Print View l From the Teaching column of the March 2004 Perspectives The Museum in the Middle: Strengthening the Role of the "Third Partner"
in Educational Partnerships by Barbara A. Mathews and Marilyn McArthur Initiatives to improve American history teaching, such as the Teaching American History The "Third Partner" A key characteristic of a regional history museum such as Memorial Hall museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts, is its inherent "localness." It is nearby, and it is a place where teachers and students can feel they "belong." Public historians at a museum are interested in making their collections and their expertise available to schools; indeed, it is part of their mission. For professional development, teachers may find a museum more easily accessible, therefore, than the college or university campus, which can be perceived as far-removed, both literally and figuratively. Academic scholars also feel at home in the museum, and enjoy collegial relations with the public historians there. The regional museum, as a place where teachers and historians are equally comfortable, is thus a natural locus for the formation of a professional learning community. The perspectives a local history museum offers can be extremely appealing to history teachers. Some come to the museum because they are required to teach American history and need to increase their understanding of the subject. Teachers with a "hands-on" orientation especially gravitate toward the objects and documents there. Most agree that local history holds the promise of making history "more real" and "more interesting" for students (and for themselves, as well). Field trips and other education programs also provide valuable opportunities for museum educators to model history teaching using material culture and inquiry-based activities. | |
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