It has been argued that visitors' pre-visit “agendas” directly influence visits. This study attempted to directly test the effects of different museum visit agendas on visitor learning. Two new tools were developed for this purpose: (1) a tool for measuring visitor agendas; and (2) a tool for measuring visitor learning (Personal Meaning Mapping). Visitor agenda was defined as having two dimensions: motivations and strategies. Personal Meaning Mapping is a constructivist approach that measures change in understanding along four semi-independent dimensions: extent, breadth, depth, and mastery. The study looked at 40 randomly-selected adults who were visiting the National Museum of Natural History's Geology, Gems and Minerals exhibition. Visitor agendas did significantly impact how, what, and how much individuals learned. Results are discussed in terms of the current debate about education vs. entertainment.
[1]
John K. Gilbert,et al.
Personal Experience and the Construction of Knowledge in Science.
,
1983
.
[2]
Joan Solomon,et al.
Social Influences on the Construction of Pupils' Understanding of Science
,
1987
.
[3]
A. M. Lucas,et al.
‘Info‐tainment’ and informal sources for learning science
,
1991
.
[4]
Paulette M. McManus,et al.
Topics in Museums and Science Education
,
1992
.
[5]
Andrea Davies,et al.
Seeking Generic Motivations for Visiting and Not Visiting Museums and Like Cultural Attractions
,
1997
.
[6]
Theano Moussouri.
Family agendas and family learning in hands-on museums
,
1997
.