Behaviorism

As an individual who attended school in the late 60's early 70's I firmly believe that I was instructed with a Behavioral Theory in mind. a great deal of my learning involved my memorizing and repeating word for word what it was the teacher wanted us to know or do. Perhaps in my senior high school years I began to question the validity of this manner of teaching and often felt that the teachers preferred to instruct the more academically inclined. I certainly remember wondering how the teacher knew what it is was a certain poet meant when writing their prose or question my math teacher as to what the importance of my learning quadratic equations. Where and when in my lifetime would I ever find any of these things useful. Perhaps History was my most intriguing subject because it did have some relevance to my existence at the time but I did not appreciate the importance of this until much later when discussion was the prevalent form of learning instead of copying notes from Challenge and Survival.

Perhaps it was then that I had decided that there had to be a more exciting way to learn but had not realized the direction or path that my life would take me on. Yet, I sensed that there was some importance to this model of learning yet was not completely sold that it was the be all and end all of learning theories.

Today, I find in my teaching that I will revert to the behavioristic approach to teaching and learning when I know that down the road the specific skills, or knowledge will be required in order attain success in their future learning. Multiplication tables come to mind as I write this down. Some students understand and apply the concept of using multiplication to speed up the addition process yet, there are many who need to memorize because cognitively they are unable to make the connection so readily between addition and multiplication.

(Return)

Cognitivism

Cognitive learning strategies are useful in teaching problem-solving tactics where defined facts and rules are applied in unfamiliar situations. Tasks requiring an increased level of processing are primarily associated with strategies having a stronger cognitive emphasis.

In the early 80's I began to pursue studies in teacher education. It was during this time that I began to separate or understand the differences that existed between the Cognitive Theory and the Behavioral Theory of learning. New teachers had jumped onto this the Cognitive Theory of learning and Learning Centers within the classroom where popping up all over the place. However, the learning environment was set up in such a way that the learners would without fail discover what it was the teacher wanted them to learn. Although these experiences included a hands on approach to learning, the outcomes were absolute and once the outcome had been achieved teachers and students moved onto the next topic. Very little revisiting or comparison to other topics took place.

Time was a factor, just as it remains today, and teachers felt that they had or were doing a good job at bringing authentic learning to their classrooms. However, there still lack the opportunity for individuals to be taught according to their learning style and little opportunity for any of them to construct knowledge that was new and inspiring.

Within my teaching practice I will often stage lessons so that students achieve an absolute response. However, I to know and recognize the excitement, value and need to expand and connect lessons to student's personal experiences and encourage further examination of a topic beyond what we have learned in the classroom. More often than not, I can be found taking the long way around to meet the outcomes but the adventure in doing so is wonderful. Students need to feel that their contributions are important and valuable not only to themselves but to other around them.

(Return)

Constructivism

Constructivist strategies are especially suited to dealing with ill-defined problems through reflectionin-action. Perhaps as a teacher this is what I feel is the best approach to teaching. However, because the theory is so entrenched in attending to the learner's experiences and their individual learning styles it can be very challenging for teachers when dealing with large numbers and various learning styles within their classroom. However, it can be the most rewarding approach to learning and facilitating for all involved.

I realize that our curriculum guides are very linear in design and that outcomes are often listed according to specific courses but a constructivist approach to teaching and learning opens up a multitude of avenues in which the teacher can choose to cover the outcomes that we find in our curriculum guides.

In teaching I find that I am constantly trying to have students recognize how what it is we are discussing applies to them as a person. In return I want so much for them to share with me their experiences and the relevance of what we are learning is to them. Every year I begin the year with, "I have has a much to learn from you as you do from me!" This is so important for me because I remembering believing that the teacher knew it all. In reality, there is no one who can possibly know it all and I have learned to relax both in my teaching and as an individual who I feel is a lifetime learner. Which is what I hope to inspire my students to become. A constructivist approach to teaching and learning does open those doors for individual and is perhaps the theory that I feel is most conducive to the inclusion of technology as a tool for learning.

(Return) Constructivism Learning Theory Constructivism learning theory is a philosophy which enhances students' logical and conceptual growth. The underlying concept within the constructivism learning theory is the role which experiences-or connections with the adjoining atmosphere-play in student education.

The constructivism learning theory argues that people produce knowledge and form meaning based upon their experiences. Two of the key concepts within the constructivism learning theory which create the construction of an individual's new knowledge are accommodation and assimilation. Assimilating causes an individual to incorporate new experiences into the old experiences. This causes the individual to develop new outlooks, rethink what were once misunderstandings, and evaluate what is important, ultimately altering their perceptions. Accommodation, on the other hand, is reframing the world and new experiences into the mental capacity already present. Individuals conceive a particular fashion in which the world operates. When things do not operate within that context, they must accommodate and reframing the expectations with the outcomes.

