The Docent Educator

24 Pages·1996·2.5 MB·English

by  Gartenhaus, Alan

Minds in Motion Vol. 6, No. 2 Winter '96-97
THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR DEDICATED EDUCATORS
reativity
and
Innovative
eas
The Bard on Interpretation History "Alive in the Present"
Expanding the Ability to Think Creatively Winging It at the Museum
Tours for People With Disabilities "Is Miss Foster Receiving?" Math and the Museum
minds in motion
Expanding the Ability to Think Creatively
A
s docents and staff What is Creativity? theirideas found thatitis through
educators,we constantly one,oracombination,offour
remindourselvestobe Creativityis athinkingskill. methods. The firstisfluency, oran
flexible. Weknow Itis acomponentofourproblem- abilityto develop agreatquantityof
successreq—uires us to"rollwith the solvingabilities,and theprocessby ideas. The secondisflexibility, or
punches" to adaptandrespond to whichwegenerate arange ofpossible an abilityto develop awidevariety
changingcircumstances,ideas,and ideas,thoughts,andsolutions. ofideas. The third is originality, or
personalities. Remindingourselves The greaterone's creative thinking an abilityto develop highlyindividu-
tobe flexible serves as alicense, abilities,the greaterthe number alized ordifferentideas. The fourth
grantinguspermission to depart from and range ofoptions aperson can is elaboration, oran abilityto
the standardtextorusualcourse of produce. Thegreater the number embellish andenrich existingideas.
actionwheneveritis usefulor and range ofoptions, the more likely Knowinghowtoprovoke and
necessary, and to come upwith our itis thatone ofthemwillprovide a stimulate these fourforms ofthinking
ownwaysofmeetingobjectives, path toward solvingaproblem. can expandyourown,personal
resolvingcontroversies,and engaging Creative thinkers are problem- creativity, aswellas the creativityof
orencouraginglearners. solvers,whetherthe problem is one thoseyou teach. Beginbyasking
Whene—verwe urge ourselves to ofinvention, self-expression,or open-ended questions orassigning
be flexible to improv—ise orthinkin education. Creativitycan be evi- open-ended tasks. Youcan design
ways thatare notrote we challenge dencedin seeminglysmall things, such questions ortasks to elicit more
ourselves to"thinkcreatively." Few like improvisingin the gallerieswhen ideas, a broaderrangeofideas,highly
ofuseverputitintothosewords, an expected objecthas been removed personalizedideas,orverydetailed
however,as the thoughtofbeing from display, orinlargeraccomplish- ideas simplybyhowyouconstruct
creative makes mostofusvery ments,such as devisinginnovative them. Forinstance:
Cover Photo:
uncomfortable. ways to improve one's communication Shouldyouwish to elicita
ChristineUlanski,
Much ofourdiscomfortwith skills orreachunderservedaudiences. large numberofideasorthoughts,
adocentatthe
NationalTLooin creativityis rootedin selfdoubt. Manypeople assume that employquestions ortasks designed
Washington,D.C, Veryfewofusbelieve ourselves tobe creativityis somethingyou are either to provoke agreaterquantityof
teachesusingprops creative. An additionalsource of bornwithoryouare not;however, responses,such as: "Howmany...
andanalogiesat discomfortwith creativitystems from this is notentirelyaccurate. Aswith canyouthinkof?"or"Develop alist
theCheetah ourambivalence toward creative anyskill,some ofuswillbe naturally ofas many ... asyoupossiblycan."
Conservation people. "Creative types"are assumed betteratitthanothers,butallofus Such interrogatives requestfluent
Station. tobe flamboyantorhighlytroubled canimprove ourcreative thinking thinking.
characterswhose behaviors flyinthe abilities. Creative thinking canbe When awiderrange ofoptions
face ofconvention,who challenge the practiced,developed,andenhanced. orideas are needed,tryasking
veryvalues and attitudes thatmostof And, those ofuswho spend time in questions orassigningtasks that
us findcomfortingandreassuring. museums,historicsites,nature provoke agreatervarietyofresponses,
Thepresumptionthatcreativity centers,zoos,parks,andgardens find such as: "Howelse mightyou
is amysterious talentthat onlyafew ourselves in some ofthebestplaces consider ... ?"or"Whatotherkindof
wackypeople possessis erroneous, to do so. The objects, artifacts,and answercanyou thinkof...?" These
ofcourse. Intruth,creative thinking environments presentedbythese interrogatives invite flexible thinking.
