Lesson Plan: Museum Evaluation
Work from Serrell reading-Key is 1) knowing what information you want to gather and 2)
wanting to improve
- Kinds of evaluation
- Front end - beginning of project and during concept dev.: study potential audience (what they know, what their expectations are, what vocabulary)
- Formative - during exhibit development and draft label writing (for testing and fine-tuning exhibit elements)
- Summative - done when exhibit open to the public (assess function of elements, measure learning outcomes) - for refinements of exhibit (luxury) and for future projects, also grant reports.
- Evaluation "instruments"
- Interviews and surveys (cued or uncued)
- face-to-face
- phone
- partial self-administered
- Focus groups
- borrowed from market and consumer research; roundtable discussion with 8-12 prescreened participants from a targeted population; led by a trained moderator using a discussion outline prepared in consultation with the client; usually in a special conference room with one-way mirror and with recording equipment
- provides qualitative research:
- insight in to visitor attitudes, perceptions and behavior,
- catalyst for communication among observers of the process (administrators, educators, curators, etc.)
- Visitor observation (various means)
- data sheets and floor plans (see ex.) for tracking and timing studies (look at total time, number of stops, types of interaction or engagement with exhibit) - use overheads
- Interviews and surveys (cued or uncued)
- Sampling
- Exercise: focus group with prepared questions and/or survey instrument prepared for class
- Exercise: use Getty visitor survey worksheet to develop questions for a survey about exhibit
- What's the use?
- How is visitor studies data used in museums? (with examples)
- marketing
- exhibit development
- exhibit assessment
- program assessment
- learning outcomes and long-term educational impact (research)