The role of teachers is very important within the constructivism learning theory. Instead of giving a lecture the teachers in this theory function as facilitators whose role is to aid the student when it comes to their own understanding. This takes away focus from the teacher and lecture and puts it upon the student and their learning. The resources and lesson plans that must be initiated for this learning theory take a very different approach toward traditional learning as well. Instead of telling, the teacher must begin asking. Instead of answering questions that only align with their curriculum, the facilitator in this case must make it so that the student comes to the conclusions on their own

instead of being told. Also, teachers are continually in conversation with the students, creating the learning experience that is open to new directions depending upon the needs of the student as the learning progresses. Teachers following Piaget's theory of constructivism must challenge the student by making them effective critical thinkers and not being merely a "teacher" but also a mentor, a consultant, and a coach. Instead of having the students relying on someone else's information and accepting it as truth, the constructivism learning theory supports that students should be exposed to data, primary sources, and the ability to interact with other students so that they can learn from the incorporation of their experiences. The classroom experience should be an invitation for a myriad of different backgrounds and the learning experience which allows the different backgrounds to come together and observe and analyze information and ideas.

The constructivism learning theory will allow children to, at an early age or a late age, develop the skills and confidence to analyze the world around them, create solutions or support for developing issues, and then justify their words and actions, while encouraging those around them to do the same and respecting the differences in opinions for the contributions that they can make to the whole of the situation. Classroom applications of constructivism support the philosophy of learning which build a students' and teachers' understanding. Classroom Applications of Constructivism Learning theory of constructivism incorporates a learning process wherein the student gains their own conclusions through the creative aid of the teacher as a facilitator. The best way to plan teacher worksheets, lesson plans, and study skills for the students, is to create a curriculum which allows each student to solve problems while the teacher monitors and flexibly guides the students to the correct answer, while encouraging critical thinking.

Instead of having the students relying on someone else's information and accepting it as truth, the students should be exposed to data, primary sources, and the ability to interact with other students so that they can learn from the incorporation of their experiences. The classroom experience should be an invitation for a myriad of different backgrounds and the learning experience which allows the different backgrounds to come together and observe and analyze information and ideas.

Hands-on activities are the best for the classroom applications of constructivism, critical thinking and learning. Having observations take place with a daily journal helps the students to better understand how their own experiences contribute to the formation of their theories and observational notes, and then comparing them to another students' reiterates that different backgrounds and cultures create different outlooks, while neither is wrong, both should be respected.

Some strategies for classroom applications of constructivism for the teacher include having students working together and aiding to answer one another's questions. Another strategy includes designating one student as the "expert" on a subject and having them teach the class. Finally, allowing students to work in groups or pairs and research controversial topics which they must then present to the class. Overall, the setting should include classroom applications of constructivism within a few key concepts. The first is discovering and maintaining an individual's intellectual identity. This forces students to support their own theories, in essence taking responsibility for their words and respecting those of others. The next component is having the teacher ask open-ended questions and leaving time to allow the students to think and analyze a response, based on their experiences and personal inquiry. Open-ended questions and critical thinking encourage students to seek more than just a simple response or basic facts and incorporate the justification and defense of their organized thoughts.

The next step is allowing constant conversation between the students and teacher. This engagement creates a discourse of comfort wherein all ideas can be considered and understood and the students then feel safe about challenging other hypotheses, defending their own, and supporting real-world situations with abstract supporting data.

These exercises and classroom applications of constructivism will allow children to, at an early age or a late age, develop the skills and confidence to analyze the world around them, create solutions or support for developing issues, and then justify their words and actions, while encouraging those around them to do the same and respecting the differences in opinions for the contributions that they can make to the whole of the situation. Classroom applications of constructivism support the philosophy of learning which build a students' and teachers' understanding. The Origins of Behaviorism Behaviorism traces its roots to the early part of the 20th century, a time when many psychologists emphasized self-analysis of mental processes (introspection) or the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud. In contrast, researchers like Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson began to develop a framework which emphasized observable processes (enviromental stimuli and behavioral responses). The result was a new approach, behaviorism, which grew in popularity for some fifty years, becoming the dominant framework for experimental research. While its restrictions (including ignoring mental processes) ultimately led many psychologists to turn to other approaches, it is nonetheless still influential today. Behaviourists focus on the influence of the environment. They choose not to be concerned with the internal mechanisms which occur inside the organism. Behaviourists believe that human beings are shaped through constant interactions with the environment. Put more simply, learning and experience determine the kind of person you become.

