la fois en fonction des affinités culturelles du visiteur mais aussi en fonction de leur importance au sein du musée. Cette dernière est calculée en appliquant des algorithmes de résumé automatique de texte aux cartouches officiels du musée qui décrivent les œuvres et permet d'obtenir un profil de visite reflétant la découverte d'un musée en fonction de ses chefs-d'œuvre. Ce profil peut ensuite être modifié en fonction des goûts du visiteur pour obtenir une visite lui correspondant tout en préservant le point de vue du musée.Par la suite, nous assimilons la construction d'un parcours à un problème de routage, visant à trouver un itinéraire parmi les différentes salles et œuvres dont le but est de maximiser la satisfaction du visiteur tout en respectant des contraintes de temps. Deux méthodes sont proposées, un modèle de programmation linéaire en nombres entiers puis une heuristique qui peut être utilisée pour de la proposition de parcours en temps réel, par exemple à leur arrivée dans le musée.Dans une deuxième partie, nous nous intéressons à la recommandation touristique en ville en établissant des métriques permettant de construire un parcours. À partir d'une étude interdisciplinaire, nous mettons en évidence l'importance de la personnalisation des parcours et identifions un facteur essentiel lors de leur construction en plus des goûts culturels, la cadence de visite. Une nouvelle méthode de mesure de la qualité d'expérience d'un parcours regroupant ces deux critères est utilisée. Cette dernière unit des méthodes de la littérature pour ce qui est de l'évaluation de l'intérêt culturel et utilise des actogrammes comme représentation géographique d'un parcours et ainsi définir une mesure de la cadence de visite.Par la suite, nous développons un système de recommandation de visites touristiques sous la forme d'un modèle de programmation linéaire en nombre entiers basé sur un formalisme extensible permettant de prendre en compte une grande diversité de contraintes et qui intègre trois critères pour l'évaluation du parcours : d'une part l'intérêt culturel et la cadence de visite, qui dépendent des préférences du touristes sont mesurés à différentes échelles, permettant d'introduire une cohérence dans la construction du parcours ; d'autre part, nous proposons d'intégrer dans la fonction objectif, l'effet apogée-fin, une heuristique psychologique célèbre qui a déjà été appliquée dans de nombreux autres domaines.En nous basant sur des études de cas concrets, nous montrons que l'utilisation conjointe de techniques issues de diverses disciplines permettent d'obtenir de bons résultats, tant au niveau de l'estimation de l'attrait des points d'intérêt que de la construction de parcours touristiques.
Travel can have a transformative power; that is, the possibility of generating deep change and impact on individuals’ self while on vacation. Transformative experiences could impact travellers at different levels and influence their understanding and interpretation of reality. Moving on from theoretical concepts, such as transformative learning, free choice learning and experiential learning together with adoption of an innovative mobile-enhanced data collection methodology in the field, this study investigates the Malaysian homestay tourism experience and its transformative power. It presents a preliminary framework to generate a better understanding of the anatomy of transformative travel, postulating that immersive and co-created experiences could trigger transformative learning processes in travellers, thereby impacting on their knowledge, skills and attitude towards generating a differential understanding and possible interpretation of the reality.
The Technology Assisted Science, Engineering and Mathematics (TASEM) learning, with major focus on
innovations in the use of technology to explain new and complicated concepts rather than on education research, goes far
beyond the conventional demos of van de Graaf (VDG) generators to introduce programmable Lego-based VDG
(PLVDG) for the first time. The PLVDG modules explain underlying concepts of micro- and nano-systems in a fun and
fascinating way as evident from the level of interest seen in over 2000 learners at K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels
during 2000-2010. The interest in PLVDG seems to be strongly related to the fact that the learners can design, build,
program and explore PLVDG using different pulley & belt materials and a palm-size robot. The generated voltages are
in the range of 5 – 35 kV depending upon humidity and pulley speed. Sensors of positive and negative charges have also
been developed using NMOS and PMOS switches embedded in LEGO-like bricks. Several new experiments are reported
in this paper focusing on learning of a number of areas including materials, engineering (EE & ME), computers, and
microsystems.
