The Docent Educator

20 Pages·2002·1.7 MB·English

by  Gartenhaus, Alan

Minds in Motion Vol. 11, No. 4 Summer 2002
THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR DEDICATED EDUCATORS
"ObjectSased" A€0inties
Hedoesn'tknowanythingexceptfacts.
Evaluating Object-BasedActivities
Creative WritingActivitiesandMuseum Visitors
Time to Change an Object-Based Tour Nov\/ Wliat?
...
Reinforcing Object-BasedLearning A NewLife for Old Objects a
Teaching That's More Engaging, Open, andFun ATakingAim ata Moving Target
.
minds in motion
Teaching That's More
Object-based activities vision andtake note ofwhattheysee. qualifyas object-basedactivities,
are teachingstrategies Ratherthan expectingvisitors only even ifthe informationtoldrelates
designed to shift tobe able todistinguish between directlyand specificallyto aparticular
visitors from the those two leaves in frontofthem, object. Whilelisteningto alecture
passive repose oflisteningintothe the docentis anticipatingthatvisitors canleadtolearning,the processis
activepostures ofseeking,finding, willlearnhowanexaminationofa passive anddoesnotrequireinvolve-
and/orresponding. Object-based leaf's shape,color,texture,veining, mentto makediscoveriesoranalyses.
activities are employedto encourage and so forth can aid inplantidentifi- Askingconvergent,closed-ended
Cover: learners (visitors) to makediscoveries cation. And,she isofferingher questions,orassigningconvergent
Thiscartoonby on theirown. Because these activities visitors a modelofhowto identify tasks,is alsoinappropriatefor
JamesThurber, mustenfranchise alllearners present, treesbyinspectingtheirleavesin object-based activities. Convergent
regardless oftheirdiverse natures future encounters. questions andtasksrequire that
createdin1943,
sumsupagreat and experiences,such activities allvisitorsfindthe sameanswers.
reasontoteach mustaccommodate awidevariety Often,theyrequestthatvisitors
usingobject-based ofindividualdifferences. ConstructingObject-BasedActivities recallpreviouslylearnedknowledge
Whethersimple orelaborate, Teachingvisitors such skills thathas nothingtodowiththe
activities..
ifyouonly object-based activities are often as observing,comparing,classifying, immediateexperiencestakingplace.
havefactsto initiatedbyaskingaquestionor summarizing,interpreting,and Forinstance,askingvisitorsto
talkabout, givingvisitors atasktoaccomplish. hypothesizingbychallengingthem to identifywhichoftwoleavescomes
The purpose ofsuch questions or participate in an object-based activity from amaple tree requiresremember-
thenthereis
preciouslittle tasksis nottotestvisitors' abilities models skills thatcanbeusedover ingsuchidentificationthrough
ormemories,buttogive them reason and overagain,with different apriorlearningexperience.
todiscuss.
for more carefulobservation and objects in othersettings. And,when Convergentquestions andtasks
morein-depthinvolvement. constructedproperly,object-bas—ed are notappropriate forobject-based
Askingvisitors tolocate items activities offeran addedbonus the activities;theyexclude fromparticipa-
byreadinglabels ortextpanels does involvement theyinitiate encourages tionthosevisitorswhodonotknow
notfitmydefinition ofanobject- greaterretentionofwhatis learned the correctresponse.
based activity. While readinglabels (whereas listeningdoes little to
can assistvisitors in identifying ensure thatinformation heardwill /Accommodation
objects,itdoes notguarantee that be rememberedormastered). InhisTheoryofRelativity,
theywillengagewiththem. Despite the diversityofobject- AlbertEinsteinpostulatedthattime,
The ultimate reason foremploying based activities thatcanbe developed which seemsfactual,frxed,and
object-based activities is to demon- and thewide range ofsettings in immutable,changesbasedon
strate howtolearn,understand, whichtheymaybeused,allshould circumstances. TheU.S. military
and/or appreciate objectsbymodeling share severalcommoncharacteristics. tested histheoryinc—oncretefashion
methodsforincreasedinvolvement. Tobe appropriate andeffective, byusingtwo clocks oneonthe
In additiontoengagement, object-basedactivities shouldinvolve, groundandtheotherin aplanethat
object-based activities shouldoffer accommodate,andengage thinking- flewforthe entire 15-hourtesting
lessons thatcanbe appliedagainwith skills. period.—The resultsprovedhis
similarorrelatedtypes ofobjects. theory the clockin the plane ran
Forinstance,when adocentin a / Involvement slowerthantheoneontheground.