is a commonpartofthe human facilities excite the imagination and Ifyouwantpeople to express
experience, and itis expressedin virtually"speak"ofpossibilities. theirindividual natures,thought
botheverydayandexceptionalways. processes,orbeliefs,use questions or
The discrepancybetween our How Does Creativity tasks thatprovoke highlypersonal-
perception ofcreativityandits reality Function? ized responses byusingphrases such
creates afundamentalmisunderstand- as,"Whatwouldyoudo ... ?"or
ingofwhatcreativityactuallyis. Educationalresearcherswho "Comeupwithyourveryown ... ."
studiedhowcreative people generate These canprompt original thinking
The Docent Educator Winter 96 97
bychallengingparticipants to develop this?" Or,ifyou are examining Teachingtowardcreative
individualizedideas. aportraityoumightaskvisitors, thinkingis fun andoffers endless
Togetmore detailedresponses, "Whatelse, in addition to aphysical possibilities. It allows everyone to
askquestions thatprovoke embellish- descriptionofthisperson, has the participate,have opinions, and share
mentbyemployingsuchphrases as, artistgivenus in thispainting?" theirthoughts andreactions regard-
"Tellus more about ... ."or"What Perhapsyou arelookingat an less oftheirknowledge orprevious
else doyou knowabout ... ?" Such abstractworkofart andwantto experience. Teachingtowardcreative
interrogatives extractadditional encourage morepersonalized thinkingis also appropriate in
information from participantsby responses to it. Youmightbegin museums,historicsites,zoos,parks,
requestingelaborative thinking. byasking,"Ifyouhadcreated this andgardens as these institutions
Rememberthatquestions and painting,what mightyouhave titled recognize the manyandvariedways
tasks designedto stimulate creativity it, andwhy?" This should encourage thattheircollections canbeviewed,
mustbe"open-ended"in orderto be original thinking and some fairly investigated,andappreciated.
effective. The term"open-ended" livelydiscussion. Or,you could ask Withpractice,we can sharpen
refers to questions ortasks that visitors in ahistoryexhibition,"Ifyou ourpotentialforgeneratingcreative
do nothavepre-determined,correct, were areporterwho covered events thought. Andwith knowledge of
orexpectedoutcomes. Whenyou duringthis periodin time,what howto encourage and expand
requestcreative thinkingfrom would the headline ofyourlead creative thinking,we can construct
yourselforothers,youmustbe ready articlebe?" exercises and activities forvisitors
to accommodate many,varied,and Or, shouldyoube examining a thatchallenge them to do the same.
highlypersonalizedresponses. landscapepaintingandwantvisitors Forteaching towardcreative
Keep in mindthat theproduction of to experience more depthin their thinkingis arguablythe richest
possibilities, as opposed to arrivingat response to it,youmightencourage and mostinvolvingform of
acorrectanswer,is the goal ofcreative theirelaborative thinking. Youcould educationalinteraction.
thinking activities. askthem to,"Describewhat the
artistmighthavewantedyouto hear
Teaching To Expand andsmellusingdetailsyoufindin
Creative Thinking thepainting." Or,you could simply Alan Gartenhaus
askvisitors to"tellus more"about Publishing Editor
Perhapsyouandyourvisitors anyanswertheyofferto open-ended
have enteredthe tropicalrainforest questions.
exhibitatthezoo. Shouldyouwant
alotofparticipation and manyideas
tobegeneratedyou mightbeginby
askingafluencyquestion,such as,
"Howmanythings tellyou thatthis
environmentis tropical?" Or, should THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR DEDICATED EDUCATORS
yoube touringin abotanicalgarden,
youcouldtellvisitors to"make alist Publisher/Editor TheDocentEducatorisaquarterlypublicationdedicated
ofall thewordsyou mightuse to AlanGartenhaus vtooliumnptreeorvianngdtshteafpfeerdfuocramtaonrcse,tesatcahtiusn,gawnidthsiantimsufascetuiomns,of
ydeosucrciobueldthdiissbcaursrselthceacmtausn.y" wTahyesn, AJsascokciieatLeitEtdliettoorn Thihsetorpiucblsiitceast,igoanrdisenasv,aiplaarbkles,bzyoossu,bsacnrdipctliaosnstroooimnsd.ividuals,
thatthese characteristics function aswellastogroups andinstitutions.
