Highland Independent Museums - Loans boxes and Links to Local Schools

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The aims of the project were:

-To support independent museums to market their education and learning resources to schools
-To engage with teachers and promote active learning through CPD training sessions in various museums across the Highlands
-To raise the profile of education and learning within Independent museums across the Highlands
-Create a dialogue between museums and the education sector and encourage partnership working

Hidden Highland Histories WW2 Loans Boxes:

An evaluation was carried out to find out how the Loans Boxes produced for the project were being utilised within museums and also for education purposes. Support was offered to those museums involved in the form of assistance to market the resources to schools eg. and other groups including teachers’ Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training sessions.

CPD Sessions for Primary School teachers:

Initially 5 CPD training session were organised with the CPD Development Officer from Highland Council across 5 museums in the Highlands – Caithness Horizons, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, The Highland Museum of Childhood (Strathpeffer), Tain Through Time and The West Highland Museum (Fort William). Only two of those sessions took place due to low number of bookings. The sessions went ahead at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery 16th February and Tain Through Time 18th February. Museums staff and teachers were invited. The sessions were based on the MGS “Hands On” publication and the emphasis was on active learning using museum objects. At Inverness Museum the session was led by Alison Boyle, Alix Powers–Jones, Director of the Highlanders’ Museum, Christine Russell, Education & Communities Officer from Caithness Horizons and Jennifer Maxwell, Curator of the Highland Museum of Childhood. 5 teachers attended from schools across the Highlands. At Tain Through Time the session was led by Alison Boyle, Morag Bremner, Curator of Tain Through Time and Sheila Munro (Tain Through Time) and 10 teachers attended from a local primary school.

The format for both sessions was: – An introduction to the Their Past Your Future Learning resources including the online exhibition and the loans box, – Handling session using the Hands On guidelines on how to investigate objects. This was followed by a group handling session asking teachers to think about how to use objects related to topic work and also for cross curricular activities. – Looking at paintings and photographs session. – Feedback and evaluation.

The teachers found the CPD sessions useful for developing ideas on how museums can support learning. They enjoyed the ‘hands on’ experience and will use their knowledge resources available in museums when planning lessons. All teachers commented that the Their Past Your Future online exhibition was a very useful resource that they would consider using.

Museum staff used the opportunity to discuss teachers expectations of museums, how museums might promote their services better and gain feedback on existing resources.

Loans Boxes:

- Some museums need support to publicise loans boxes to schools and other target groups – Some museums staff would appreciate further support in leading school group visits/activities in their museums and developing further loans boxes

CPD Session:

- Earlier publicity – museums to take the lead on this – CPD Session in central location will attract teachers from a wide geographic area. May be better to focus effort on one or two sessions rather than a wider coverage.

This project shows how Hands On CPD sessions with teachers can: – promote to school teachers how museums can support delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence. – showcase the learning resources available through museums. – provide the opportunity for the development of good relationships with local schools, leading to the development of partnership projects.

This project also illustrates how a museum or group of museums can work closely with local schools to gradually improve links to develop an understanding of what the museums service has on offer, and to develop a closer working relationship between schools and museums. Since running the CPD session for teachers described by this project, recognising the need for museums to understand better the needs of schools, the museum has also run a training session for museum staff on Glow and the Curriculum for Excellence.

It was promoted through Highland Council’s Staff Development team in the Education Department

Teachers and museum staff completed evaluation questionnaires.

Teacher’s comments from the evaluations:

“Very informative and hands on – am looking forward to using resources with my class”

“Lots of new ideas and information”

“I think it fits in well with the new Curriculum for Excellence”

“I expected to see what artefacts were available for loan to schools, how to handle them and to be given ideas of how to use them in class. The training did this and more”

“Fantastic to have a hands on experience, great to know what is available”

Please contact: Lorna Cruickshank, Independent Museums Support Officer, Highland Council. Lorna.Cruickshank@highland.gov.uk

Categories
Learning
Access
TPYF

Project Start
1st Dec 2010

Project End
1st Mar 2011

Published
3rd May 2011

Who Led?
Lorna Cruickshank, Independent Museums Support Officer for Highland Council; Alison Boyle Consultant

Who else took part?

Eight museums across the Highlands who were involved in the original project – Dingwall Museum Trust, Gairloch Heritage Museum, The Highlanders’ Museum, The Highland Museum of Childhood, Historylinks, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, Timespan, Tain Through Time.

Who Paid?
Highland Council, as part of ongoing support to independent museums