Abstract
This chapter illustrates a “learning to teach with dioramas story”. A story based on the assumption that, in the same way that visitors are inspired by dioramas, we should explore how teachers respond to dioramas on both personal and professional levels. The story reveals the variety of teacher knowledge and interests that eventually evolve into lessons. The teachers are attending Masters-level Teacher Education programs and the courses are collaborations between these programs and the education department at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The teachers are studying pedagogy in a museum setting. The main thrust of this course is the strands of learning science in informal settings (NRC 2009), backwards planning design, and the qualitative methods of observation, recording conversations, surfacing key ideas in focus group, and how to use museum-created resources. The setting is the Hall of North American Mammals and the question posed to teachers was, “How would you use this exhibition and its dioramas to teach newcomer students about North America?” The process of planning and implementing their lessons begins with examining their personal interests and motivations, their reactions to aesthetics of dioramas, what they know about their students, the content they need to teach and how they may teach it in museums. Their science content is Earth science. In addition to the teacher knowledge construct, the story surfaces theories of aesthetics and how dioramas first impress us with their images and locations. The teachers’ voices reflect museum education research on conversations in museums.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Museum of Natural History. (2012a). Educator’s guide to the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman hall of planet earth. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/rose-center-for-earth-and-space/david-s.-and-ruth-l.-gottesman-hall-of-planet-earth/promos/hall-of-planet-earth-for-educators. Accessed 27 Sept 2016.
American Museum of Natural History. (2012b). Educator’s guide to the Jill and Lewis Bernard family hall of North American. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/bernard-family-hall-of-north-american-mammals/hall-of-north-american-mammals-promos/hall-of-north-american-mammals-for-educators2. Accessed 27 Sept 2016.
American Museum of Natural History. (2012c). Yellowstone: Monitoring the fire below. http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/(watch)/earth/documentaries/yellowstone-monitoring-the-fire-below. Accessed 27 Sept 2016.
American Museum of Natural History. (2016). Master of Arts in teaching. http://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/master-of-arts-in-teaching. Accessed 27 Sept 2016.
Berleant, A. (1992). The aesthetics of environment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Darling, H. L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.). (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world. National Academy of Education and Jossey Bass.
Graham, M. (2008). The fringe of nirvana: Aesthetic places and the art classroom. In Place-based education in the global age: Local diversity. New York: Routledge.
Greene, M. (1978). Landscapes of learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gruenewald, D. (Greenwood). (2008). Place-based education: Grounding culturally responsive teaching in geographical diversity. In Place-based education in the global age: Local diversity. New York: Routledge.
Leinhardt, G., & Knutson, K. (2004). Listening in on museum conversations. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.
National Research Council. (2009). Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12190.
Thirteen. (2013). Treasures of New York: American Museum of Natural History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRPyNDZ8MA. Accessed 27 Sept 2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Macdonald, M., Altman, R., Holmes, J. (2019). Learning to Teach Newcomer Students Using Dioramas of North America. In: Scheersoi, A., Tunnicliffe, S. (eds) Natural History Dioramas – Traditional Exhibits for Current Educational Themes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00208-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00208-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00207-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00208-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)