Throughout the design development process, simulations provide the ability to aid the designer in exploring the relationship between different variables, in various configurations, for as many iterations as needed without any physical commitment. The goal of this qualitative research is presenting in-depth perspectives of practicing design professionals on opportunities and challenges of utilising simulations in exhibition design process. Data were collected via a series of focus group interviews, adhering to a semi-structured framework. The persisting shortcomings and emerging benefits of simulations were identified and interpreted in relation to existing research. Notable findings indicated a significant demand towards a clear and intuitive user interface and visual output, stressed the minimal presence in work and educational environments and the resulting lack of synergy, and lastly, in addition to the skill requirements and steep learning curve, underlined the reliance on specialised experience to interpret and compensate the output.
Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004 the country has experienced a “museum boom.” Over the following decade new museums have been popping up in nearly every Polish town. The political climate in Poland is such that there are two dominant sides of the political spectrum: one, a celebration of liberal democracy and an openness to Europe, the other, anti‐EU and populist nationalist. This paper examines how two new museums in Poland, the Museum of Emigration in Gdynia, and the Warsaw Rising Museum, produce political messages supporting each of these sides.
With the advent of Web 2.0, the life of museums has undergone a profound change: today, almost all museums in the world use social media as a communication strategy with their visitors. However, only a few papers have analyzed the role of social media in attracting a greater number of visitors to museums.
Multimediale Präsentationen sind wichtige Formen der Informationsvermittlung in öffentlichen Bildungseinrichtungen und Bildungsangeboten. Sie umfassen eine Vielfalt von medialen Darstellungsformaten und Funktionen. Am Beispiel von Museen und Ausstellungen werden die wesentlichen Merkmale non-formaler und informeller Lernumgebungen beschrieben und deren Konsequenzen für eine Reihe multimedialer Gestaltungs- und Lernprinzipien diskutiert. Es zeigt sich, dass sich die in Laborstudien entwickelten und bislang vorwiegend in formalen Lernsettings validierten Multimedia-Prinzipien nicht einfach auf Museen und Ausstellungen übertragen lassen. Dafür sind konzeptuelle Differenzierungen und Erweiterungen erforderlich.
“释展”就是怀着对现实生活和社会心理的敏锐，在公众兴趣点和专业学术知识之间找到关联，并阐释展览意欲表达的主题。释展既需要用平实生动的语言传达严谨的研究和思考，也需要对展示空间设计和平面设计进行文化阐释。释展人是策展团队的润滑剂，务必时刻自省以确保展览内容和形式背后的文化阐释符合展览一以贯之的主旨。一个成功的释展人，既能应观众所需沟通学术研究与展陈设计，提升展品的当代意义，又能令观众通过观展体验提升修养，还能帮助博物馆成功履行教育使命，提升博物馆的社会价值。通过展陈设计表达策展人/研究员为展览提供的知识，提炼出学术研究中具有时代感的信息，寻找与观众的共鸣，真正理解观众的意愿、兴趣、文化背景与接受能力，是当代博物馆“释展”的基本工作。“一切为了观众”是“释展”背后的核心理念。加强各专业之间互相理解、灵活沟通、准确表达展品内涵，为提升观众体验而进行文化阐释，则是“释展”的精髓。
Mobile eye tracking recordings of 20 visitors of the gallery section ‘Der Führer’ of the Dokumentation Obersalzberg (Germany) were analyzed to determine the distribution of the visitors’ attention on a detailed level of individual exhibition elements consisting of single objects, pictures, texts, and labels. It was found that most of these elements were only briefly scanned but with a substantial variability in gaze behavior both across participants and exhibition elements. In particular, the objects and pictures primarily attracted the visitors’ attention but did not necessarily lead to elaborate inspection. In contrast, the information texts were less often noticed by the visitors, but if they were noticed, the visitors tended to spend substantial time reading them. The study demonstrates that notwithstanding methodological drawbacks such as the lack of unobtrusiveness of recording or highly time-consuming coding of raw data, mobile eye tracking allows to analyze visitors’ attention in a gallery with unprecedented precision.
