Moving from task-oriented to learning-oriented strategies on school excursions to museums

Museums are best considered as venues for informal learning and yet the authors' observations were that most school classes that visit museums are restricted and structured, the students not being provided with optimal opportunities to learn in an informal manner. Although research has addressed some features of successful school group visits to museums, such as preparation and orientation, emphasis on first-hand experience, and use of worksheets, there has been little research on the role of the class teacher in facilitating learning during excursions. This study investigated strategies used by class teachers before, during, and following excursions to two venues in Sydney, Australia, offering opportunities for learning science in an informal setting. The sample chosen for the study comprised 12 school groups involving 29 teachers and 735 students in 30 classes ranging from grade 5 to grade 10. Data were collected through observation and interviews before, during, and 2–3 weeks after the visit. The results indicate that class teachers used mainly task-oriented teaching practices and made little effort to link topics being studied at school and the museum. Little congruence was apparent between the practices observed and what the literature suggested for effective planning and management of school excursions. The authors propose a framework to guide teachers in planning learning-oriented excursions based on a synthesis of knowledge of natural learning behaviors exhibited by family groups in museums and lessons from constructivist theories of learning, together with strategies reported in the literature and confirmed by this study as contributing to learning on school excursions to museums. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 81:763–779, 1997.