botanicalgarden orparkhands Object-basedactivities are This objective measurementis not
visitors two differentleaves and asks participatory,open-ended,and the onlywayto confirmthe relativity
thateachvisitor make note ofatleast dynamic. Theygetvisitors"doing" oftime,however. Differences intime
three differencesbetween them,itis and"learning"ratherthan remember- can alsobe experiencedpersonally
notsimplyforidentification. She is ingorconfirmingwhatothers have and subjectively. Justconsiderhow
challengingvisitorsto sharpentheir learned. Therefore,lecturesdonot differentlytime is experiencedwhen
2
The Docent Educator Summer 2002
Engaging, Open, and Fun
thesame amountis spentstuckin Whatarethe skillsthatobject- theircomponentparts in orderto
trafficratherthanathomerelaxing. basedactivitiescanteach? Theyare teachotherswhoarelessfamiliar
Whatconnectiondoesthe the same skills ofanalysis and withtheprocess. Forthose ofus
measurementoftimehave to creating synthesisusedbyexpertswithinthe whoread,forexample,the actof
andusing"object-basedactivities" disciplines ofart,history,andthe readingis an activitywe do
atmuseums,historicsites,zoos, sciences. Thoughthe activities withoutgivingconsiderationto
aquariums,parks, andgardens? docents employmayrequestaless the mechanics. Ah,buttoteach
Itserves as areminderthateverything sophisticatedlevelofinvolvement otherswho do notreadhowtodo
inyourcollection,nomatterhow thanthose ofexperts,thethinking sois challengingandcomplex!
factual,concrete,orfrxedtheymay skillsofobservation,comparison, We docents andstaffeducators are
seem,canmeandifferentthingsto classification,summarization, morehketeachers ofreadinginthat
differentpeople. Likethe time spent interpretation,andhypothesis are we are notonlyteachingaboutthe
atyourinstitution,yourcollection the same typesofthinkingsldlls objects (recognitionofthewords),
w^iUbe experiencedin amanner employedbyauthorities. butalsoteachinghowto decipher
thatisrelativetothebackgrounds, Relatingthe aforementioned andcomprehendtheirmeaning
learningstyles,age-levels,interests, thinkingskills to the mentaltasks (the actofreadingandcomprehen-
andculturalidentities ofyourvisitors. performedbyexperts mayseem an sion).
There is noone,frxedwayto oversimplification. And,while it
interpretorappreciate aworkofart. is asimplification,itis notoverly SeveralSampleObject-BasedActivities
Thereis noone,fixedwaytoview simplified. The differenceis solely
orunderstandaperiodoreventin inthelevelofsophistication,notin • Havevisitors divide the
history. Thereis noone,frxedway the mentalactivity. The challenge objects in agalleryorlarge display
toexamine orconsiderthe implica- foreducatorsisbreakingdown case into categories oftheirown
tionsofascientificspecimen. activities thatwe can do andunder- making. Challengethem to categorize Continued on
And,thereis noone,frxedwayto standalmostwithoutreflectioninto bysortingthings usingperceived the next page.
focuson orrespondto abotanical
environment. Countlessvariables
willaffectperception andreflection.
