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Home > What is Family Learning? > Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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We developed these questions (and then answered them!) as a tool to present some of the basic information from our family learning research study. The questions also include ideas from our conference and workshop presentations andcolleague conversations in the field. We are indebted to our Steering Committee members for freely sharing their ideas, research and institutional publications. Keep in mind the answers for the following questions could vary depending on your institution's audience, mission, and discipline.
All families who enter our museums are unique. They come with their own cultural backgrounds, belief systems, leisure habits, and life experiences. Each group (two or more individuals) often contains a variety of ages or multi-generations. Our challenge as museum professionals is to better understand how they function as a group, how they interact in a social setting, and how we can tap into their group dynamics to engage them in family learning. The following FAQs will provide you with some of this important background information.
What are the characteristics of Family Learning?
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The characteristics of families and their actions as they learn and engage with each other are intriguing! We have observed and surveyed hundreds of families in our exhibition galleries this past summer (see Current Findings link) and verified there are as many ways for a family to interact in an exhibition as there are types of exhibitions!
We started our research study at the USS Constitution Museum by looking at resources on family learning already in use at children's and science museums. We discovered a very useful guide from The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, a staff training booklet, entitled Family Learning at the Children's Museum which discussed the characteristics of family learning as follows: |
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Family learning is playful, fun, and a social experience |
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Family learning is influenced by the ages of the children and adults in the group |
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Families all learn in different ways |
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Families find value in their own personal observations and experiences; they learn by working, talking, and solving problems together |
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Conversation and collaboration also seem to be two key characteristics that we have observed repeatedly in our study. Minda Borun of the Franklin Institute, at the Family Learning Project Roundtable in June 2005, stated that conversation is the "currency of family learning." |
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What are the tools needed to assess Family Learning?
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Family learning assessment tools include surveys, interview questionnaires, observation tracking sheets and other forms for the recording of collected data. These tools are developed to fit the needs of the institution that is undertaking a visitor study for a specific purpose. These tools are developed by staff and/or consultants, or can be adapted from samples appearing in AAM publications.
The American Association of Museum has several evaluation guides available through their bookstore both in their catalog and on-line. Some of these titles include:
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Visitor's Surveys: A User's Manual (Randi Korn and Lauire Sowd) |
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Introduction to Museum Evaluation (AAM and CARE Resource Report) |
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Practical Evaluation Guide: Tools for Museums and Other Informal Educational Settings (Judy Diamond) |
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Know Your Visitors: Survey Guide (ed. by Gerald Baril and translated by Terry Knowles and Meridee Mascherin) |
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Paying Attention: Visitors and Museum Exhibitions (Beverly Serrell) |
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Questioning Assumptions: An Introduction to Front-End Studies in Museums (Lynn Dierking and Wendy Pollock) |
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For those institutions who want assistance with audience research and evaluation, you may want to use the Audience Research and Evaluation: 2003 Directory of Evaluators, which presents consultants who are available to conduct research for you. The Directory is compiled by AAM's Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation (CARE) who also publishes their conference presentations in an annual publication titled Current Trends in Audience Research and Evaluation. Your institution can join this Committee through AAM or watch for their reports as they are advertised in AAM publications.
Along with the survey instruments, additional basic supplies may be needed to assess family learning such as clipboards, paper, pens and stopwatches. Computers, tape recorders, video equipment, and cameras could be added to the set of basic tools. The level of tools needed will be based on what your institution determines it wants to find out. For example, if your institution determines it wants to know visitor's opinions on a specific interactive, a simple interview with paper, pens and a clipboard might be sufficient. If you would like to find out how people are using the exhibit without a facilitator present, the use of video recording or observation equipment might assist you in discovering some of the factors affecting their group experience. Our Research Project has not yet utilized cameras so you may wish to seek special assistance from institutions who have conducted studies using cameras or other recording devices. |
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What does Family Learning look like?
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We would like to think we can all spot "that family learning" look from across the exhibit gallery. But it is doubtful it is that easy to recognize and from our study we do know there are clues in the group's behavior if they are engaging with the exhibit or with each other—that hopefully means family learning will take place at some time. Below are a few scenarios described by the Children's Museum of Indianapolis about what family learning may look like in your museum:
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If you see family members engaging in conversations that are directed to or in response to an exhibit, particularly if the family is connecting that experience to their own family history, you are most likely observing "family learning." |
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Sometimes you might see modeling, or what is often called learning by watching; this is when a more knowledgeable learner—often the adult, but not always—engages in an activity and then the less knowledgeable learner—often the child, but not always—tries the activity in the way the other person has already done it. |
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If you see two or more people from the same group working together to complete an activity, then you are watching family members collaborating and learning together. |
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Although a little harder to observe, when you see a child and adult watching or attending an interpretation activity together, you are watching a shared experience that may in fact provide opportunities for many conversations at a later time, resulting in family learning. |
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How does family learning work in the museum setting?
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In order to really know if family learning is working, evaluation is needed. At the simplest level (we can all do this one!), make up a sheet of basic questions about the activity and then begin by observing visitor(s) at that activity. You need to record how they are engaging, did they read directions, and what did they talk about? Next you observe visitors who are using the family friendly exhibits or interactives in your museum and then ask them if it is working for them. Also, ask for their suggestions on how to make the exhibit even better. Every visitor is usually flattered to be asked for their opinion!
This is a very simple doable observation and interview exercise which will most likely take under 10 minutes in your exhibition gallery. You can also insert one or two questions in the interview section on subject content to see what new information the visitor has absorbed on that specific topic. |
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What exhibit techniques support family learning?