The behaviourist approach to psychological functioning is rooted in the work of associationists, Ivan Pavlov and Edward Thorndike, and the early behaviourists, John Watson and Clark Hull, all of whom studied learning in the form of conditioning. Pavlov studied the conditioning of reflex responses, or classical conditioning , whilst Thorndike's work focused on the conditioning of voluntary behaviour, now referred to as operant conditioning, and later researched by B.F. Skinner. Here is a site where you can practice being Pavlov.

Behaviourism has had a profound influence on the course of psychology during the first half of the twentieth century. Still influential today is the work of B.F. Skinner on operant conditioning. Skinner studied the stimuli which elicit behavioural responses, the rewards and punishments that influence these responses and the changes in behaviour brought about by manipulating patterns of rewards and punishments. This approach does not concern itself with mental processes which occur between the stimulus and the response.

Skinner experimented with rats and later with pigeons. For instance, he conditioned rats to press a bar in a 'Skinner box' in return for a reward of food. He was able to measure learning accurately under closely controlled conditions, varying the frequency of reward, or reinforcement, and sometimes applying irrelevant stimuli. Though he started his research with animals, Skinner worked towards a theory of conditioning which could include humans.

The influence of the behaviourist approach, with its emphasis on the manipulation of behaviour through patterns of reinforcement and punishment, can be seen in many practical situations. Below is a brief account of how the behaviourist approach has been applied in psychotherapy.

Therapeutic techniques based on conditioning processes are usually referred to as either behaviour modification or behaviour therapy. Techniques based on operant conditioning are usually referred to as behaviour modification and techniques which rely upon the principles of classical conditioning are usually known as behaviour therapy.

Behaviour modification is a technique which is used to change or remove unwanted behaviour. Its central principle, taken from operant conditioning, is that behaviour which has favourable consequences, that is, which is positively reinforced, is likely to be repeated and behaviour which is ignored is likely to die out. The desired behaviour is broken down into a sequence of small steps. Each step achieved is immediately rewarded, but gradually more and more of the required behaviour is demanded before the reward is given. This process is known as behaviour shaping through successive approximations.

Token economy systems are based on the principle of secondary reinforcement. Tokens are given in exchange for desirable or acceptable behaviours. These can then be exchanged for primary (or direct) reinforcements, such as sweets or extra outings. There is evidence that well-organised token economy systems do promote desirable behaviour, particularly in an institutional setting. However doubts have been raised regarding the long term effectiveness of such programmes and about whether the effects are due to reinforcement or to other variables.

Behaviour therapy is a term usually applied to techniques based on classical conditioning which deal with involuntary or reflex behaviour. It aims to remove maladaptive behaviours and substitute desirable ones. One example of such a technique is systematic desensitisation, which is mainly used to remove phobias. For example, a patient who had an irrational fear would first be taught how to relax. Gradually the feared object would be introduced to the patient in a step-by-step process until the patient could tolerate actual contact with the object without anxiety.

The behaviourist approach has had a major influence in psychology and has contributed a great deal to our understanding of psychological functioning and has provided a number of techniques for changing unwanted behaviour. Its use of rigorous empirical methods has enhanced the credibility of psychology as a science. Criticisms of the approach include the following:

Its mechanistic view tends to overlook the realm of consciousness and subjective experiences and it does not address the possible role of biological factors in human behaviour.

Individuals are seen as passive beings who are at the mercy of their environments. This emphasis on environmental determinism leaves no room for the notion of free will in an individual. See for a more detailed discussion of free will and determinism.

Its theories of classical and operant conditioning cannot account for the production of spontaneous, novel or creative behaviour.

Its basis in animal research has been questioned.

Clinical psychologists who adopt behaviourally-oriented therapies have been criticised for treating the probable symptoms of mental disorders Introduction to the Cognitive Approach As its name implies, the cognitive approach deals with mental processes like memory and problem solving. By emphasizing mental processes, it places itself in opposition to behaviorism, which largely ignores mental processes. Yet, in many ways the development of the cognitive approach , in the early decades of the 20th century, is intertwined with the behaviorist approach.For example, Edwin Tolman, whose work on "cognitive maps" in rats made him a cognitive pioneer, called himself a behaviorist. Similarly, the work of David Krech (aka Ivan Krechevsky) on hypotheses in maze learning was based on behaviorist techniques of observation and measurement. Today, the cognitive

approach has overtaken behaviorism in terms of popularity, and is one of the dominant approaches in contemporary psychology.