Evenyou,thedocentoreducator,
wiUaffectthevisitors'experiences,
andwillshapehowtheyrelate and
respondto thecollection THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR DEDICATED EDUCATORS
/Engagement Publisher/Editor TheDocentEducatorisaquarterlypublicationdedicated
AlanGartenhaus toimprovingtheperformance,status,andjob satisfaction
Object-basedactivities should ofvolunteerandstaffeducatorsteachingwithinmuseums,
requirethatvisitors do something, AssociateEditor historicsites,gardens,parks,zoos,andclassrooms.
find something, and/orrespondto JackieLittleton Thepublicationisavailablebysubscriptiontoindividuals,
something. Itshouldpromptthem aswellastogroupsandinstitutions.
tothink,to sort,to consider,and/or minds in motion
todecide. Ithas implications and TheDocentEducator TheDocentEducatorwelcomesunsolicitedarticles,
applicationsbeyondthe specific PostOfficeBox2080 announcements,comments,generalcorrespondence,and
examplesthatarebeingusedfor Kamuela,HI 96743-2080 USA advertisinginquiries. Theviewsexpressedorimpliedinthis
teaching,becauseobject-based phone: [phone] publicationdonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialposition
activities are meanttoteachvisitors fax: [phone] ofthepublisher,andeffortsaremadetopresentavarietyof
skillsforthinkingin additionto e-mail: [email protected] viewpointsforthereader'sconsideration.
object-specificinformation. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,orusedin
ISSN 1084-0443 anymanner,withoutthewrittenconsentofthepublisher.
AUrightsarereserved.
The Docent Educator Summer2002
Continued similarities ordifferences. Do not
from be overlyconcernedwith the
the categories created,butlisten carefully
previous tothejustifications usedforcreating
page. the categories and assigningobjects
tothem.
Oncevisitors have experienced
such a sortingtask,understanding
that authorities create suchcategories
as schools ofart,periods in history,
phylaofmammals,generaofplants,
ortypes ofrocks makes more sense.
It is atthat time,that adiscussion of
suchcategories maybe appropriate.
• In an historic setting,
visitors can examine the evidence
ofaparticularhistoric period and
can make assumptions aboutlife
duringthattimebased on the
evidence andartifactspresented.
An 18th century kitchen
Forinstance,havevisitors
examine the manyitems and
evidence ofactivities presented in
this 18* centurykitchen. Then,
have them hypothesizealistofchores
andresponsibilities thatcould have
been necessaryto keep this kitchen
workingand flinctioning smoothly.
• Dioramas in naturalhistory
institutionswere createdto depict a
contextforthe animalmounts
displayed. Challengevisitors to
interpretthese depictionsbyasking
themto fmd as much meaningfrom
the animal's environment as theycan.
Have themlookatthe evidence
presented, such as inthis diorama
withbrownbears,and askthem to
extractmeaningfromwhattheycan
seeofthe animal's surroundings,
activities,andcircumstances. A naturalhistory diarama
4
The Decent Educator Summer2002
•Thetidesofartworks often
summarize the artists'literalor
figurativethoughts orintentions.
Havevisitorscondensetheirow^n
thoughts andreactionstoworksby
askingthemto createtidesoftheir
ownmakingforworks such as the
onepresentedhere. Once they
summarizetheirresponsesintothe
abbreviatedformoftitles,have them
reversetheprocessbyelaborating
uponwhichvariablespresentedinthe
workweremostinfluentialtotheir
tides'creation.
Object-based activities arenot
onlyinvolvingandengagingfor
visitors,theykeeplessons from
becomingstale andeducatorsfrom
becomingbored. Theresponses and
Marsden Hartley, Painting Number One, 1913.
participationfromvisitors always feels SheldonMemorialArtGalleryandSculptureGarden
fresh,andnewideas seemto come Lincoln, Nebraska (fromtheSheldon Gallery'sArtCardseries—
fortheachtime anobject-based seearticleaboutthisseriesonpage#18.)
activityis employed. Suchdynamics
are alotmore funthanlecturingfor
boththelearnerandteacher. Tryit;
you'lllikeit! Publish Your TeachingIdeas and Techniques!
Submitanarticleforpossiblepublication.
Develop atextaddressingthetheme ofanupcomingissue.
Alan Gartenhaus
PublishingEditor
OpenForum: TopicsofInterestto Writers Winter2002-03
Submissiondeadline: September1,2002
ProgrammingforSeniorsandtheElderly Spring2003
Submissiondeadline: December1,2002
TeachingChallengesandSolutions Summer2003
Submissiondeadline: March1,2003
Toreceivewriter'sguidelinessendus aself-addressed,stampedenvelope
ore-mailus [email protected].
