Living History more than entertainment

orwhat do we remember after an

event?

Susanne Wiermann

Questions

• What do adults learn from Living History events?

• How do adults learn?• What needs do adult museum visistors

have in order to learn successfully?• Can we measure the learning results?• How can we take responsibility for the

images we produce? >> Discussion about quality in LH

Structure

• 1: Learning Theory

• 2: Needs of adult visitors

• 3: Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

• 4: Evaluation of the learning outcome of Living History events

How do adults learn

• Lifelong (punishment?)!

• Learning is a boogie man

• unpleasant memories of former learning situations

Learning all your life

• Formal learning

• In school• involuntary• Memorizing facts

without criticising• Method of passively

getting filled up with facts

• Informal learning

• Sometimes by chance• voluntary• Autonomous learning• Active learning

process

Learning experience of a best-ager/baby boomer

• Male, born 1956

• Learning means to live

• My schooltime was good, the teachers were capable, the social climate was good, cooperation (Gemeinsinn) was emphasized

• I was an average pupil

• Today I prefer learning spontaneously, as much as I want and according to my interests. I don‘t like computers but I love to look something up in encyclopedias

• Lifelong learning means the willingness to always learn without regard to age. You can be mentally „dead“ as a young person, when you are watching „Junglecamp“ every evening.

Willingness to learn as an adult

• Depends on:– Your interest in culture (which depends on your

health situation, your education, your income, and also on your contact with younger people)

– School education • generation over 60 years (often a lower education)

is interested in improving their knowledge! They like to catch up.

• Generation between 50 and 60 years is often well qualified and more interested in „active learning“

Learning obstacles for adult learners

• Lack of time

• Lack of finances

• Social background (clash of values)

• Dislike of new ways, techniques etc.

• Fear of making a fool of oneself

Learning chances for adult learners

• Valuable experiences

• Positive attitude: no sweet without sweat

• Ambition

• Motivation through goal-oriented and relevant learning

• Learning because of personal turning points

Factors of learning success for adult learners

• Knowing the goal improves motivation and concentration

• You can evoke curiosity and interest by attractive, vivid and well- structured learning bits

• Explain new facts or words, and „wrap“ new things in familiar „paper“ (lower the barriers!)

• Link to reality

Factors of learning success for adult learners

• The best learning motivation is fun and the feeling of success!

• Learning is a social process (talk about your new learning inputs)

• You remember more when the information is connected with multichannel impressions (the soup smells delicious, but the open fire stings my eyes…)

Each person has a different learning style

• We favor different learning channels and have individual personalities:– Visual– Auditory– Reading and writing– Kinesthetic (movement)

– Some people are more extroverted, some are more introverted, some like to touch things, some like to reflect, some like to analyse, some like to experiment,…

Needs of adult visitors

• In general:– Good access to the museum

• (bus/train/parking lot/wheelchair access, washrooms für handicapped visitors)

– See your museum through the eyes of a visitor who is at your place for the first time: polite reception? clear signs? suitable type size and lighting? etc)

– Polite and respectful interpersonal communication

Needs of adult visitors

• For successful learning situations:– less is often more (unless you are lecturing

academics )– Don‘t hurry the visitors (learning is a social process!)– Leave the choice of what and how much the visitor

wants to learn to the „king and the queen“– Try to connect new (for the visitor) facts with familiar

facts the visitor already knows– Take care to speak clearly and loud enough

Needs of adult visitors

• In special situations:– Offer possibilities to rest (seats, shade, water

etc)- What learning possibilities could you offer to

handicapped visitors? (lending wheelchair, glasses; movie of the site, 3D model of the site to be touched etc)

Offer generations-connecting activities (contact with younger people deepens the interest for culture!)

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

„Living History is the simulation of life in

another time with the aim to research,

interpret and/or replay it“ (Jay Anderson)

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

Elements of LH days in Kanzach:- Everyday live in the castle and peasant`s house

including cooking and needle work etc- Crafts: textiles, smithery, wooden crafts etc- Shows with scientific explanation: fashion,

battles, tournaments etc- open guided tour by a Kanzach team member

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

• Adults prefer self- defined learning– What do I want to know?– How much and how detailed do I want to get

information?– How fast/slow do I want to learn? Do I need

breaks?– What suits my learning type?– What learning atmosphere do I want/need?

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

• 1. What do I want to know?

- LH days show crafts, clothes, weapons, strategies, social structures, behaviour, food, ways of preparing the food, everyday artifacts, farmwork etc of a certain age.

- Visitors could also be interested in the actors` passion for LH

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

2. How much and how detailed do I want to get information?

Visitor can attend different learning situations, stroll by and just watch, have a try, ask questions, get in a deeper discussion, etc.

3. How fast/slow do I want to learn? Do I need breaks?

Only the shows have a fixed schedule. If you miss a show because you are in deep conversation or need a break, you can attend the next one.

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

4. What suits my learning type?With the different learning situations offered you can choose (according to whether you are more extroverted or introverted):

- you can be (a distant) observer

- you can choose to get involved

- you can try something (food, a technique)

- you can share your expert knowledge

- If you prefer to „channel-hop“ you can go and come again

5. What learning atmosphere do I want/need?

- You can choose the situation and distance you prefer

- The atmosphere could be too vivid for some visitors (crowded, noisy, too rough, unsafe tournaments, etc)

- Some visitors might need written information

Are Living History events suitable learning situations?

Evaluation of the learning outcome of Living History events

• Have the visitors left the museum with more knowledge, more understanding, maybe more skills and more inspiration?

• Unfortunately we can‘t test them…

Evaluation of the learning outcome of Living History events

• Quantity: statistics, are adult visitors loyal?• Quality: what do you remember?

– Questionnaire• 17 Living History days this year.• Stage 1: Expected 300 adult visitors/day

10% = 30 interviews/day• Stage 2: After some weeks, personal interview (via

telephone) with 10 % of stage 1 • At the end of the year, 50 replies based on long-

term memory

Topics of the questionnaire

Stage 1 (the same day, after the visit)

• Standards: age, sex, level of education, profession

• How many times have you been to Kanzach?

• Which criteria led you to Kanzach today?

• What were your expectations?

• Were the expectations met?

• What did you dislike today?

• What did you like today/inspired you?

• How do you rate the learning situations you experienced today?

• Is there some input for your everyday life?

• Was today`s visit a generations- combining event for you?

Topics of the questionnaire

Stage 2 (a few weeks after the visit, by telephone)

- What do you remember from your visit to Kanzach?- What were your personal highlights of your visit?- Why can you remember the mentioned highlights especially well?

(long stay?; active engagement?; informative talk with LH actors?, link to everyday life or to childhood?; good entertainment?)

- How do you rate the learning situations you experienced in Kanzach?

- What would you like to learn in the future at Kanzach?- What does learning mean to you?

LH just entertainment?

• LH can offer good learning situations (en passant)

• LH events allow self-defined learning

• LH can be a good opportunity for having intergeneration events

• Sources:- Museen und lebenslanges Lernen – ein europäisches Handbuch.

2010- Kulturbarometer 50+. 2008- My own survey on learning experiences of „Best- agers“

- Thanks to the Kanzach Team and to Annemarie and Roeland

and to my friend Jeanne (who supervised my English)!

Thank you for your attention!

And for listening about self-defined learning without the chance to quit

But now you have a choice:

- do you have questions/comments?

- do you need a short break?

- can we proceed in the program (discussion about Didarchtic)?