Resources Cognitive Approach Cognition refers to mental activity including thinking, remembering, learning and using language. When we apply a cognitive approach to learning and teaching, we focus on theunderstaning of information and concepts. If we are able to understand theconnections between concepts, break down information and rebuild with logicalconnections, then our rention of material and understanding will increase.

When we are aware of these mental actions, monitor them and control ourlearning processes it is called metacognition

Other psychological approaches focus on different components of humanactivity. Behaviorists focuson the examination and analysis of objectively observable and quantifiablebehaviorial events. Those who favor the humantistic approach focus on theindividualin relation to their own environment. Human welfare, values, and dignity aremajor components of this theory.

Thought processes have been studied by philosophers for centuries. However, the psychological studyt of cognition is a relatively new area ofstudy with its origins in the 1950's. The study of metacognition is evennewer, much of the work in this area originated in the 1970's.

Rejecting the pure stimulus-response approachof the behaviorists, cognitive psychology draws much from theGestaltists who focus upon insight anddefine it as "the sudden perception of relationships among elements of aproblem situation."(LeFrancois, 1972). Cognitive theories view learning asa process of recognition. The learner perceives new relationshipsamong the parts of a problems.

Reseachers who contributed significantly to the development of cognitivepsychology include Jerome Bruner, whodeveloped a learning theory based upon catergorization, andDavid Ausubel, who attempted to explainmeaningful verbal learning as a phenomenon of consciousness rather than ofbehavior.

Cognitive theory maintains that how one thinkslargely detemines how one feels and behaves. This relates to and incorporates to all forms of knowing,including memory, psycholinguistics, thinking, comprehension, motivation, andperception.

Memory is an importantcomponent ofthis theory. Much of the material learned in school is dependent on rotememorization of declarative or facutal knowledge. Recently attempts have been made to develop methods of teaching which are basedon meaningful integration of material and the mastery of procedural knowledge. Thinking, which varies from situation tosituation, will greatly effect how individuals behave in a given situation. Understanding of language, or psycholinguistics,is esstential to our understanding of print and oral acquistion of knowledge. Comprehension and perception willallow individuals to interpret information. Lastly, the overall motivation of the learner will determine howeffectively the information is retained or processed.

According to Kate McGilly (1996), students are not learning to their full potentialdue to the fact that more often than not, they use rote memoryprocedures in the classroom. With the increased competition in the work forceand jobs becoming more demanding, students need to be more prepared for higherlearning and the job market with skills that evolve from cognitive theory. These Constructivist Learning Theory The Museum and the Needs of People CECA (International Committee of Museum Educators) Conference Jerusalem Israel, 15-22 October 1991 Prof. George E. Hein Lesley College. Massachusetts USA Introduction The latest catchword in educational circles is "constructivism, " applied both to learning theory and to epistemology---both to how people learn, and to the nature of knowledge.1,2 We don't need to succumb to each new fad, but we do need to think about our work in relation to theories of learning and knowledge. So we need to ask: what is constructivism, what does it have to tell us that is new and relevant, and how do we apply it to our work? As far as I can see, there is nothing dramatically new in constructivism: the core ideas expressed by it have been clearly enunciated by John Dewey among others, but there is a new, widespread acceptance of this old set of ideas. and new research in cognitive psychology to support it. I would like to give a brief exposition of ideas central to constructivism and widely accepted today by educators. curriculum developers and cognitive psychologists, and then suggest what they mean for museum educators.

Constructivism

What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves---each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning---as he or she learns. 3 Constructing meaning is learning; there is no other kind. The dramatic consequences of this view are twofold;

1) we have to focus on the learner in thinking about learning (not on the subject/lesson to be taught):

2) There is no knowledge independent of the meaning attributed to experience (constructed) by the learner, or community of learners.

Let me discuss the second point first because, although it appears radical on an everyday level, it is a position which has been frequently adopted ever since people began to ponder epistemology. If we accept constructivist theory (which means we are willing to follow in the path of Dewey, Piaget and Vigotsky among others), then we have to give up Platonic and all subsequent realistic views of epistemology. We have to recognize that there is no such thing as knowledge "out there" independent of the knower, but only knowledge we construct for ourselves as we learn. 4 Learning is not understanding the "true" nature of things, nor is it (as Plato suggested) remembering dimly perceived perfect ideas, but rather a personal and social construction of meaning out of the bewildering array of sensations which have no order or structure besides the explanations (and I stress the plural) which we fabricate for them.

