Perspectives on Object-Centered Learning in Museums

Originating in a recent NSF conference held at the University of Michigan, this book examines ideas about how children interact with objects and through that interaction acquire new understandings, attitudes and feelings. Although museum education provides the primary setting within which object-centred learning is explored, the analyses apply to a wide range of learning environments. Despite the demonstrated importance of object-centered learning for both academic and life-long learning, there has been little psychological research on the topic. The book has a cross-disciplinary focus, examining object-centred learning using the perspectives of such diverse fields as science, history, literacy and art. It also focuses on museums, as a natural launching pad for conceptual and practical discussions of object-based learning and informal learning environments. In order to ground the conceptual analyses, each chapter includes vignettes describing people actively engaged with objects in a specific setting. This volume should be appropriate for advanced students and researchers in educational psychology, cognitive psychology, science education, and anyone directly involved in museum education.