ART 594
ART MUSEUM EDUCATION
Art 594. Art Museum Education.
Credit Hours (3).
A graduate 3 credit hour seminar course with a “hands on” approach to the study, theoretical foundation and implementation of education programs in the Art Museum setting.
The purpose of this course will be to:
1) understand the important role of the visual arts in education and how art provides us with ways of reviewing the world and ourselves that are not available through other means;
2) understand the art museum as an environment for learning, considering the influence of institutional history and organizational structure on the art museum’s mission of serving the public (This would include an overview of the history of art museum education and the investigation of art museum education activities in major art museums in the U.S. and abroad);
3) understand the theory of and practice in the development of communication skills in the art museum (educational concepts, teaching strategies and techniques, institutional liaison group process);
4) understand the art museum’s audiences and emphasize the implications for effective programming needs through the research and application of grants;
5) plan and develop age-appropriate interactive program that involve the use of special exhibitions, specific art museum objects, and general strategies that will encourage partnerships between schools, community and art museums;
6) provide field experiences to develop and facilitate school and other community visits to the RU Art Museum.
Graduate seminar and “hands on” experiences including field experiences in the RU Art Museum, student presentations in the forms of docent tours and educational activity organization, computer-assisted instruction (students will develop web-based instructional resources for teachers’ pre and post visits to the museum), reading and individual research activities of museum education theory and practice, grant research and proposal development activities.
Upon completion of the course requirements, the graduate student will be able to:
1) provide a rationale for art education’s place in the art museum institution; 2) plan, develop, and facilitate age appropriate education programs in an art museum; 3) research and write grants for art museum education.
Graduate student will be graded on written papers (depth of understanding, interpretation of assignments, communication and composition skills,), class participation in discussion of readings and art museum issues (willingness to debate concepts orally in class), program development and facilitation (teaching skills, depth and breadth of activity, organization and structure).
Reading will be taken from contemporary art education, art museum education, and art journals. Hands on activities include developing programs and activities for gallery visitors (including school field trips), research and grant development, and addressing education issues in curating.
DATE ACTION APPROVED BY
April 2001 Approval James H. Knipe, Chair