I'm sure that many of you have had philosophy courses which have exposed you to these concepts, and you may accept this basic premise that there is no such entity as a Ding an sich whether or not we can perceive it. Yet we all tend to remain closet realists, and refute Bishop Berkeley, as Samuel Johnson did, by kicking the stone and feeling real pain. The more important question is, does it actually make any difference in our everyday work whether deep down we consider knowledge to be about some "real" world independent of us, or whether we consider knowledge to be of our own making? The answer is yes, it does make a difference, because of the first point I suggested above: in our profession our epistemological views dictate our pedagogic views.

If we believe that knowledge consists of learning about the real world out there, then we endeavor first and foremost to understand that world, organize it in the most rational way possible, and, as teachers, present it to the learner. This view may still engage us in providing the learner with activities, with hands-on learning, with opportunities to experiment and manipulate the objects of the world, but the intention is always to make clear to the learner the structure of the world independent of the learner. We help the learner understand the world. but we don't ask him to construct his or her own world.

The great triumph of Western intellectual history from the Enlightenment until the beginning of the 2Oth century rested on its ability to organize the knowledge of the world in a rational way independent of the learner, determined by some structure of the subject. Disciplines were developed, taxonomic schemes established, and all these categories were viewed as components of a vast mechanical machine in which the parts could be explained in terms of their relationship to each other, and each part contributed to making the whole function smoothly. Nowhere in this description does the learner appear. The task of the teacher was to make clear to the learner the working of this machine and any accommodation to the learner was only to account for different appropriate entry points for different learners.

However, as I have indicated above, constructivist theory requires that we turn our attention by 180 degrees we must turn our back on any idea of an all-encompassing machine which describes nature and instead look towards all those wonderful, individual living beings---the learners---each of whom creates his or her own model to explain nature. If we accept the constructivist position we are inevitably required to follow a pedagogy which argues that we must provide learners with the opportunity to: a) interact with sensory data, and b) construct their own world. 5

This second point is a little harder for us to swallow, and most of us constantly vacillate between faith that our learners will indeed construct meaning which we will find acceptable (whatever we mean by that) and our need to construct meaning for them; that is, to structure situations that are not free for learners to carry out their own mental actions, but "learning" situations which channel them into our ideas about the meaning of experience. A common example of the unresolved tension is our attitude towards museum tours which explain exhibits to the visitor. I have repeatedly asked museum professionals if they personally enjoy guided tours, and they almost universally tell me that they try to avoid them at all costs. Yet, at CECA meetings (and this one is no exception) our colleagues frequently give us extensive guided tours through galleries, insisting on presenting the expert guide's interpretation, pace and selection to influence the viewer's perception and learning. It is this tension between our desire as teachers to teach the truth, to present the world "as it really is", and our desire to let learners construct their own world which requires us to think seriously about epistemology and pedagogy. 6

Principles of learning What are some guiding principles of constructivist thinking that we must keep in mind when we consider our role as educators? I will outline a few ideas, all predicated on the belief that learning consists of individuals' constructed meanings and then indicate how they influence museum education.

1. Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and constructs meaning out of it. The more traditional formulation of this idea involves the terminology of the active learner (Dewey's term) stressing that the learner needs to do something; that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists "out there" but that learning involves the learner s engaging with the world. 7

2. People learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning and constructing systems of meaning. For example, if we learn the chronology of dates of a series of historical events, we are simultaneously learning the meaning of a chronology. Each meaning we construct makes us better able to give meaning to other sensations which can fit a similar pattern. 8

3. The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind. Physical actions, hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands.9 (Dewey called this reflective activity.)

4. Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning. On the empirical level. researchers have noted that people talk to themselves as they learn. On a more general level. there is a collection of arguments, presented most forcefully by Vigotsky, that language and learning are inextricably intertwined. 10 This point was clearly emphasized in Elaine Gurain's reference to the need to honor native language in developing North American exhibits. The desire to have material and programs in their own language was an important request by many members of various Native American communities.

