Art&Culture + Education
= EMANCIPATION???
Matthew Poole
Why acquire knowledge?
What is knowledge good for?
The Question of Certainty
“As long as man was able by means of the arts of practice to direct the course of events, it
was natural for him to seek an emotional substitute; in the absence of actual certainty in
the midst of a precarious and hazardous world, men cultivated all sorts of things that would
give them the feeling of certainty. And it is possible that, when not carried to an illusory
point, the cultivation of the feeling gave man courage and confidence and enabled him to
carry the burdens of life more successfully. But one could hardly seriously contend that this
fact, if it be such, is one upon which to found a reasoned philosophy.”
John Dewey – The Quest for Certainty [1933]
“No mode of action can, as we have insisted, give anything
approaching absolute certitude; it provides insurance but no
assurance. Doing is always subject to peril, to the danger of
frustration. When men began to reflect philosophically it
seemed to them altogether too risky to leave the place of
values at the mercy of acts the result of which are never sure.
This precariousness might hold as far as empirical existence,
existence in the sensible and phenomenal world, is
concerned; but this very uncertainty seemed to render it the
more needful that ideal goods should be shown to have, by
means of knowledge of the most assured type, an indefeasible
and inexpugnable position in the realm of the ultimately real.
SO at least we may imagine men to have reasoned. And today
many persons find a peculiar consolation in the face of the
unstable and dubious presence of values in actual experience
by projecting a perfect form of good into a realm of essence, if
not into a heaven beyond the earthly skies, wherein their
authority, if not their existence, is wholly unshakeable.”
John Dewey – The Quest for Certainty [1933]
Knowledge is not value-free; interests shape the
meaning that is constructed about social events in
the present and the past,and thus knowledge is
always value-laden. These values may inspire or
constrain those exposed to them. In museums, as
in other epistemological sites, those who interpret
artifacts (or art works), buildings, and sites do so
from their own perspectives, making some
viewpoints visible while suppressing others.
Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, The Power of Museum Pedagogy, in Museum Philosophy,
Edited by Hugh H. Genoways [Alta Mira, 2006], pp.235
To assign significance to an object means bringing
that object into a world view; for individuals, it
means fitting the object into an existing scheme of
knowledge, placing it in a meaningful cognitive
pattern. Each individual’s pattern of knowing, while
specific, is built up in and through negotiation with
his or her varying significant communities of
interpretation and practice. Knowledge is
necessarily perspectival … Different communities
of interpretation will assign meaning from different
points of view, and these different perspectives,
resonating with other discourses in networks of
differential power, have social impacts.
Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, The Power of Museum Pedagogy, in Museum Philosophy,
Edited by Hugh H. Genoways [Alta Mira, 2006], pp.236-7
… objects in collections are polysemic, capable of
carrying multiple meanings, and … audiences are
active interpreters, using their own interpretative
communities and repertoires to make sense of
what museums do.
Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, The Power of Museum Pedagogy, in Museum Philosophy,
Edited by Hugh H. Genoways [Alta Mira, 2006], pp.236
The polysemic character of artifacts means that
museums can use their collections to tell multiple
stories; the reinterpretation of objects opens up
possibilities for bringing new stories to light, representing the events of the past in new ways. The
active interpretive processes used by audiences
mean that museum visitors are able to use objects,
events, and visual narratives they find as raw
materials for constructing their own stories, for
their own purposes. And where audiences are
used to c-author museum narratives, new
perspectives on old stories may emerge.
Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, The Power of Museum Pedagogy, in Museum Philosophy,
Edited by Hugh H. Genoways [Alta Mira, 2006], pp.238
It is generally agreed that there are various levels
of knowing. The strongest form of knowing come
about when we have had a suitable experience of
something. That kind of knowing is coded inside us
in a felt, compacted, living, tacit form and is part of
our total mental structure. With some effort, we
can sometimes make this kind of knowledge
conscious and think about it verbally. That can
help us do things like rehearse it, modify it, extend
it, plan ahead or communicate it. We can do these
things because, through language, we are able to
link events, or objects, that may be far apart in
space and time.
Eric Sotto, When teaching becomes learning:A theory of practice of teaching (London:
Cassell, 1990), pp.299-100
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
1.
Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) – Swiss Philosopher and Developmental Psychologist
Piaget’s theory of the four stages of cognitive development:
1 • birth to 2 years old - Sensimotor stage of learning.
2 • 2 to 7 years - Pre-operational stage: language and symbolic representations.
3 • 7 to 11 years - Concrete operations: abstract reasoning,based on personal experiences.
4 • 11 to 15 years and above - Formal operations: hypotheses and analysis of abstract notions.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
2. Jerome Bruner (born 1915) – American Cognitive Psychologist and Educational Theorist -
Piaget’s ideas were further elaborated by Jerome Bruner who also described the three different ways of
learning which adults use alternatively to learn something new:
• The performing mode: to do things
• The expressive mode: to make a mental image; to make connections
• The symbolic mode: where learning is separated from the concrete (Whether a person uses this last
mode depends on age and intellectual capacities).
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
3. Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999) – American Educational Psychologist
Benjamin Bloom’s theory of the three learning domains:
• Cognitive learning: the acquisition and organisation of knowledge .
• Affective learning: the instinctive incorporation of knowledge and attitudes.
• Psychomotor stage learning: the acquisition of skills.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
4. Howard Gardner (born 1943) – American Psychologist
Howard Gardner’s theory is based on the conviction that learning and teaching should focus on the
particular intelligences of each person.
He discerns eight intelligences:
• Verbal Linguistic
• Logical Mathematical
• Musical
• Spatial
• Bodily Kinesthetic
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic
Everyone possesses all of these intelligences but some qualities are more prominent than others.
Note: What intelligences a person develops depends on genetics and also on cultural background.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
5. Isabel Briggs Myers (1897 – 1980) - American psychological theorist
In the MBTI [Myer Briggs Type Indicator] Theory, Isabel Myers defined personality types, based on four
dimensions:
• Extroversion versus introversion
• Sensing versus intuition
• Thinking versus feeling
• Judging versus perceptive
The resulting combinations can indicate 16 personality types.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
5. Myer Briggs Type Indicator Table:
1. Extrovert – Intuitive – Thinking - Judging
2. Extrovert - Intuitive - – Thinking - Perceptive
3. Extrovert - Intuitive – Feeling - Judging
4. Extrovert - Intuitive – Feeling - Perceptive
5. Extrovert – Sensory - Thinking - Judging
6. Extrovert - Sensory - Thinking - Perceptive
7. Extrovert - Sensory – Feeling - Judging
8. Extrovert - Sensory – Feeling - Perceptive
9. Introvert - Intuitive – Thinking - Judging
10. Introvert - Intuitive – Thinking - Perceptive
11. Introvert - Intuitive – Feeling - Judging
12. Introvert - Intuitive – Feeling - Perceptive
13. Introvert - Sensory – Thinking - Judging
14. Introvert - Sensory – Thinking - Perceptive
15. Introvert - Sensory – Feeling - Judging
16. Introvert - Sensory – Feeling - Perceptive
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
6. David A. Kolb (b. 1939) is an American educational theorist.
David Kolb’s theory of different learning styles is outlined in his book Experiential Learning. His
relatively simple proposition is that not everyone learns in the same way. He suggests that
everyone has a preferred learning style, or sometimes a combination of more than one
learning style, out of a possible total of four. An individual’s preferred learning style
determines how he or she goes about the learning process.
Kolb’s ideas seem to relate well to what happens in museums, in that visitors demonstrate different
ways of approaching exhibitions because they have different preferred learning styles. Very
often they do not approach the exhibition in the way in which it was conceived or designed.
Therefore, in order to create the best possible opportunity for learning to take place, it would
seem important that the staging of exhibitions and presentations in museums should offer
ingredients that connect to each kind of learning style. According to Kolb, learning is a social
process. It is not simply a matter of digesting information through the receipt of instruction, but
is related to what individuals bring with them to the learning situation from their own lived
experiences and their ways of responding to new information and new situations. In the
context of museums this means that what matters is not simply the knowledge which learners
acquire as a consequence of their visit, but also the ways in which they experience and learn
during their visit.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
6. David A. Kolb (b. 1939) is an American educational theorist.
DAVID KOLB’S LEARNING THEORY:
The learning process has two dimensions:
1.
apprehension / comprehension,
and,
2. extension / intention.