Allarticlesareeditedforpublication.
The Decent Educator Summer2002
Creative Writing Activities
As
apoetteaching pass an eyeoverthework,scan for ConstructingNarratives
in a museum subjectmatter,take alongerand Choose aworkofartthatdepicts
by
environment,I often deeperlookfortechnicaland peopleengagedin anactivityorevent.
Shin turn towriting-based contextualconcerns,in additionto Studyfacialexpressions,body
Yu activities to assistvisitors in appreciat- takingtime to examinewhatwe language,andthe relationship
ingandunderstandingworks ofart. assume tobe an artist's intent. betweencharacters. Usingthese
Pai Forthe novice artviewerwith a As apoet,it has taken meyears visualclues,write astoryabout
limited artbackground and art toconnectthe relationshipbetween the scene. Whatledupto
vocabulary, awritingexercise formandwriting. Comingto this moment? Whatcomes next
flinctions as a strategyto slowdown writingfrom a non-Western inthe story? (While arange of
the mind in ordertofocus upon orientationtothe Englishlanguage, objectscouldworkforthisactivity,
lookingcloselyatvisualdetails and I have neverfeltconnectedtothe historypaintingandclassicalworks
clues thathelp aviewerintuitively notion ofform asI—learned itin lendthemselveswellto thisexercise.)
make senseofawork. poetryworkshops writinginlines Share the stories. Whatoverlap do
Usingwritingtoteachabout ofiambicpentameter,rhyme,and youfindin the differentstories and
thevisualarts fulfills a dualfunction traditionalmeter. Form formewas discuss howthe artworkprovides
byassistingthevisitortogain a onlyanexperiment,orimitation at possibilitiesformultiplenarratives.
basic entrypointintothe artwork best,devoidofmeaning.
andgiving avieweraspringboard Itwas notuntilIbegan tolook
into adeeperexploration and carefullyatthe painted machine-like ASemeofPlace
transformationoftheirown experi- images ofJohnPomaraspeeding Choose aworkthatdepicts a
ence and relationship tothatwork. across the canvas andthe pollen landscape orplace. Pretendyouare
Throughlanguage,thevieweris formsofWolgangLaib thatthe writingapostcardhome toafriend
encouragedand challengedto notion ofhowform shapes and from thisplace. Whatarethe sights,
claim and articulate his orher embodies an artist'svisionexploded smells,sounds,andflavorsofthis
experience ofartbyfindinga open. Words function in the same place? Whyhaveyougone there?
personalvoice to talkaboutthese wayaspaintorothersubstances; Describewhatis happening
objects. This process ofreflection units oflanguage live and move aroundyou.
canprovide insightinto the creative across ablanksurfacewiththe
process ofthevisitor,aswellasthe energyandresonance ofeachword
process ofthe artist. unfoldinganorganicform relevant CharacterSketch
Viewingaworkofartclosely to a subject,versus asetofpre- Usingaportrait,create a
parallelsthe process ofreadi—nga determinedparameters. charactersketchoftheperson.
workofpoetryorliterature both Theexercisesthatfolloware Howdoes thispersonwearhisor
textualandvisuallanguages share object-based activities thathavebeen herhairandclothing? Whatdoes
acommonvocabularyoftechnical triedandtestedon audiencesof thisperson's environmentandthe
termsthatcaninclude setting,style, various ages atthe DallasMuseum objects includedintheportraittell
character,mood,andnarrative. ofArt. Adaptable to objects in any youaboutwhohe orshe mightbe?