5. Learning is a social activity: our learning is intimately associated with our connection with other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our family as well as casual acquaintances, including the people before us or next to us at the exhibit. We are more likely to be successful in our efforts to educate if we recognize this principle rather than try to avoid it. Much of traditional education, as Dewey pointed out, is directed towards isolating the learner from all social interaction, and towards seeing education as a one-on-one relationship between the learner and the objective material to be learned. In contrast, progressive education (to continue to use Dewey's formulation) recognizes the social aspect of learning and uses conversation, interaction with others, and the application of knowledge as an integral aspect of learning. 11

6. Learning is contextual: we do not learn isolated facts and theories in some abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives: we learn in relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our prejudices and our fears. 12 On reflection, it becomes clear that this point is actually

a corollary of the idea that learning is active and social. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives. 13

7. One needs knowledge to learn: it is not possible to assimilate new knowledge without having some structure developed from previous knowledge to build on. 14 The more we know, the more we can learn. Therefore any effort to teach must be connected to the state of the learner, must provide a path into the subject for the learner based on that learner's previous knowledge. 15

8. It takes time to learn: learning is not instantaneous. For significant learning we need to revisit ideas, ponder them try them out, play with them and use them. This cannot happen in the 5-10 minutes usually spent in a gallery (and certainly not in the few seconds usually spent contemplating a single museum object.) If you reflect on anything you have learned, you soon realize that it is the product of repeated exposure and thought. Even, or especially, moments of profound insight, can be traced back to longer periods of preparation.

9. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning. This ideas of motivation as described here is broadly conceived to include an understanding of ways in which the knowledge can be used. Unless we know "the reasons why", we may not be very involved in using the knowledge that may be instilled in us. even by the most severe and direct teaching. 16

The meaning of constructivism for museums Having suggested these principles, I want to reflect on what they may mean for our specific day- today work both in mounting exhibits and in developing educational programs.

Points #1 and 3 Most museum educators have accepted the idea that learners need to be active, that in order to participate in learning we need to engage the learner in doing something, in hands-on involvement, in participatory exhibits and programs. But the more important point, I believe, is the idea that the actions which we develop for our audience engage the mind as well as the hand. Not all experiences are educative, as Dewey pointed out in Experience and Education. This does not mean that they necessarily have to be complex---but they do need to allow the participants to think as they act. I recently saw a videotape of a group of children building a cardboard ramp which would serve as an inclined plane for an experiment they were to do. What the video tape showed was a fifteen-minute period in which the children spent time measuring, constructing (and wandering around) with little idea of what they were building or why they were building it. It was a hands-on activity that was not likely to be educative as intended for two reasons: a) The children had no chance to incorporate

what they were doing into a larger picture: the focus was on completing a task, which for them must have appeared to be just one more of the senseless requirements of school. b) There was no opportunity to alter the task to fit the meaning-making of any individual student. They all simply measured strips of paper 24 inches long (the US is still not on the metric system) and 1.5" wide, everyone following the same recipe with no variation.

By way of contrast, I have watched adults look at a map of England at the dock where the Mayflower replica is berthed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Repeatedly, adults will come to the map, look at it and then begin to discuss where their families come from. (I could imagine an even more elaborate exhibit at the same place which would include a map of the world and different ways in which people have immigrated to the US, so that all visitors could find something to interest them.) But at least for those who trace their roots back to England, here is an interactive exhibit (even if there is little to "do" except point and read) which allows each visitor to take something personal and meaningful from it and relate to the overall museum experience. For me, the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv came alive when I had the opportunity to call up family genealogies on the computer in the reference center. The opportunity to view and manipulate a library of family trees covering several generations and a wide geographical distribution, gave personal meaning to the idea of a Diaspora.

Physical involvement is a necessary condition for learning for children, and highly desirable for adults in many situations, but it is not sufficient. All hands-on activities must also pass the test of being minds-on---they must provide something to think about as well as something to touch.

Point #2 The idea that we learn to learn as we learn, that we begin to understand organizing principles as we use them, is not terribly radical to most of us, but I believe that there is an important manner of formulating it that can help us, which sometimes eludes us: What are we assuming about our visitors' ability to learn (to organize knowledge) when we present exhibits to them? What organizing schemes do we attribute to them, that may or may not be available to them? Let me give you an example. During the last year we have been observing visitors at the Boston Museum of Science interacting with a series of exhibits developed originally at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. We asked them what they thought of the exhibits. Some visitors did not have the tools they needed to get the concept of the exhibit. I don't mean that they did not understand the concept (that will be my next point) but that they did not have the organizing principles, and thus the learning tools.

For example, there are exhibits which require visitors to turn knobs which will cause a component of the exhibit to move or change. Not all visitors are clear about the relationship between the knob and what it does. The exhibit is intended to explain a causal relationship between two variables in nature; one variable is altered by turning the knob and that change then causes the other variable to

respond and vary. But if the visitor does not understand about knobs and what they do, then the message of the exhibit cannot possibly be understood.