toprotect the plantfrom its harsh
GraphicDesigner
environment. ShellyBaldwin TheDocentEducatorwelcomesunsolicitedarticles,
Ifyouare examininga announcements,comments,generalcorrespondence,and
Conestogawagonwithvisitors,and mindsinmotion advertisinginquiries. Theviewsexpressedorimpliedinthis
wantthem to considermore than TheDocentEducator publicationdo notnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialposition
justits slowspeed,you mightask PostOfficeBox2080 ofthepublisher,andeffortsaremadetopresentavarietyof
aflexibilityquestion,suchas, Kamuela,HI 96743-2080 USA viewpointsforthereader'sconsideration.
"Whatelse besides thelength of phone [phone] Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,orusedin
the tripwouldyouhave to consider
ISSN 1084-0443 anymanner,withoutthewrittenconsentofthepublisher.
ifyouwere to moveyourfamilytwo Allrightsarereserved.
thousandmiles in awagon such as
The Docent Educator Winter 96 97
Museum
Winging at the
It
Since the aerospace industry Forthepastthreeyears, students methodologyand is followedby
is acentralfeature ofthe from this program have come to the offeringteachers a frameworkfor
Puget Soundeconomy, ChallengerLearning Centeratthe designing andimplementingeffective
flight and the basicprin- Museum ofFlightto simulate a space fieldtrips.
ciples or aerodynamics provide a mission. While there, the students Our methods arebased on
naturalcontext forteachingabout learn howprinciples ofscience and constructivism,activelearning,
science and mathematics to students mathematics are applied in a highly andcommunityinvolvement.
in the region. TheMuseum of Flight motivatedworkenvironment. Such methods demonstrate that
in Seattleis amagnificentresource Though the students have always teachingneed notbe transmitted
by forteacherswantingto make the enjoyed the experience, and seem to to students onlybytheirinstructors
mostofthis opportunity. WINGS, drawmuchfrom it, Edie andI ortextbooks. Teachers are shown
Kathleen a one-dayinstitute forelementary became increasinglyconvinced of howto create"learningexperiences"
Sullivan school teachers,helps 25 science thebenefits ofpreparatoryand fortheirstudents thatare linkedto
teachers establish adynamic follow-up activities. To create and central concepts in acurriculum,and
partnershipwith the museum and implementthem,we enlisted aid howto allowstudents the opportunity
with Seattle University. from Seattle University's Schoolof to constructtheirownunderstandings
The inspiration forWINGS Fducation and the Museum of Flight, from theseexperiences.
emergedfrom experiences that Edie and secured financial assistance from We accomplishedthisby
Lie, aBoeingengineer,and myself theTandyFoundation. havingteachers participate in their
hadwhile directingaprogram for The resultingprogram brings own active learningexperience.
middle school students supportedby participatingteachers to the campus The experiencebeginswith abrief
theNational Science Foundation. ofSeattle Universityforadayof video illustrating the physicalforces
in-service instruction. The day thatenable aircrafttofly(thrust,
beginswith adiscussion ofteaching gravity,lift, anddrag). Then,the
teachers engage in a series ofsimple
experiments thathelp them under-
stand howthese fourforces interact
with"controlsurfaces"in thebody
ofanairplane to affectflight.
The experiments enable teachers
to drawconclusions andconstruct
understandings aboutthe effectsof
wind speedandwing angle on aircraft
flightin muchthe samewaythat
theirown elementaryschool students
shouldbeencouragedtodoso.
Next, the teachers construct
balsagliders from prepared kits as
theirstudents mightdowhenvisiting
the Museum ofFlight. Byattaching
aluminum-foilailerons, elevators,and
rudders to theglider,the effectof
basic controlsurfaces canbe observed
intestflight. (This same"hands-on"
experimentcan be carried outby
third,fourth,and fifthgraders.)