Der Prozess des Lernens spielt eine zentrale Rolle in unserem Leben. Er findet in vielfältigen Kontexten und sehr unterschiedlichen Situationen statt – sowohl gezielt als auch beiläufig und zufällig, bewusst aber auch unbewusst. Dohmen (2001, S. 7) zeigt mit der pointierten Formulierung „Alle Menschen lernen – bewusst oder unbewusst – ihr Leben lang“ auf, dass es u. a. angesichts der in unserer Wissensgesellschaft immer wieder formulierten Notwendigkeit des „lebenslangen Lernens aller“ ausschlaggebend ist, alle Formen des Lernens in Betracht zu ziehen und deren wechselseitige Verzahnung anzustreben. Denn die sich rasant entwickelnde Wissens- und Informationsgesellschaft fordert eine ständige Weiterentwicklung und Ausdifferenzierung des eigenen Wissens, welches heute als eine der wichtigsten gesellschaftlichen Ressourcen angesehen wird (Düx & Sass 2005). Die Aufgabe der Vermittlung des hierfür notwendigen, sich ständig weiterentwickelnden Wissens kann nicht (mehr) alleine von den dafür vorgesehenen formalen Bildungsinstitutionen (Schule, Universität, Institutionen der beruflichen Aus- und Weiterbildung) getragen werden, zumal diese überwiegend auf bestimmte Lebensphasen (Kindheit, Jugend, frühes Erwachsenenalter) fokussiert sind und so eine kontinuierliche, lebenslange Wissens- bzw. Kompetenzaneignung nur begrenzt unterstützen können. Es ist zunehmend notwendig, sich auch mit Lernprozessen außerhalb geplant didaktisch aufbereiteter Situationen auseinanderzusetzen (Hungerland & Overwien 2004). Damit ist das informelle Lernen angesprochen, welches selbstgesteuerte, bewusst oder auch unbewusst ablaufende, beiläufige oder gezielte Lernprozesse außerhalb formaler Bildungskontexte beschreibt. Hierbei stellen das informelle und formale Lernen jedoch keine Gegensätze dar, sondern sollten als gegenseitige Ergänzungen, Erweiterungen und Anregungen genutzt werden (vgl. Europäische Kommission 2001).
This chapter will explore beginning teachers’ views of the use of dioramas to teach young children about scientists who have contributed to our understandings about Natural History. Recent changes to the English National Curriculum have resulted in re-focusing learners to consider not only what do we know about an area of science today, but also, how did we come to know (and whom was responsible) for discovering theories we learn about in school. Hypotheses (and evidence) that enabled scientists to recognise the process of survival of the fittest; the ways that fossils representative of different geological eras have helped us consider (and understand) why the form and function of plants and animals has changed over time and how pollutants, too, have caused changes in survival rates of particular animals are all contributory to appreciating Natural History. The scientific work that people, such as David Attenborough, Charles Darwin, Mary Anning, Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall have carried out will be considered through the ways that learners could use dioramas to convey aspects of their ‘stories’. Constructing dioramas can help beginning teachers appreciate how a more concrete, direct, ‘hands-on’ approach using everyday materials, can offer affordance to make complex ideas easier for younger children to understand. This chapter also describes, what they, as beginning teachers, reflected on through making a series of dioramas to depict the ways that the different scientists have contributed to our understanding of Natural History in some way. They also considered how it was a useful approach for young children, not only to make the dioramas, but also review each others’ and create a class collection of ‘models’ to help understand what we know (and how) about Natural History. This chapter, therefore, is written about a piece of evaluative action research undertaken to explore what beginning teachers learn (and think) about the use of dioramas to help children understand natural history.
This paper explores the nature of a ‘participatory museum experience’ targeted at twenty-first century core audiences. It highlights the holistic nature of the museum visit; emphasises the importance of matching lifestyle expectations; argues for the central role of social interaction; prioritises the process of learning over outcomes; and both defines participatory exhibits and provides a preliminary typology. It concludes with a brief discussion of the root and branch transformation of museum structures implied by a participatory, social interaction-based approach.
