Staff Facilitation that Supports Family Learning at Exhibits

December 1st, 2016 | RESEARCH

Front-line staff are an integral part of the visitor experience at museums and science centers across the country, facilitating activities and programs, leading classes, and more. But do these staff make a difference for visitor learning? And what are the most effective facilitation strategies and approaches? In 2013, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) received funding from the National Science Foundation for a three-year study, Researching the Value of Educator Actions for Learning (REVEAL), to begin to address these questions. Building on the Design Zone exhibition, REVEAL focused particularly on staff-facilitated family learning at interactive math exhibits. Over the course of three years, the team worked with expert educators, collected video and survey data from hundreds of staff-visitor interactions, and developed and tested a model of facilitation for supporting family learning and engagement.

Document

FindingsRecommendationsSummary_REVEAL.pdf

Team Members

Scott Pattison, Author, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Marcie Benne, Author, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Andee Rubin, Author, TERC Inc.
Ivel Gontan, Author, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Elizabeth Andanen, Author, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
Lynn Dierking, Author, Oregon State University

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: AISL
Award Number: 1321666

Related URLs

Research: Researching the Value of Educator Actions for Learning (REVEAL)

Tags

Audience: Educators | Teachers | Evaluators | Families | Learning Researchers | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Engineering | General STEM | Mathematics
Resource Type: Research Products
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Museum and Science Center Programs | Public Programs