Once theteachers understand
Studentsaretaughtthrough "learningexperiences"thatarelinkedtocentralconceptsinthecurriculum. howachange in the control surfaces
Duringasummerin-serviceprogram, theirteachersweretaughtinthesamemanner.
4
The Docent Educator Winter 96 97
bychallengingparticipants to develop this?" Or,ifyou are examining Teachingtowardcreative
individualized ideas. aportraityou mightaskvisitors, thinkingis fun andoffers endless
Togetmore detailedresponses, "Whatelse, in addition to aphysical possibilities. Itallows everyone to
askquestions thatprovoke embellish- description ofthis person,has the participate,have opinions, andshare
mentbyemployingsuchphrases as, artistgivenusinthispainting?" theirthoughts and reactions regard-
"Tellus more about ... ."or"What Perhapsyou arelooking at an less oftheirknowledge orprevious
else doyou knowabout ... ?" Such abstractworkofart andwantto experience. Teachingtowardcreative
interrogatives extractadditional encourage morepersonalized thinkingis also appropriate in
informationfromparticipantsby responses toit. You mightbegin museums,historic sites,zoos,parks,
requestingelaborative thinking. byasking,"Ifyouhadcreated this andgardens as these institutions
Rememberthatquestions and painting,whatmightyouhave titled recognize the manyandvariedways
tasks designedto stimulate creativity it, andwhy?" This should encourage thattheircollections canbeviewed,
mustbe "open-ended"in ordertobe original thinking and some fairly investigated,andappreciated.
effective. The term"open-ended" livelydiscussion. Or,you could ask Withpractice,we can sharpen
refers to questions ortasks that visitorsin ahistoryexhibition,"Ifyou ourpotentialforgeneratingcreative
do nothavepre-determined, correct, were areporterwho covered events thought. Andwith knowledge of
orexpected outcomes. Whenyou during this period in time,what howto encourage and expand
requestcreative thinkingfrom would the headline ofyourlead creative thinking,we can construct
yourselforothers,you mustbeready article be?" exercises and activities forvisitors
to accommodate many,varied, and Or, shouldyoube examininga thatchallenge them to do the same.
highlypersonalizedresponses. landscape painting andwantvisitors Forteachingtowardcreative
Keep in mindthattheproduction of to experience more depthin their thinkingis arguablythe richest
possibilities, as opposedto arrivingat response to it,youmightencourage and mostinvolvingform of
acorrectanswer,is the goalofcreative theirelaborative thinking. You could educationalinteraction.
thinkingactivities. askthem to,"Describewhatthe
artist mighthavewantedyou to hear
Teaching To Expand and smellusingdetailsyoufindin
Creative Thinking the painting." Or,youcould simply Alan Gartenhaus
askvisitors to"tellus more"about
Publishing Editor
Perhapsyou andyourvisitors anyanswertheyofferto open-ended
have enteredthe tropicalrainforest questions.
exhibitatthezoo. Shouldyouwant
alotofparticipation andmanyideas
tobegeneratedyou mightbeginby
askingafluencyquestion,such as,
"Howmanythings tellyou thatthis 91-1 -.v.i <2yp>
environmentis tropical?" Or,should THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR DEDICATED EDUCATORS
yoube touringin abotanicalgarden,
youcould tellvisitors to"make alist Publisher/Editor TheDocentEducatorisaquarterlypublicationdedicated
ofallthewordsyou mightuse to AlanGartenhaus toimprovingtheperformance,status,andsatisfactionof
volunteerandstaffeducatorsteachingwithin museums,
describe this barrelcactus." Then,
you coulddiscuss the manyways AJsascokciieatLeitEtdliettoorn Thihsetorpiucblsiitceast,igoanridsenasva,iplaarblkes,bzyoossu,bsacnrdipctliaosnstroooimnsd.ividuals,
thatthese characteristics function aswellastogroupsandinstitutions.
toprotectthe plantfrom its harsh
GraphicDesigner
environment. ShellyBaldwin TheDocentEducatorwelcomesunsolicitedarticles,
Ifyou are examininga announcements,comments,generalcorrespondence,and
Conestogawagonwithvisitors, and mindsinmotion advertisinginquiries. Theviewsexpressedorimpliedinthis
wantthem to considermore than TheDocentEducator publicationdonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialposition
justits slowspeed,youmightask PostOfficeBox2080 ofthepublisher,andeffortsaremadetopresentavarietyof
aflexibilityquestion, such as, Kamuela.HI 96743-2080 USA viewpointsforthereader'sconsideration.