A similar issue concerns chronologies and time lines, which are common devices in history museums. Do we know that our visitors understand chronology? Are we positive that our visitors can appreciate a time line, for example, and can recognize that the distribution of dates in linear space may be intended to approximate their distribution in chronological time? There is considerable evidence that at least some visitors (i.e. children) cannot follow such reasoning; there is less evidence that any significant number of visitors can. 17 Maybe we need to teach our visitors to understand time lines through simple examples before we present them with complex charts that span thousands of years. Ayala Gordon discussed this issue when she pointed out that in order to allow children to experience a sense of time, the Youth Wing at the Israel Museum arranged exhibits so that children and parents would talk about changes in their lifetimes.

Points #4 and 5 Learning is a social activity. To what extent do we recognize that people learn as they speak and interact with each other? In evaluating an interactive exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science in which people could get information through a variety of modalities---they could read labels, listen to tapes, smell animal smells, touch animal mounts and manipulate interactive exhibit components-- we noted that individual visitors preferred different learning modes. In family groups, the conversations became more democratic, and involved more members after all these modalities were installed, as family members shared, discussed and confirmed what each had learned while perusing his or her preferred modality.

We need to ask what have we build into the exhibit that encourages visitors to discuss, to share, to find out together. Has the architecture and exhibit arrangement encouraged discussion? Some art museums have a quiet air like a church, discouraging active debate and verbal interaction. The quiet may be appropriate for individual contemplation of pictures, but perhaps these museums could provide other rooms, close to the galleries, and fitted out with reproductions' reference materials or other reminders of the paintings, which would encourage dialogue.

Point #6 This is really an elaboration of the point made previously about learning to learn as one learns. Our visitors need ''hooks"---connections---in exhibits to help them understand the messages intended. An experienced museum-goer or a person knowledgeable on a given subject can be enlightened easily. But what does it mean for a naive visitor to be confronted with a whole case containing may objects? Of what value is it to the naive visitor to be invited to push this button or read a sophisticated label?

It is important for exhibits to provide different kinds of entry points, using various sensory modes, different kinds of stimuli, to attract a wide range of learners. In teaching people to read, the use of different words which have powerful connections for individuals was dramatically described years ago by Sylvia Ashton-Warner18 and widely emulated since. Eurydice Retsila described a program in which children served as young ethnographers, developing individual projects of interest to them with the "assistance" of university students.

Point #7 Perhaps no other issue in constructivism raises more questions than the concern with finding the right level at which to engage the learner. Vigotsky spoke of the "zone of proximal development," 19an unfortunately cumbersome term which refers to a level of understanding that is possible when a learner engages in a task with the help of a more expert peer (i.e. a teacher). People learn as they are stretched beyond their own knowledge but only within a range that is within their grasp given what knowledge and skills they bring to a task.

Point #8 Finally there is the issue of time to learn, time to reflect and time to revisit an idea. Museum educators have grappled with this problem and find it a particularly challenging one, since our audiences are free to come and go, and large fractions of them are tourists who many never return. Museum galleries are not designed as places to linger, despite our desire to have visitors spend more time there. I was impressed to note in the slide Michael Cassin showed yesterday that the National Gallery at the turn of the century had many chairs scattered around the gallery for people to sit in and contemplate the pictures. What do we do for the visitors who wish to stay with a topic longer? How have we organized our museums to accommodate them? To what extent have we provided additional resources (in addition to items which we are eager to sell to them in the nearby shop) that can satisfy the interested visitors' concerns that arise on the next day or a week after the visit?

I believe that an important issue for we, as museum educators is to tackle the problem of increasing the time possible for visitors to interact with our exhibits and reflect on them, revisit them (in the mind if not directly) and therefore internalize their messages to us.

Conclusion The principles of constructivism, increasingly influential in the organization of classrooms and curricula in schools, can be applied to learning in museums. The principles appeal to our modern

views of learning and knowledge but conflict with traditional museum practices. We need to reflect on our practice in order to apply these ideas to our work.

References 1 I will document this paper with quotes from relevant publications. See these for additional information on constructivism and its application in education. I have also indicated how the views in this paper relate to a number of ether presentations at this conference.

2 "Constructivism asserts two main principles whose applications have far-reaching consequences for the study of cognitive development and learning as well as for the practice of teaching, psychotherapy, and interpersonal management in general. The two principles are (1) knowledge is mot passively received but actively built up by the experiential world, not the discovery of ontological reality." International Encyclopedia of Education. "Constructivism In Education," 1987.

3 The ideas I will discuss here have been touched upon by other speakers at this conference, for example Tomislav Sola in his general orientation; Samuel Sas stated that "in the modem Museum the visitor is at the center, not the object;" Maria Horta Baretto stressed that the meaning of an object is given to it by the viewer; and Yaron Ezrahi discussed the subjectivity of the images of science.

