Z550 Topical Seminar in Art Education (#13178)/
J760 Topical Seminar in Curriculum & Instruction (# 13927):
“Teaching with Museums”

Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth (Beau) Vallance

When: Tuesdays, 4:00-6:45 pm

Where: Wright Education Bldg 3125 and area museums

Course Description: This course explores the history, purposes, theory, and practical implications of teaching with and about museum collections and exhibitions, both in the K-12 art curriculum and in museum settings themselves.  The focus is on art-museum collections but attention is given also to collections in history and anthropology museums. 
Readings, discussions, occasional museum visits, and assignments will address a range of topics including: the uses of museum education programs in K-12 teaching,  the roles of original objects and reproductions in art education; the impact of installation context on the meanings of museum objects; parallels between museum objects and objects/imagery  in everyday life and ways to incorporate those parallels in teaching; learning theories pertaining to museum visitor background; strategies for connecting museum objects to teaching art and non-art subjects..

 Assignments/activities include group and independent visits to the IU Art Museum and selected other area museums, classroom discussions, reading critiques,
exploration of thematic connections among fine-art and popular-culture objects,
a museum-education program proposal, and other creative critiques of the uses of museum objects both on-site in museums and in classroom settings.