The first dimension defines the way in which a person grasps an
experience;
the second the way in which a person internalises the
experience.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
6. DAVID KOLB’S LEARNING THEORY:
Together these two dimensions result in a learning process
that is characterised by four different ways of learning. These are:
1. Concrete experience
2. Reflective observation
3. Abstract conceptualisation
4. Active experimentation
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
6. DAVID KOLB’S LEARNING THEORY:
The four ways of learning are related to four different preferred learning styles:
1.
Concrete experience in combination with reflective observation results in the
divergent learning style of people who are dreamers.
2.
Reflective observation in combination with abstract conceptualisation results in
the assimilative learning style of people who are deliberators.
3.
Abstract conceptualisation in combination with active experimentation results in
the convergent learning style of people who are deciders.
4.
Active experimentation in combination with concrete experience results in the
accommodative learning style of people who are doers.
6. DAVID KOLB’S LEARNING THEORY:
1. DREAMERS tend to make use of concrete experience and reflective observation. Their greatest strength lies in their
imaginative ability and their awareness of meaning and values. They are able to view concrete situations from
many perspectives. The emphasis is on deriving understanding through observation rather than action.
Dreamers often perform best in situations that call for the generation of ideas and multiple possibilities, such as
‘brainstorming’ sessions. Dreamers tend to be interested in people and to be imaginative and in touch with their
feelings.
2. DELIBERATORS tend to make use of abstract conceptualisation and reflective observation. Their greatest strength
lies in their ability to assimilate lots of information, to subject the information to reason and analysis, and to arrive
at coherent understandings. Deliberators are less focused on people and more concerned with ideas and
abstract concepts. Ideas are judged less by their practical value and more by whether they are logically sound
and precise.
3. DECIDERS tend to make use of abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. Their greatest strength lies in
their ability to get involved in problem solving, decision-making and the practical application of ideas. Deciders
often do best in contexts where there is a single correct answer to be found or a solution to a question or
problem. In this learning style, knowledge is applied to solving specific problems. Deciders tend to be less
emotional as learners. They prefer dealing with technical tasks and problems rather than social and interpersonal
issues.
4. DOERS tend to make use of concrete experience and active experimentation. Their greatest strength lies in doing
things, in carrying out plans and tasks and getting involved in new experiences. Doers often perform best when
there are interesting opportunities, risks and some kind of action to be had. This learning style is best suited for
those situations where it is necessary to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. If the theory doesn’t fit the
plan, doers find it easy to change tack. Problem solving becomes more of an intuitive, trial-and-error process,
and relies heavily on other people for information, rather than on their own analytic ability. Doers are usually quite
at ease with other people but can be seen as impatient and pushy in a learning situation.
LEARNING THEORIES APPLIED TO MUSEUMS &
GALLERIES
Paulo Freire’s “liberatory learning”
Paulo Freire (1921 – 1997),
Brazilian educator and highly influential theorist of education.
Provocation:
1. Education that confirms belief is INDOCTRINATION
2. Education that confers certainty is PROPAGANDA
3. Education that confirms belief and confers certainty
is NOT education, but STULTIFICATION
Provocation:
1. Education should unsettle beliefs.
2. Education should provoke uncertainty.
3. Education that unsettles beliefs and provokes
uncertainty is EMANCIPATORY.
Jacques Ranciere’s Ignorant Schoolmaster
The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five
Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation
(Paperback) by Jacques Ranciere
Stanford University Press (July 1,
1991
Mnêstêrophonía: slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus,
Telemachus and Eumeus (right). Side A from a
Campanian red-figure bell-krater, ca. 330 BC.
Telemachus departing from Nestor,
by Henry Howard (1769-1847),
Learning in museums (and galleries) is
multidimensional. One of the reasons for the
power of this learning is that … learning is based
on experience; it is performative. Through acting,
doing, performing, the deepest learning occurs.
… Through experience, feelings become engaged
and response is direct, apprehending the
experience and the related knowledge in an
immediate and sensory way. “Experiential learning
is the process of creating and transforming
experience into knowledge, skills, attitudes, values,
emotions, beliefs and senses. It is the process
through which individuals become themselves.”
Eileen Hooper-Greenhill, The Power of Museum Pedagogy, in Museum Philosophy,
Edited by Hugh H. Genoways [Alta Mira, 2006], pp.241