"Whatelsebesides the length of phone [phone] Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,orusedin
thetripwouldyou have to consider
ISSN 1084-0443 anymanner,withoutthewrittenconsentofthepublisher.
ifyouwereto moveyourfamilytwo
Allrightsarereserved.
thousand miles in awagon suchas
The Docent Educator Winter 96-97
Museum
Winging at the
It
Since the aerospace industry Forthe pastthreeyears, students methodologyandis followedby
is acentralfeature ofthe from thisprogram have come to the offeringteachers aframeworkfor
PugetSoundeconomy, ChallengerLearning Centeratthe designing andimplementingeffective
flightandthe basic prin- Museum ofFlightto simulate a space fieldtrips.
ciples ofaerodynamics provide a mission. While there,the students Our methods are basedon
naturalcontextforteachingabout learnhowprinciples ofscience and constructivism,activelearning,
science and mathematics to students mathematics are appliedin ahighly andcommunityinvolvement.
in the region. The Museum ofFlight motivatedworkenvironment. Such methods demonstrate that
in Seattle is a magnificentresource Though the students have always teachingneed notbe transmitted
forteacherswantingto make the enjoyed the experience, and seem to to students onlybytheirinstructors
by
mostofthis opportunity. WINGS, drawmuch from it, Edie and I ortextbooks. Teachers are shown
Kathleen aone-dayinstitute forelementary became increasinglyconvincedof howtocreate"learningexperiences"
Sullivan school teachers,helps 25 science thebenefits ofpreparatoryand fortheirstudents thatarelinkedto
teachers establish adynamic follow-up activities. To create and centralconcepts in acurriculum,and
partnershipwith the museum and implementthem,we enlisted aid howto allowstudents the opportunity
with SeattleUniversity. from Seattle University's Schoolof to constructtheirownunderstandings
The inspiration forWINGS EducationandtheMuseumofFlight, fromtheseexperiences.
emerged from experiences that Edie and secured financial assistance from We accomplishedthisby
Lie,aBoeingengineer, and myself theTandyFoundation. having teachers participateintheir
hadwhile directingaprogram for The resultingprogram brings ownactivelearningexperience.
middle school students supportedby participatingteachers to the campus Theexperiencebeginswith abrief
theNational Science Foundation. ofSeattle Universityforadayof video illustratingthe physicalforces
in-service instruction. The day thatenable aircrafttofly(thrust,
beginswith adiscussionofteaching gravity,lift, anddrag). Then, the
teachers engage in a series ofsimple
experiments thathelp themunder-
standhowthese fourforces interact
with"controlsurfaces"in thebody
ofan airplane to affectflight.
The experiments enable teachers
to drawconclusions andconstruct
understandings aboutthe effectsof
wind speedandwingangle on aircraft
flightin much the samewaythat
theirown elementaryschoolstudents
shouldbeencouragedtodoso.
Next,the teachers construct
balsagliders frompreparedkits as
theirstudents mightdowhenvisiting
theMuseum ofFlight. Byattaching
aluminum-foilailerons,elevators,and
rudders to theglider,the effectof
basic controlsurfaces canbe observed
in testflight. (This same"hands-on"
experimentcanbe carried outby
third,fourth, andfifthgraders.)
Oncethe teachers understand
Studentsaretaughtthrough "learningexperiences"thatarelinkedtocentralconceptsinthecurriculum. howa change in the control surfaces
Duringasummerin-serviceprogram, theirteachersweretaughtinthesamemanner.
