MER PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Museum Education Roundtable's (MER) 8th Annual Research Colloquium
will be held as part of the Visitor Studies Association Annual
Conference on August 7,1998.  Formal presentations are scheduled from
1:15-2:30pm followed by a poster session at 2:30-3:30pm.  The program
abstract and list of presenters follows.

The Visitor Studies Conference will be held at the ANA Hotel.
Registration is $215 for VSA members and $265 for non-members.  To
attend just the MER Colloquium, one-day registration is $130, $120 for
students.  For more information about registration, conference location,
or directions visit the VSA website at
http://www.museum.cl.msu.edu/VSA/index.html.

For more information about MER's Research Colloquium visit
http://www.erols.com/merorg/ or call the MER office at (202) 547-8378.
______________________________________
PROGRAM ABSTRACT

1998 Museum Education Roundtable, Research Colloquium

CHAIR(S):
Michelle L. Craig, Program Chair, Museum Education Roundtable
Joanne Hirsch, Chair, Museum Education Roundtable

ABSTRACT:
The Museum Education Roundtable's (MER) Annual Research Colloquium is a
unique forum for new ideas and original research in all areas relevant
to museum education.  For the past eight years, MER has sponsored this
opportunity for researchers from across the nation to introduce
individual research projects and reflections. This year, the program
committee's slate of proposed speakers has  focused on child development
and learning theory and their application to exhibition and program
development.  Presentations are geared towards all levels of
professional development, beginning, intermediate & advanced, and a
variety of museum disciplines including museum researchers and
evaluators, educators, curators, and exhibit developers. Program
consists of formal presentations and a poster session.

Speakers:

Kevin Crowley, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh: will
present his research in collaboration with the San Jose Children's
Discovery Museum. The project explores the hypothesis that the guidance
of parents is an important bridge between the intentions of exhibit
designers and the experience and knowledge of the child. Guided by
sociocultural and information processing theories of how children learn,
research focuses on basic properties of shared scientific thinking in
parent-child interactions and on translating the findings into exhibit
design recommendations.


Kirstin Ellenbogen, Museum Learning Collaborative, LRCD, University of
Pittsburgh:  The Museum Learning Collaborative has established a
thematic framework designed to organize and accelerate our research in
learning in museums in the coming years. We will present this framework
and an overview of our research plan for the next year, highlighting one
of our research projects, "The Family Learning Experience: Tracking
Conversations." Perhaps more compelling, however, is the issue of how
other museum research fits in and adds to our framework. We will discuss
the ways in which some of the current museum research projects spotlight
the advantages and disadvantages of our framework. We invite our
colleagues to come prepared to discuss their current research and
consider the ramifications of it on establishing a shared framework for
research in learning in museums.


POSTER PRESENTERS:

Stacey Bielick and Andrew J. Pekarik, Institutional Studies Office,
Smithsonian Institution:
"The Influence of Exhibition Texts on Visitor Responses to Richard
Lindner Paintings and Watercolors, 1948-1977"

Gay Bindocci, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
"A Grassroots Survey of West Virginia Museums"

Joan Casey, PhD, Graduate, Higher Education Program, College of William
and Mary:
"Exploring Differences: Finding Connections Between Program Planners and
Audience Members"

Michelle L. Craig, Program Chair, Museum Education Roundtable:
"You Are Here: A Survey of Museum Professionals and the Professional
Development Organizations They Join"

Joanne Hirsch, Consultant
"Concept Maps:  Tools for Learners and Evaluators"

Tania Said, Corporation for National Service, Washington, D.C.
"Better Museums and Better Communities Through Service"

Michelle L. Craig
Education and Exhibitions Specialist
Science Education and Informal Learning
American Psychological Association
(202) 336-5928
[log in to unmask]