Bothorganize andmakesense of artmuseum,theyarestrategiesfor Whatdoyouthinkthisindividual's
theworld in similarways. We read approachingworks ofartandfor personalitywouldbelikebasedon
apoemorstoryondifferentlevels, delvingdeeperintopersonalconnec- whatyousee? Imaginehaving
in the same mannerthatweapproach tions and moreenrichingexperiences. aconversationwiththisperson.
lookingatartobjects. Within the Whatwouldhe orshe speakwith
process ofmakingaconcentrated youabout?
readingorvisualinventory,we may
6
The Docent Educator Summer2002
"
.
and Museum
Visitors
''Through language,
Iremember.. thephrases atrandom, and copyout
Decorative artobjectslend the text. Revise orrearrangethe text the viewer
themselves especiallywellto this to constructanarrative.
encouraged
exercise. Selectanobject. is
Whatmemories,eitherprivate or
public—realorimagined,does this Haiku andchallenged
objectunlockforyou? Atits simplest,theJapanese
Whattime does this recall? haikuis abrief,three-linepoem to claim
Write atentotwentylinepoem composedof17 syllablesbrokeninto
recordingthevisual, sensual,and lines of5,7,and5 syllables. On a andarticulate
emotionaldetailsyou associate orfind deeperlevel,traditionalhaikuemploy
withthis object,usingthe phrase"I images fromthe naturalworld and his or her
remember ..."to startoffthe exercise. connectto a specific season ortime of
(This activitymaybe more effective year. Because ofthesequalities, experience ofart
witholderaudiences.) suitable objectsforthis exercise might
include landscapes andotherscenic byfinding
vistas. Haikuis traditionallyusedin
VisualPoetry closeassociationwithhaibun, orprose a personal voice
Find aworkofartinthe form,as intheworkofMatsuo
museumthathas strongformal Basho. Avariationonthehaiku to talk about
elements: form,shape,line,color, and writingexercise mightbetoalternate
textiure. Take this objectas apointof writinginversewithwritinginprose. these objects.
departure towrite apiece ofvisually Approachyourchosenobjectusing
engagingpoetrythatconnects tothe bothforms. Thisprocess
formalqualities ofthe artworkyou
selected. Write apoemin the shape— ofreflection
ofaziggurat,amountain,oratree
whateverformis infrontofyou. canprovide
Considerwhereyoubreakaline and
the physicalarrangementoftexton insight into
thepage. Keepthetextmoving, ShinYuPaiisapoetandwriter
letthevisualimage guideyour livinginBoston,MA. Sheis the creativeprocess
hand andeye. theformerdocentcoordinator
fortheDallasMuseum ofArt ofthe visitor,
inDallas, TX. Herarticle,
Collage/Assemblage AProcess-OrientedApproachto as wellas
Spendtimelookingatworks EngagingtheSenses,"appearedin
thatemploycollage techniquesin the Winter2001-02 issueof theprocess
someway. Howaretheseworks The DocentEducator.
visuallyorganized;whatseems ofthe artist.
accidentalandwhatseems purpose-
ful? Makeyourowncollage outof
wordsbycuttingup sentences from
anewspaperandplacingthemina
paperbag. Shakeupthebag,remove
7
The Docent Educator Summer2002
F.r.c.
ForYour Consideration
"Ahoy,"BayAreaVisitors Lesser-Known
and Residents BayAreaAttractions
Surroundedbywateron three The San Francisco BayArea The MilwaukeeArtMuseumis
sides, San Francisco hasbeen a is loadedwith small,specialized housed in acontemporarybuildingso
majorseaportsinceits inception. museums like the Maritime Museum, astonishingthatvisitors mayhave
While steamships gavewayto focusingon everythingfrom history onlythe haziest memoryofwhatthey
containerships andyachts,the city to kitsch. sawinside. The onlyconstantamong
retains an importantwaterfront, ThePerformingArtsLibrary museums maybe everyinstitution's
andthe San FranciscoMaritime aridMuseumhighlights music,dance, impulse topresentthewonderful,
Museum honors this history. theater,andoperafrom the Gold theimportant,the strange,or
Crafted in the shape ofan Rushdayson. the rare.
