museums

Hands-On Learning Through Objects


image of Ewa Lajer-BurcharthEwa Lajer-Burcharth, William Dorr Boardman Professor of Fine Arts, is an art historian who focuses on 18th- and 19th-century European and contemporary post-1970s art. Lajer-Burcharth uses physical objects – such as paintings, sculptures, and textile arts – to enable more immersive forms of learning that enable students to experience objects of study in a hands-on way that is not possible with text-heavy teaching methods. These objects serve as a primary teaching tool for encouraging new perspectives and interrogating original sources. Students examine various objects from museum and library collections under the expert guidance of curators, and eventually assist in the curation of an exhibit. This allows students to have hands-on experience in both understanding and creating, rather than be solely trapped by reading and speaking.  While her courses use physical objects as a point of reference, similar opportunities exist in other classroom contexts where students can contextualize the motivations of authors, musicians, and inventors, for example.

Collaboration with the Harvard Art Museums


Kaighin McCollKaighin McColl, Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and of Environmental Science and Engineering, is a hydrologist who extended his General Education course, Water and the Environment, beyond the science to include artistic representations of the impact that water has had on human life across time. After connecting with the Harvard Art Museums (HAM) at the Bok Center’s August 2019 Course Design Institute, McColl began collaborating with curators in 2020 to broaden the course, make it more engaging to a general audience, and challenge students to view the concepts learned in class in a different domain. He notes that he’s “a complete rookie when it comes to art,” but that HAM curators have been “very enthusiastic and helpful” figuring out ways to integrate the Museums’ collections into his course.

Moving from passive learning to active exploration of the physical world


Scott EdwardsScott Edwards, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Ornithology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ)makes extensive use of the museum’s ornithology collections in his courses and brings specimens into his lecture sessions to engage students in close analysis during weekly three-hour labs. Edwards models “ways of making meaning” by looking to specimens as key evidence for testing claims and theories.

 

Engaging students via field trips, near and far


James Hanken, MCZJames Hanken, Professor of Biology and Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), increases student engagement by taking students out of the traditional classroom. Whether organizing his freshman seminar around weekly excursions to Harvard’s museums, or guiding a spring break field trip to Costa Rica for undergraduates enrolled in OEB 167 Herpetology, these immersive experiences “provide opportunities for students to see and understand things they simply won’t get in the classroom.”

Research: An Investigation of the Educational Power and Potential of the Harvard University Art Museums Study Centers

A collaborative investigation into the nature of visitor learning at the Harvard Art Museums revealed that museum study centers provide active learning opportunities not only through interaction with the objects, but also through engagement with the museum staff and other visitors, as well as...

Read more about Research: An Investigation of the Educational Power and Potential of the Harvard University Art Museums Study Centers

Framing the Material Past (ablConnect)

Online active learning database ablConnect includes examples of instructional use of museum collections, including curation of a Zeega online gallery of medieval artifacts.

Analyzing Andean Artifacts (ablConnect)

Online active learning database ablConnect includes examples of instructional use of museum collections, including examination of Andean artifacts at the Harvard Peabody Museum.

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