“Object-based learning is an educational approach that actively integrates objects into the learning environment, combining both active and experiential learning. Centered on multi-sensory engagement, students learn through engaging with objects directly and then applying new knowledge from the objects in other contexts. By engaging with knowledge more fundamentally through an object, the learner is required to think as well as physically do, further generating knowledge and meaning.
Objects can be used to facilitate and act as a tangible representation of concepts: sparking curiosity, connecting to abstract ideas, developing skills, extending knowledge, and encouraging close looking and examination. This means that objects are the sites for interpretation and sources of information, not just the information itself, and invoke a variety of senses by encouraging interactive and experiential learning. Knowledge and meaning are generated through the interactions, requiring students to think as well as develop meaning by engagement through physical touch. Object-based learning encourages students to construct learning on their own, develop investigative skills, and create an embodied learning experience.” (University of Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning Resource-Integrating Object-based Learning in the Classroom)
Arctic Museum
Bella Nadeau, Curatorial Assistant
During a visit, I can pull objects not currently on view for your students to examine, and/or lead a guided tour of our exhibits. In the fall semester, in addition to our permanent gallery “At Home in the North,” we will have two exhibits on our third floor: “Mamaqtuq! It is Delicious!: Traditional Foods of the North,” which focuses on Inuit food practices and the modern issues (i.e., climate change, contaminants, colonialism) that threaten them; and “The Tip of the Iceberg: A Selection of Recent Acquisitions,” a small gallery featuring objects recently purchased or donated to the museum, ranging from Inuit art to historic documents.
If you would like to book a time for your class to visit or are interested in learning more about how your classes might connect to the Arctic Museum, please feel free to contact me directly.
More information about class visits.
Museum of Art
Cassandra (Casey) Mesick Braun, PhD, Curator
Types of class visits include:
- BCMA staff-led visits (we facilitate the class discussion);
- Instructor-led (instructor facilitates class discussion using BCMA objects and/or exhibitions); and
- Joint-led (staff and instructor facilitate class discussion together)
BCMA staff are happy to work with you to determine which type of class visit best suits your course, help select objects from the permanent collection, and develop a lesson plan. We offer class visits in the Museum’s Zuckert Seminar Room or galleries.
More information about collaborating with the Museum of Art
Special Collections and Archives
Marieke Van Der Steenhoven, Special Collections Education and Outreach Librarian
There are myriad ways to integrate special collections materials into a classroom experience, whether exploring examples of printmaking techniques, transcribing nineteenth century correspondence to use as mapping data, or investigating the dissemination of a work of literature through the ages: we are excited to collaborate to support the intersection of distinctive materials and intentional pedagogy.
We work with faculty across all disciplines to meet a wide variety of learning goals and support teaching with our unique materials. Our emphasis on active learning places the student at the center of our instruction design, providing the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning to build transferable skills that directly promote students’ academic growth and development.