oceanliner,the250-toot-long The CartoonArtMuseum houses
museum nearFisherman'sWharf a6,000-piece collection ofworks
is aperfectbase forthe San Francisco byunderground cartoonists like
Maritime National Historic Park. R. Crumb,aswellas temporary
This"floatingpark"includes restored exhibitionsfeaturingthe drawings "CrazyEnglish"
schooners,ferries,andtugboats, ofsuch modern masters as Bill
and the museum is testamentto {CalvinandHobhes)Watterson. We—greatlyappreciate allthe
the role thesevessels playedin the The intimateMuseumof writers b—oth staffmembers and
city's development. Visitors can see CraftandFolkArtmounts five annual volunteers who contribute articles
historicalphotographs andpaintings, exhibitions focusingon the traditional to share in eachand everyissue of
aswellas artifacts such as ship's andthecontemporary. TheDocentEducator. Inrecognition
masts and figureheads. ofthe manychallenges thatbeset
Permanentexhibits coveraspects thosewhoputtheirthoughts and
ofmaritimelife. "Sparks,Waves, techniquesintowords,we offerthis
andWizards: Communications at littlepoem.
Sea"is alookatmodes ofmaritime
communications since the early Whatis aMuseum?
1900's,rangingfrom semaphore TheverbsinEnglishareafright.
flags tosatellite-operated systems. Whale ribs,the hand ofa Howcan welearntoreadandwrite?
Visitors canputthemselves"on the mermaid,the Passion ofChrist Todaywespeak, butfirstwespoke;
bridge"as theyviewvessels in thebay, carved on aplum pit,the robe ofthe Somefaucetsleak, butneverloke.
charttheirmovementsbytelescope, kingofVirginia: Thesewere among Todaywewrite, butfirstwewrote;
andgaugevesselstatistics usinga the oddities thatLondoners ofthe Webitourtongues,butneverbote.
computerized CoastGuard map. 1630's could see for a sixpence atthe EachdayIteach,foryears1taught.
house/museum ofJohnTradescant Andpreacherspreach,butneverpraught.
andhis son. TheArk,as itwas called, ThistaleItell: thistaleItold;
was arguablyhistory's firstexplicitly Ismelltheflowers, butneversmold.
public museum. Ifknightsstillslay, asoncetheyslew;
Today,the numberofmuseums Thendoweplay, asonceweplew?
—
has exploded Las Vegas alone has IfIstilldoasonceIdid,
more than30,rangingin subjectfrom Thendocowsmoo, astheyoncemid?
celebritywigstomodern masters.
London'sVictoria andAlbert byRichardLederer
Museumis agorgeous atticofempire.
8
The Docent Educator Summer2002
Sharing Successful Techniques and Ideas
Everysemesterwiththestudents theyears. Overwhelmingly,theysay Ifwe reallywantmeaningful
inmysocialstudiesmethodscourse, theyhave experiencedtraditional learninginhistory,oranysubject,
I drawablanktimelineontheboard teachingmethods. thenwehadbetterstartquestioning
ofthelast10,000years ofhuman Manycritics ofprogressive howwe'reteaching.
historyandaskthestudentshowwell education saythatourchildrenare
theycouldfiUinthemajorevents. notlearningbecause ofprogressive
Anervous silenceimmediately andchild-centeredphilosophies.
permeates theroom. Butthis isjustnotthereality. Steven Walk
Mystudentsreadilyadmit Mystudents'memories are AssistantProfessorof
thattheyknowverylittlehistory, fiUedwiththe samelist: teacher TeacherEducation
andmostsaytheywouldgetan"F" lecture andsilentstudents,rote NortheasternIllinoisUniversity
iftheyhadtocompletethetimeline. memorization,textbooks,work-
ButI then askmystudentsto sheets,tests,andirrelevantcontent
writedownmemoriesofhowthey voidofemotionandcontroversy.
weretaughtsocialstudiesover
Art
Questioning'
— o
•^o
an inquiry approach to teaching art appreciation
byAlan Gartenhaus
A
textpresentingstrategiesandactivities
thatcanbeappliedtoanyworkofartinanysetting.
Thesoftcover,full-colorvolumeisavailablefor$49.95,
plus$5shippingandhandling.
(Groupdiscountsareavailableforordersof10copiesormoresenttoasingleaddress.
Forinformationaboutgrouprates,contactusat808 885-7728..)