Der Zusammenhang zwischen Bildung und Museum spiegelt sich auch in der Geschichte der Erwachsenenbildung. Im Beitrag wird eingangs das für Fragen der Erwachsenenbildung konstitutive Verhältnis von Besucherorientierung und Museum erörtert, um auf dieser Basis die spezifischen Lernbedingungen im Museum und den gegenwärtigen Stand der Besucher- und Lernforschung zu skizzieren. Abschließend werden Bildungsmaßnahmen für Erwachsene vorgestellt sowie Perspektiven der Erwachsenenbildung aufgezeigt.
A simple way to approximate the value of information is proposed. Two kinds of quantities are important in determining the value of information: 1) the optimal behaviors that would be chosen if the decision maker knew which subtype (or state) of the resource it faced; and 2) the costs of small deviations from these subtype optima. The value of information is approximately equal to the product of the mean cost of small deviations from the subtype optima and the variance of a modified distribution of the optimal behaviors. This helps to resolve the conflict between a result from economics, which shows that the value of information does not increase with the variance of subtypes, and results from theoretical behavioral ecology, which show that the effect of adding incomplete information to "conventional' models is greatest when the variance of subtypes is greatest. There is no conflict as long as an increase in the variance of subtypes results in an increase in the variance of subtype optima, as is often the case. Changes in a problem's payoff structure change the value of information. -from Author
Skilled fielders were filmed as they ran backward or forward to catch balls projected toward them from a bowling machine 45 m away. They ran at a speed that kept the acceleration of the tangent of the angle of elevation of gaze to the ball at 0. This algorithm does not tell fielders where or when the ball will land, but it ensures that they run through the place where the ball drops to catch height at the precise moment that the ball arrives there. The algorithm leads to interception of the ball irrespective of the effect of wind resistance on the trajectory of the ball. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Information foraging theory is an approach to understanding how strategies and technologies for information seeking, gathering, and consumption are adapted to the flux of information in the environment. The theory assumes that people, when possible, will modify their strategies or the structure of the environment to maximize their rate of gaining valuable information. The theory is developed by (a) adaptation (rational) analysis of information foraging problems and (b) a detailed process model (adaptive control of thought in information foraging [ACT-IF]). The adaptation analysis develops (a) information patch models, which deal with time allocation and information filtering and enrichment activities in environments in which information is encountered in clusters; (b) information scent models, which address the identification of information value from proximal cues; and (c) information diet models, which address decisions about the selection and pursuit of information items. ACT-IF is instantiated as a production system model of people interacting with complex information technology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Falk and Dierking's Contextual Model of Learning was used as a theoretical construct for investigating learning within a free-choice setting. A review of previous research identified key variables fundamental to free-choice science learning. The study sought to answer two questions: (1) How do specific independent variables individually contribute to learning outcomes when not studied in isolation? and (2) Does the Contextual Model of Learning provide a useful framework for understanding learning from museums? A repeated measure design including interviews and observational and behavioral measures was used with a random sample of 217 adult visitors to a life science exhibition at a major science center. The data supported the contention that variables such as prior knowledge, interest, motivation, choice and control, within and between group social interaction, orientation, advance organizers, architecture, and exhibition design affect visitor learning. All of these factors were shown to individually influence learning outcomes, but no single factor was capable of adequately explaining visitor learning outcomes across all visitors. The framework provided by the Contextual Model of Learning proved useful for understanding how complex combinations of factors influenced visitor learning. These effects were clearerest when visitors were segmented by entry conditions such as prior knowledge and interest. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed89:744–778, 2005
Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.
This article assesses and extends Campbell's (1960) classic theory that creativity and discovery depend on blind variation and selective retention (BVSR), with special attention given to blind variations (BVs). The treatment begins by defining creativity and discovery, variant blindness versus sightedness, variant utility and selection, and ideational variants versus creative products. These definitions lead to BV identification criteria: (a) intended BV, which entails both systematic and stochastic combinatorial procedures; and (b) implied BV, which involves both variations with properties of blindness (variation superfluity and backtracking) and processes that should yield variant blindness (associative richness, defocused attention, behavioral tinkering, and heuristic search). These conceptual definitions and identification criteria then have implications for four persistent issues, namely, domain expertise, ideational randomness, analogical equivalence, and personal volition. Once BV is suitably conceptualized, Camp-bell's theory continues to provide a fruitful approach to the understanding of both creativity and discovery.
