Digital Object Based Learning with Libraries and Museums

Introductions Naomi Priddy Multicultural Learning Librarian NP - Multicultural Learning Librarian at OPPL Collection of books and artifacts from around the world. As a public librarian, I do programs s well as outreach- classroom instruction Taught 5th grade and 7th grade Prior work at Field HR - Manager of School Learning Experiences at TFM Lead the team that engages with students, teachers, and administrators at the Museum and in schools Prior to this role I was a high school social studies teacher and worked in other informal learning spaces Naomi Priddy Multicultural Learning Librarian Oak Park Public Library Heidi Rouleau Manager of School Learning Experiences The Field Museum

Learning with Collections What is “object based learning?” “The consequent learning and meaning-making that develops from interacting with an object.” We’ve titled our presentation “Digital Object Based Learning with Libraries and Museums” but what do we actually mean by Object Based Learning? Turn and talk to someone near you about what object based learning means. “The consequent learning and meaning making that develops from interacting with an object.” From Faulk and Dierking leading experts on how people learn in museums But let’s unpack this a little further. Contextual Model of Learning (Falk and Dierking 2000).

Identifying vs Reading Objects Identifying Objects emphasizes naming to identify objects Then time to teach the child to name something else Reading Objects different aspects of an object convey meaning requires detailed observations and emphasizes critical thinking · When we think about object based learning, we like to think about it in terms of re-learning how to “read” objects. · Notice I said “re-learning.” This is really not new. · When we’re babies before we acquire language we learn from the world using out senses. Those skills of perception are strong. · As we grow, we begin to emphasize skill in language over perception. · We’ve all seen examples of this with the two year old who can’t stop asking questions. · It typically goes something like this. o The child asks, “what’s that?” o The adult says, “that’s an apple.” o Then the child now having the name for the object asks what the next thing is. · But if we challenge ourselves to dig a little bit deeper with our skills of perception, we begin to see that by making simple observations, we can learn a whole more about the object and its place in the world. · Just as we can teach students to decode letters and words in text, we can also teach them to make meaning from different aspects of an object. · We think it’s as important for students to learn how to read objects in the world around them as it is to read texts. · This is what the 150 scientists at The Field Museum do each day on a larger scale to learn new things about our planet and its inhabitants.

Benefits of Object Based Learning Objects offer authentic experiences that provide: Language differentiation Reading level differentiation Knowledge level differentiation Learning style differentiation Age differentiation · We also think object based learning is a really powerful pedagogical strategy. · First, it grounds student learning in an authentic experience. · Second, it’s lends itself well to cooperative learning. · Third, it offers many different types of differentiation.

Using Digital Objects for Learning Observation Inference Bonus: Additional Questions Jump off from The Met Hone this practice, and see how it can connect to the other work you do in your classroom Seems simple - how you push the rigor is with precision Visual literacy can be a jumping off point - curiosity - but can also go with the other skills you are teaching your students Handout Objects as primary documents

What can we learn from this object? What kinds of inquiries could this launch?

Cyrus Tang Hall of China Exhibition Online Visit chinahall.fieldmusuem.org. Explore with your classroom instruction in mind. Think about how you might incorporate one of the objects into a lesson. · One of the beautiful things about object based learning at this moment in time is that museums and libraries are actively working to make their collections accessible to more people by digitizing them and creating new interfaces that let you interact with these digital objects in increasingly more interesting ways. · We’re going to take a look at an example of an exhibit – the Cyrus Tang Hall of China – for which The Field Museum has digitized each object in the exhibition as well as the label copy. · If you have a personal digital device, please navigate to chinahall.fieldmusuem.org. If you’re without a device today, please join someone nearby who has one. - Explore the exhibition online with your classroom instruction in mind. - Think about how you might incorporate one of the objects into a lesson.