4 Every genuine experience has an active side which changes in some degree the objective conditions under which experiences are had. The difference between civilization and savagery to take an example on a large scale is found in the degree in which previous experiences have changed the objective conditions under which subsequent experiences take place." J. Dewey. Experience and Education. Kappa Delta Pi, 1938.

"If the view is adopted that 'knowledge' is the conceptual means to make sense of experience rather than the 'representation' of something that is supposed to lie beyond it, this shift of perspective brings with it an important corollary: the concepts and relations in terms of which we perceive and conceive the experiential world are necessarily generated by ourselves. In this sense we are responsible for the world we are experiencing." E. von Glaserfield. "An exposition of Constructivism: Why some like it radical" in R. B. Davis. C.A. Maher and N. Noddings, editors. Constructivist Views of the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. Washington, D.C. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1991.

5 As a participant stated in our discussion group, "History is made by people: it isn't a collection of facts." or as Avner Shalev stated "The role of education is not to instruct but tutorial: an approach that allows the visitor to be a consumer."

6 The meanings that learners construct do, in fact, concentrate on a limited number of conclusions. This is related to the notion that learning is social, as it happens within a culture, and perhaps for other reasons as well. A discussion of why certain views appear repeatedly is beyond the scope of this paper. That they do is evident when we consider, for example, the consistent Aristotelian" views in naive science explanations.

7 "Study is effectual in the degree in which the pupil realizes the place of the numerical truth he is dealing with in carrying to fruition activities in which he is concerned. This connection of an object and a topic with the promotion of an activity having a purpose is the first and last word of a genuine theory of interest in education." J. Dewey. Democracy and Education. MacMillan, 1916.

8 "The most important message modern research on the nature of thinking is that the kinds of activities traditionally associated with thinking are not limited to advanced levels of development. Instead these activities are an intimate part of even elementary levels of reading, mathematics and other branches of learning." L.B. Resnick . Learning to Think. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

9 ''The object enters into dialog with the learner only after being transformed by him or her. In fact, it is the set of significant units organized by the learner and the relationships that he or she constructs between them that constitutes the cognitive object that, in turn, constitutes knowledge." A Henriques. "Experiments in Teaching," in E. Duckworth, J. Easley, D. Hawkins and A Henriques. Science Education: A Minds On Approach to the Elementary Years. Erlbaum, 1990.

10 "The relationship between thought and word is not a thing but a process. a continual movement back and forth from thought to word and from word to thought: .... thought is not merely expressed in words; it comes into existence through them." L.V. Vigotsky. Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 1962.

11 "Vigotsky was proposing that children's understanding is shaped not only through adaptive encounters with the physical world but through interactions between people in relation to the world---a world not merely physical and apprehended by the senses, but cultural, meaningful and significant, and made so primarily by language. Human knowledge and thought are themselves therefore fundamentally cultural, deriving their distinctive properties form the nature social activity,

of language, discourse and other cultural forms." D. Edwards and N. Mercer. Common Knowledge: The Development of Understanding in the Classroom. London: Methuen, 1987.

12 As Mooly Broog stated in the discussion group "When you say Jerusalem, what is the visitor's concept? Each visitor, from a different community, has a totally different idea of what the city is."

13 "A fundamental way of changing the requirements for success on a particular task is to recontextualize the text presented to, and understood by, the learner. In all sample cases, the subject is initially presented with the activity---the whole task---embedded in, contextualized as part of some larger activity. For the subjects themselves, the recontextualization involves familiar scripts and human intentions." M. Cole and P. Griffin. Contextual Factors in Education. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, 1987.

14 Maria Baretto referred to this point when she stated that "we cannot identify and recognize what we don't already know ."

15 "We can learn most easily when we already know enough to have organizing schemas in L.B. Resnick and L.E Klopfer, editors. Towards the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research. 1989 ASCD Yearbook. Alexandria, VA: American Association for Curriculum Development, 1989.

16 "Research... confirmed that acquiring skills and strategies, no matter how good one became at them, would not make one into a competent reader, writer, problem solver or thinker... The habit or disposition to use the skill and strategies, and the knowledge of when they are applied, needed to be developed as well." Resnick and Klopfer., op cit.

17 Increasingly we find that the limitations of timing described by Piaget extend longer into adulthood than Piaget would have had us believe. Research by Shayler and Adey suggests that English children shift from concrete to hypothetical-deductive later than Piaget argued; a considerable amount of research on college students indicates that many are still in concrete stages, and work with adults on science concepts often indicates that they hold "childish" views on a range of topics.