Lynn Yamasaki

Lynn at JANM: In working with high school visitors, giving them the opportunity to choose what they want to learn within an exhibition and giving them the responsibility to learn on their own offers an interesting alternative to the more traditional docent ("expert") led tour. Taking the authority of the museum away makes students more comfortable for dialogue and discussion.
In one of our exhibitions at the Museum's National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, we aim to incorporate the skills of research, critical thinking, collaboration, and participation into their experience. Students are charged with choosing one of seven diverse historical figures to learn about, interpret their story, and then share the story with the group. Teachers attend pre-visit workshop and then facilitate their own experience.
We've found that students appreciate the trust put upon them to direct their own learning.

Ruben at CSUMB: The need to let go. Shift from lecture to "referee" of content. Mediate conversation. 5 min power point presentation about a site. Developed as archaeological reports. Students forced to synthesize

Gives students the option of: traditional term paper, peer reviewed pwpt, or artistic presentation/performance/exhibition about the site. Assessment is up to students. Direction of class pushed onto students.

Deborah at CSUMB Romare Bearden Mediation, reflective prompt. Students make their own collage, write their own 500 word artist statement, exhibit. During exhibit, chance to share each other's responses, thoughts about the work of others.

Christian at Crocker: Slow Art program. Int'l even organized through facebook. 40 - 45 cities around world. Go to a museum with a group, facilitator facilitates experience of slow looking. Labels and titles covered up. Begin with 3 mins of silent looking, think of one descriptive word. Dialogue: take what they say, restate, lead it to another question. 3 pieces led by 3 different facilitators who each have different teaching styles, writing activity imbedded. At the end, titles are uncovered, there's recap. Idea: To get strangers together to look at art. Could be at a Museum, at someone's house, anywhere. 3 works of art in 60 mins. Group initiates discussion, museum facilitates. Dialogue based, open the space up to conversation, not about lecturing. Crocker had 30 people attend and had great response. Let the group know that museum doesn't have all the answers, the piece was chosen b/c facilitator knew the least about it. Followed by optional lunch that gave opportunity for further discussion.

COMMONALITIES: participation, self-directed learning, need for professor or museum to be able to let go of authority to some degree.


How do you treat oral history as an artifact?
Process of memory…

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