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Exhibit techniques which support family learning include those which have a wide appeal to various age groups. During our research, we learned that all ages of visitors enjoy the surprise of a "treasure" so opening up or discovering a hidden component is always popular! Lift flaps, sliding laps, or various types of doors provide this "discovery" element for the visitor. Hands-on interactives with game characteristics also have a wide appeal for family members. For these multi-age groups, there needs to be elements in the exhibit which engage learners of various styles. A variety of text label styles has been a part of our research study along with free play, intriguing videos and audios which will hopefully stock visitors in their tracks.
We also know that the PISEC (see Overview of Family Learning) elements (multi-sided, multi-user, easily used by adults and children, multi-outcome, multi-modal, readable, and relevant) will best support family learning and engagement. Interactive exhibit elements also seem to encourage family engagement and create conversation among members. |
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How do we integrate the family experience into the whole museum?
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All staff members at every level of the institution should be committed to the importance of the family experience in the museum. It is necessary that the administrative staff members including the director and/or board members "buy into" the idea of family learning. An institutional initiative or commitment to family learning can be extremely advantageous as it encourages all staff to work together with the same goal. It permits all departments: exhibits, education (programs), curatorial, marketing, development, maintenance (e.g. making bathrooms more family friendly), and the gift shop (e.g. selling items that appeal to families) to work together as an effective team to prioritize family learning and focus on making the family experience important to the museum.
Here at the USS Constitution Museum, the Family Learning Project is an institution- wide commitment with Board members and Overseers having the opportunity to test out the interactives and preview new label copy. They were also invited to participate in the project itself and become an active part of the family interview team in the exhibit. |
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What are the small steps you can take immediately to make your institution more family friendly?
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The easiest first step you can take to start making your institution family friendly is to get to know your audience.
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You will need to define a family group—this is a good staff group exercise as you will want to make sure you are all using the same definition! |
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Various institutions have used different definitions so you will need to consider several factors for your institutional definition. How many members make up a family? Do you need multi-ages? Do members need to be related? |
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At the USS Constitution Museum, we defined a family as a group of two or more and there did not need to be a child present in the group. Today families come in many sizes and shapes so the definition needs to match your research study goals. Next, you will want to count these family members, assigning someone to do that task as they come through the door. You can record these numbers and any other demographic information you want to report on a clipboard, tablet, or a chart. |
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The second basic step in determining your family friendliness is to assess your physical appearance. |
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Do you see anything in your building that appears cold, static or stuffy? Make your surroundings live by adding some bright colors in the galleries or in the hallways and removing the dust! |
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You will also want to take a good look at your directions and maps. These need to be exceptionally clear so that parents can easily find where they are going in your galleries. Remember adults also want to be engaged but they also want to keep track of their children. |
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The final basic step that an institution can take to help itself become family friendly is to survey their galleries and see what visitors can actually do as visitors. |
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Families need to engage with the exhibits and with each other in order for learning to take place. Galleries with long labels or " books on the walls." does more to stifle conversation and learning than encourage it. Giving families something to do will, in turn, give them something to talk about; even simple, inexpensive interactives (e.g. flip panels) or reproduction artifacts mounted nearby are a nice addition to and an improvement upon simple (and endless) text panels and object-filled cases. |
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How do we present the concept of family learning to staff?
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There are several progressive steps you can use to inform the rest of your staff about family learning. They include:
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Raising Awareness Among Staff
All staff throughout the museum need to be aware of the needs, learning styles, and other characteristics of family visitors as members of a multi-generational group. You may have to search for opportunities to plant the seed of "family" awareness within your institution's administration. The family friendly initiative is most effective when it is institution-wide. |
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Scoring Family Friendliness Department-by-Department
Encourage all departments to assess their offerings, activities, programs, etc. for a multi-generational audience. The Museum Shop may wish to assess their line of toys and books while the Exhibition Department may examine label copy and the height and space around their exhibition stations. This multi-generational group is comprised of members with many different requirements such as height and space around exhibits, hands-on instructions, etc. |
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Sharing Family Learning Resources with Staff
Find an opportunity at a staff meeting, project team meetings, or planning sessions to present some of the new research on family friendly exhibitions and learning in multi-generational groups. Distribute family learning research studies or articles such as the PISEC project from Philadelphia or the tips from the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Try to integrate some of these tools into your current exhibit or program planning so staff can see their effectiveness in reaching the family audience. |
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What is the role of interactives in family learning?
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Interactives or hands-on activities that both provide information for the visitors and also require them to engage together for some response, may be the key element in the family learning experience. These interactive stations could be considered opportunities for families to "stop and think." During the process of taking in the new information, discussing it with others, and linking to previous memories and experiences, family learning begins to take place! Interactives are exhibition tools that go beyond "hands-on" learning. These tools acknowledge the varied personal experiences and memories of our multi-generational visitors. They are carefully designed, created to allow for a wide range of responses and should never convey the a message of failure.
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How do we craft successful family learnng exhibits?
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Very purposefully! It is an involved but also very rewarding process to create a successful family learning exhibit. You need to get the commitment of everyone involved in the exhibit development process and educate your team as to what the steps are on how to successfully engage our family audiences. As your team studies and practices the components of designing family learning exhibits, you also contribute to developing your capacity as exhibition staff. The four components our team has identified are: |
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Read/think/learn about family learning
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Utilize the seven characteristics in the PISEC Study |
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Create prototypes and observe family visitors |
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Modify the prototype and continue to test until feedback is positive |
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