4
The Docent Educator Winter 96 97
ofthe airplane can change its flight
direction,theyuse aMicrosoft Flight
Simulatorto relate this to apilot's
actions. This computerprogram
places the teacherinthepilot's seat,
so thatthe he orshe cansee howan
airplane reactswhen movingthe
controls usingajoystick. The activity
builds on the understandings that
emergedfrom the gliderpractice to
focus on thephysics ofthe airplane.
WINGS
Followingthis,
participants travelto the Museum
ofFlight,where theYouth Program
Managerpresents aone-hour
introduction to the activities available
atthe museum forelementary Studentslearnhowprinciplesofmathandscienceareappliedinthehighlymotivatedworkenvironmentofthe
ChallengerLearningCenterattheMuseumofFlightin Seattle, WA.
students. These include opportunities
foryoungpeople to sitin an actual
miniature airplane thatpitches,rolls, containingcontributions from each museum resourceswhile providing a
andyaws as the controls are moved; studentorfrom teams ofstudents modelofcooperationbetween a
to discoverfacts about airplanes workingtogether. The entries might corporation, a university, school
through aprepared scavengerhunt include notonlywrittenreports, districts,and aworld-class museum
throughoutthe museum;to don butillustrations and charts conveying allforthe benefitofourstudents.
mechanics'jackets andlearn how informationin avisualform.
aircraft are flown,serviced,and Teachers can create opportuni-
maintained; towearlab coatswhile ties forstudents to connectthe
practicing aeronauticaldesign; and informationlearnedon the trip to
to discuss the advantages ofdifferent otherareas inthe school curriculum
designs ofmuseum aircraft. byusingas manyforms ofactivity Dr.KathleenSullivan isa
Teachers arebetterable to prepare and expression as possible: further Seattle UniversityProfessorofMathematics
theirstudents fora successfulfield reading andresearch;verbal whoearnedherPh.D. inmathematicsfrom
trip afterseeingthese options presentations;science fairexhibits; the UniversityofWisconsinandhasaminor
demonstratedfirst-hand. dramatizations andlearninggames; inMathematicsEducation. Incollaboration
The in-service dayconcludes workwith ayoungerclass in withengineersandscientistsfromthe
withawrap-up session in a performingsimple experiments such corporatesectorandrepresentativesfromthe
conference space atthe museum. as assemblingbalsawood airplanes. Seattleareaschools,shehasdevelopedaseries
The purpose is to explore appropriate TeachersparticipatinginWINGS ofhighlysuccessfulprogramsforteaching
follow-up activities. Studentswho are invited to submitlesson plans for mathematicsandsciencetoK-12students,
knowin advance thattheywillbe ascienceuniton the principles of including: Jump Start,acomputerscience
askedto reflectonwhattheyhave flight,includingpre- andpost-field campofferedinconjunctionwithabasketball
learned duringafield trip tend to trip activities. As an incentive,the camp;ProjectBridge,aweek-longprogram
become more focused and more bestsetofplans is rewardedwith onenvironmentalissuesformiddleschool
activelyinvolvedduringthe afree class trip to the museum. students;andScience Splash, ayear-long
experience. Amongthe contributions made mathandscienceprogramforrisingeighth
Follow-up reflections canbe bytheWINGS program,perhaps graders. Dr. Sullivanisherselfaformer
expressedin avarietyofways. mostimportantis thatitenables elementary, middleschool,andsecondary
A
class mightputtogetherabooklet teachers to takebetteradvantage of schoolmathandscienceteacher.
5
The Docent Educator Winter 96-97
.
The Bard on Interpretation
W
eallknowof getfolks to understand andappreciate Nordonotsawtheairtoomuch
William Shakespeare whatwe are saying. We haven't withyourhand,thus,butuseallgently,
as aprettygoodplay enough room here togive a complete forintheverytorrent, tempest,and,as
wrightandpoetbut, lessononvocal skillsbuthereis some Imaysay, whirlwindofyourpassion,
judgingfrom some ofthe subplots friendlyadvice: youmustacquireandbegetatemper-
by
that showup in his plays, he had Listen toyourself. Be aware of ancethatmaygiveitsmoothness.
