Grace and other colleagues:

As to which came first, the educator or the museum professional -- I am an
advocate for the educator turned museum professional for some of the
following reasons:

An educator knows the process of instructional design which is critical to
the development of any educational program, regardless of how informal or
formal it is (e.g., needs assessment, identifying goals and objectives,
selecting the appropriate teaching method[s] and determine how to evaluate
program or lesson outcomes). An educator has also proven his or her ability
to impart information before a group of individuals, to think on his or her
feet and demonstrate classroom management skills.  An educator tends to use
resources well and draw from a depth and breadth of resources in preparing
for a program.

A museum professional certainly knows his or her business...which makes them
invaluable as guest lecturers and collaborators for programs.  There are
certainly museum professionals who are natural educators and of course
others who need to learn the process (just as there are some educators who
missed the boat somewhere along the line!!).

In my consulting experiences, it has seemed to me that organizations looking
to hire someone are looking for someone with basis core values (e.g.,
integrity, team player while working well independently, civility, common
sense, respect, responsible) and someone who is familiar with what they will
be hired to do -- although many organizations have stated that they are
willing to train the right person to do the job.  As nice as that might be,
it takes staff time and money -- things many of us do not have!

Kind regards,
Terrie

Terrie Nolinske, Ph.D.
TNI Consultants in Professional Development
Oak Park, IL
www.tniconsultants.com
[log in to unmask]
708. 386. 1331







----- Original Message -----
From: "Grace Manubay" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2002 12:47 PM
Subject: Re: Job Posting--Museum Educator


> i've noticed that some museum education departments have museum
> professionals that have turned to education, whereas others have education
> professionals that have turned to museums.
>
> i was wondering whether the "best" museum educators have backgrounds in
> formal (classroom) teaching, or if they have an advanced degree and an
> interest in non-formal education.
>
> what are some of the experiences of the people on the list?
>
> -grace manubay
>
> --On Thursday, January 17, 2002 12:05 PM -0500 Mary Henderson
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > The Lafayette Natural History Museum and Planetarium in Lafayette,
> > Louisiana is opening a new facility on October 1, 2002. The Museum is
> > seeking a Museum Educator, either as a full-time temporary employee, or
a
> > contractor, to develop museum education programs  relating to the
opening
> > of the new museum. This position must be filled immediately.
>
> >
> > The Educator will have a background in both classroom teaching and
> > informal learning styles, the creation of dynamic interactive programs,
> > and experience with recruiting and supervising volunteers.  The
preferred
> > candidate will have a Bachelor's degree with graduate study in
Education,
> > Astronomy, Physics, Biology or related field. Salary/fee commensurate
with
> > experience.
> >
>
>
> *******************************************
> Grace Manubay
> M.S. Candidate
> School of Natural Resources and Environment
> University of Michigan
> Dana Building
> 430 E. University
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109
> [log in to unmask]
> *******************************************
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).