Toorderyourcopy,sendcheckormoneyorderto:
TheDocentEducator
P.O.Box2080
Kamuela,HI 96743-2080
9
The Docent EducatIor Summer2002
Time to Change an Object-Based Tour
o
neofthe mostdifficult and illustrate the developmentof 5. Teachersexpressedadesire
by jobs forthose involved the city's architecturalhistory. thatourtourandprograms incorpo-
with studentprograms rateand adheretothe state and city
Jennifer
in culturalorganiza- TheProblemsandChallenges academicstandardstheyarerequired
Masengarb
tions istheprocessofchange. oftheOldTour tocomplywith.
Reassessingandcriticallyevaluating CAForiginallybegan this
along-standingchildren'stour, walkingtourin 1980 and, although OurSolutionforaNewTour
convincingsome ofthe need tor the numberofstudentswe servegrew L Newconsistencyinthemessage.
change,and ultimatelydeciding eachyear,the method ofinstruction In revisingthe originaltour,we did
to revise the formatcan be a on the tourremained unchanged notchange anyofthe 10buildings
dauntingtask. Although docents untilthe 1999-2000 schoolyear. on the tourroute. Instead,we
mayhavebecome comfortablewith In the summerof1999,the Children's reorganized the message andthe
an establishedtourtheyhavegiven Loop Tourwas significantlyupdated methodofinterpretation,reinforcing
foryears,listeningcloselyand asking andrevised toitspresentform. the needforacommonvoice
theiropinions oftenreveals their Duringthose summer months of presentedbydocents andheardby
frustrations. Supplying solutions evaluatingand revisingthe tour, teachers andstudents. Manyofour
forthese frustrations helps ease the five main problems andchallenges teachersbringtheirclasses downtown
processofchange. Moreimportantly, were identified with the original to CAFeachyearand these educators
hearingfrom the teachers and tour's formatand materials: value the opportunitytoimprove
studentsyou are servingcan provide theirown knowledge ofarchitecture
theguiding direction to improve 1. Therewas alackofconsistency and enjoyknowingwhatto expect
the tour. in the buildings (ourobjects) along from the program. Standardizingthe
The ChicagoArchitecture the route docents chose to cover touralsohelpedtoensurethatthe
Foundation (CAF) is dedicated and in the messagetheyconveyed to docents'words complementthe
to advancingpubUc interest and the students. information in the teacherand
education in architecture and related studentbooks ofpre- andpost-visit
design. Approximately400 docents 2. Manydocents feltoverwhelmed activities. Exactlyhowthe docents
volunteertheirtime andenergyto with the massive amounts ofinforma- covereachbuildingandassociated
conducttoursbyfoot,boat,bus, tion theyknewandbelieved they theme is uptothem,butthegoalis
bike, and train. Usingthe motto were expected to sharewith the to introduce aparticulararchitecture
"The Cityis OurMuseum,"we offer students in 90 minutes. As aresult, theme andreinforceitusinga
more than 70 differenttours for students finishedthe tourinundated specificbuilding.
children and adults. Lastyear, with facts and dates swimmingin
closeto2000 elementaryschool theirheadsbutwithoutawaytotie 2. Eachbuildingnowhasatheme.
students tookawalkingtourwith theinformationto abiggerpicture. Ratherthan thinkingabouteach
aCAFdocent. ofthe tenbuildings as an isolated
Forstudents ingrades 5-8, 3. Otherthan coveringafewer architecturalandhistoricalobject,
we offer aprogram called the numberofbuildings alongtheroute, tourbuildings are nowusedto
Children'sLoopTour. ("The Loop" the originaltourformiddle school illustrate alargerconceptortheme.
describes the traintracks thatcircle studentswas essentiallyawatered- The theme associatedwith each
the downtownbusiness districtwhere downversionofthe material (such asdesign,buildingtechnology,
mostofthe skyscrapers are located.) presentedto adults. historic preservation,materials and
The primarypurpose ofthis ornamentation,structure,style,and
90-minutewalkingtourofdowntown 4. The originaltourcontained art)gives the students aframework
Chicago is to introduce students to no accompanyingteacheror to anchortheirnewfoundknowledge.
ten importantconcepts ofarchitecture studentmaterials.
The Docent Educator Summer2002