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May 1, 1997

LRDC gets grant to study learning in museums

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded Pitt's Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) a grant of up to $1 million over five years to study how learning occurs in museums.

Known as the Museum Learning Collaborative, the project is headed by Gaea Leinhardt of LRDC, with Leona Schauble of the University of Wisconsin and Laura Martin of the Arizona Science Center.

"For years, museum professionals have assumed that learning occurs in museums, but the question of 'how' was and still is difficult to answer," IMLS Director Diane Frankel said. "Without a solid basis on which to define and analyze learning in museums, they will continue to be perceived as less central to people's lifelong learning efforts." LRDC's Museum Learning Collaborative will study learning in a variety of museums, including art, history, natural history, science and children's museums, as well as zoos and botanical gardens. Among the museums that will be participating are The Carnegie's art and natural history museums.

The study will be organized around three themes:

* Learning and learning environments, specifically the manner in which text, images, models and activities stimulate learning.

* Interpretation, meaning and explanation as processes and products of social interaction in museums.

* Identity, motivation and interests as dispositions that both precede and are shaped by museum experiences.


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