II. Design and Methodology

     A. Subjects

  1. The population of this research study will include teachers, administrators, curriculum specialists, museum staff, and museum gallery  attendants or volunteers  involved with teacher training or tours for Child's Play, Inc. at the Ellen Noël Art Museum. Also included in the population will be museum Internet sites offering teacher training information.

  2. With approximately two hundred and sixty classes participating in Child's Play, it is feasible to target all teachers involved with tours and all teachers receiving training at the museum or on-line. This will provide a comprehensive teacher response to the training and tours  to  better understand the strengths and weaknesses of these programs. A systematic random sampling  of 5% of teachers participating in  the tours will be interviewed  to add depth the data collected. Museum Internet sites to be evaluated will be selected based on  innovative  presentation, relevant information and interactive components. The survey will be conducted to gather data for input in developing an  Internet teacher training component for the Ellen Noel Art Museum's website. 

  3. Each evaluation form will have a consensual clause added and interviewees will be asked to sign a consensual agreement.

  4. In the consensual clause and agreement participants will be assured of their anonymity. Pseudonyms will be used when referring to  individual participants.

 

B. Instrumentation

     1. Two post -tests will be administered to teachers evaluating tours and training to gather data on the effectiveness, relevancy and efficiency of the programs. The museum gallery attendant/volunteer will be asked to fill out a short evaluation of their observations of the Child's Play tour and attach with each teacher evaluation. Follow-up interviews to teachers will be administered for further insight into the challenges and successes of the museum/school  partnership during Child's Play.  An evaluative survey of museum educational sites on the Internet will be developed to be used as a comparative tool in developing a museum teacher training component on the Internet for Child's Play.

    2. Each post-test will be standardized and administered equally. It is assumed all teachers have received training before touring the Child's Play Exhibit.  Threats to the instrument reliability are substitutes who did not receive training and teachers unprepared for museum visit. These threats will be targeted by the evaluations filled out by the museum gallery attendant/volunteer. Research evaluation will reflect these numbers and responses. Another threat to instrumentation is the time constraints or pressure on a teacher to complete the post-test while their class is in the Museum. One form of relief is if two adults accompany the classes allowing one teacher to fill out the evaluation and the other to attend to the class. The Museum gallery attendant/volunteer can also help relieve the teacher for a few minutes while the post-test is completed.

C. Procedures

In developing a successful partnership  between the schools and museums during Child's Play, communication is essential. A strategic planning session will begin with school administrators and the museum staff to map out the major goals of the partnership and develop a timeline for implementation. A survey of museum educational sites will begin to collect comparative data for Internet training component. Funding sources will be investigated to hire one or two teachers to work collaboratively with museum education staff in developing curriculum for targeted ages touring Child's Play exhibit. Subsequent meetings with museum staff and administrators will be attended by these two teachers. Results from the Internet survey will be evaluated by museum staff and teachers to develop a teacher training component on the Internet for Child's Play. A post-test will be placed at the end of the teacher training on the Internet. Two museum workshops will be offered  for curriculum specialists, museum volunteers, and teachers to train for the Child's Play exhibit. These teachers will receive a post -test after training. A video will be prepared and aired on E.C.I.S.D. television through out the Child's Play exhibit. Teachers will fill out a post-test after Child's Play tour with students. Gallery attendants will complete an evaluation on their perspective of each tour. Follow-up teacher  interviews will be administered. The evaluations will be compiled and results reviewed at a meeting with administrators, teachers, Child's Play committee and museum staff to address challenges and reevaluate goals for the next museum /school partnership for Child's Play.

D. Data Analysis and Presentation

     1. Data will be compiled in a data base and analyzed thematically.

      2. Several tables to be included will be the initial mapping diagram, program cost and time analysis, teacher training methods utilized, and major themes derived from the post-tests and interviews. 

 

 Design Limitations of Assumptions

 As a participate in the research and the author of the research, there are certainly personal and professional biases to consider. Using a hermeneutic approach of incorporating different viewpoints and systematically repeating the cycle of iteration, analysis, and evaluation should help to add depth of perspective and ideas to this study.

 

III. References

Ector County Independent School District Website < http://nse.ecisd.esc18.net/ecisd/default.htm#ECISD%20 Mision%20satement>.

Falk, John H. Dierking, Lynn D. "School field trips: Assessing their long-term impact." Curator, v. 40 (Sept. 97): 211-18.

Glasser, Susan. "Museum publications of the Web: Experiences new ideas/new audiences." MW Conference Papers. <http://www.archimuse.com/mw97speak/glasser.htmh>.

Melber, Leah M.; Abraham, Linda M. "Beyond the classroom: linking with informal education."  Science Activities, v. 36 no. 1 (spring 1999): 3-4.

Olsen, Sandra H. ; Panetski, Stanley; and Polka, Walter S. "An arts connection with a focus on improving learning standards." Educational Horizons, v. 78, no 4 (summer 2000): 194-204.

Sarraf, Suzanne. "A survey of Museums of the web: who uses museum websites?" Curator. v. 42 no3 (July 1999): 231-43.

Seidel, Kent, Ph.D. "How the arts contribute to education an evaluation of research." Research commissioned for a Brochure by the Association for the Advancement of Arts Education, (1996)   < http://www.aaae.org/artsbro/method.htm>.