The flame photometer has been successfully applied to the quantitative determination of 0.1% to 1.0% of organic chloride. Copper is added to the sample and the copper chloride emission band at 436 mμ is measured. The method is much faster than the chemical method, and precision is as good when the qualitative composition of the sample is known.
One of the biggest revelations of recent psychological science is the two-track human mind, which features not only a deliberate, self-aware “high road” but also a vast, automatic, intuitive “low road.” Through experience, we learn associations that provide fast and frugal intuitions that enable instantaneous social judgments and the pattern recognition that marks acquired expertise. But as studies of implicit prejudice and intuitive fears illustrate, unchecked gut feelings can also lead us astray. Intuition's powers and perils appear in various realms, from sports to business to clinical and interviewer judgments.
In The Joyless Economy, Tibor Scitovsky proposes a model of human behavior that differs substantially from that of standard economic theory. Scitovsky begins with a basic distinction between “comfort” and “stimulation.” While stimulation is ultimately more satisfying and creative, we frequently fall for the bewitching attractions of comfort, which leads to impoverished lives. Scitovsky's analysis has far‐reaching implications not only for the idea of rationality, but for the concept of utility (by making it plural in nature) and, perhaps most importantly, for the importance of freedom (including the freedom to change our preferences).
The amount of time visitors spend and the number of stops they make in exhibitions are systematic measures that can be indicators of learning. Previous authors have made assumptions about the amount of attention visitors pay to exhibitions based on observations of behavior at single exhibits or other small data samples. This study offers a large database from a comparative investigation of the duration and allocation of visitors' time in 108 exhibitions, and it establishes numerical indexes that reflect patterns of visitor use of the exhibition. These indexes—sweep rate (SRI) and percentage of diligent visitors (%DV)—can be used to compare one exhibition to another, or to compare the same exhibition under two (or more) different circumstances. Patterns of visitor behavior found in many of the study sites included: (1) visitors typically spend less than 20 minutes in exhibitions, regardless of the topic or size; (2) the majority of visitors are not “diligent visitors”—those who stop at more than half of the available elements; (3) on average, visitors use exhibitions at a rate of 200 to 400 square feet per minute; and (4) visitors typically spend less time per unit area in larger exhibitions and diorama halls than in smaller or nondiorama exhibitions. The two indexes (SRI and %DV) may be useful measures for diagnosing and improving the effectiveness of exhibitions, and further study could help identify characteristics of “thoroughly-used” (i.e., successful) exhibitions.
The purposes of museums and those of their visitors often have little in common—despite the growing body of knowledge about museum learning and visitors' motivations. Based on concepts of experiential learning envisioned a century ago by the American educator and philosopher John Dewey, this paper explores bringing those purposes into closer alignment. A re-evaluation of several factors—including criteria of experience, content organization, and the nature of inquiry—could lead to exhibitions more closely aligned with visitors' processes of self-motivated activity and museums' goals for informal learning. One way is to shape exhibits and activity around problematical situations developed out of the exhibit experience itself and shaped by visitors' own purposes. By shifting focus from knowledge taxonomies to problem-solving situations, museums could increase their exhibitions' potential for providing engaging educational experiences to visitors.
The fiction of optimization In Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox, Organizations Comparing fast and frugal heuristics and optimal models
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Lessons Without Limit
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Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog, 1817, oil on canvas. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Ger-many. Photo: Elke Walford
- Caspar Friedrich David
Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog, 1817, oil on canvas. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Ger-many. Photo: Elke Walford. Photo courtesy of Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz/Art Resource, NY. REFERENCES Bourdieu, P. 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice. R. Nice, trans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rethinking rationality
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Simplicity and Complexity in Games of the Intellect Foraging Theory The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy
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Do fielders know where to go to catch the ball or only how to get there? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Per-formance
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