Mark prettydistinctopinions abouthowto yourlimitations (and strengths) and 0, itoffendsmetothesoultoheara
Howell presenthisworks aswell. Perhaps the considerwhatyoucan do to improve robustiousperiwig-patedfellowtear
best known is Hamlet'sinstructions ormaintain them. Certain things, apassiontotatters, toveryrags,to
to the players he has contractedwith. like an accentorspeakingtoo quickly, splittheearsofthegroundlings,who
Inithe offers advice thatis still are extremelydifficultto overcome, forthemostpartarecapableofnothing
applicable to anyonewho speaks to butifyouare aware ofthem,you are butinexplicabledumbshowsandnoise.
an audience. more aptto checkyourselfifyou Iwouldhavesuchafellowwhiptfor
There are certain universal senseyou are losingyouraudience. o'erdoingTermagant, itout-Herods
precepts setforth thatthose ofus Thinkaboutarticulation and Herod. Prayyou,avoidit.
who perform (andwe areall runningwords together. Doyaline
performers, in some sense)would do yurselfleavin'ledders out awords? Nowdon'tget mewronghere;
wellto considerand follow. Alter all, Trythis: speakthe alphabetand I'll denyimplyingthatourvisitors
whowants the ghostofShakespeare noticewhere inyourmouthyour shouldbe considered"groundlings,
visitingus on some strange evening tonguegoes toproduce the appropri- who forthe mostpartare capable or
rightbeforewe go intobattle ... er .. ate sound. Generallyspeaking, nothingbutinexplicable dumb
work,deridingourabilityto the fartherourtongue has togo shows and noise." Thepointhere
effectivelycommunicate ourmessage, to produce asound,orthe more is to coolitonyouruse ofgestures
whateveritmaybe. Here,then, gyrations ithas togothrough, andmovementand tovaryyour
is myinterpretation ofHamlet's theless aptwe are to expend the vocalpattern.
speech to his players (ActIII, effort. Theresults areblurredor Movementandgestures are
scene 2) and how it mightrelate missingsounds thatforce thevisitor onlyeffective iftheyare purposeful;
to ourjob as interpreters. to concentrate onwhatthewordis in theyshould add emphasis toyour
the firstplace andless time focusing words, notdetractfrom them. When,
Speakthespeech,Iprayyou,asI onwhat it means. "D"s and"t"s are as infants,welearnto communicate,
pronounc'dittoyou, trippinglyonthe oftendropped;"handsaw,""lantern," we startwith non-verbal communica-
tongue. Butifyoumouthit,asmanyof and"interesting"become"hansaw," tion. The spokenwordis an artificial
ourplayersdo,Ihadasliefthetown- "lanern,"and"inneresting." invention, developedto expedite
crierspokemylines. Oops,diditagain. Make sure letters communication,butitis harderto
andsyllables eachreceive theirdue. learn and respondto than thebody
Itdoes nogoodto know Youdon'thave to soundlike a languagewe learnedfirst. So don't
information,yetbeunaware of diction exercisebutmakeyourmouth make ithardonwords. Usegestures
howto effectivelycommunicate it. work. Make sureyourtongue hits sparinglyandonlywhenyouwantto
Acommonproblem is thatwe don't the frontofyourhard palate emphasize aparticularlyimportant
take the time to listen to howwe (justbehindyourteeth)when those aspectofyourinterpretation. (Sorry,
sound. Oftentimeswe don'trealize "d"s and"t"s come up; make sure butnoteverywordis apearl.)
habits thatwe've acquiredoverthe yourmouthformswell-rounded"o"s Movementforthe sake of
years thatlimitouraudience's ability and"u"s. You mayfeellikeyou're movement (wandering) is asbadas
to comprehendwhatwe are saying. occasionallytrippingoveryour standingrooted to aspot. Wandering
Accents, speakingtoo quickly,lazy tonguebut,in thelongrun,your implies thatyourmessage iswithout
tongues,volume, and repetitionare visitors'ears (andbrains)will purpose ordirection aswell;
justafewbarriers to ourattempts to appreciate the effort. standingstill suggests a rigidness
6
The Docent Educator Winter96 97
. .
thatintimidates. Both are tiringto weighawholetheatreofothers. O,
the eyes and distractfrom theverbal therebeplayersthatIhaveseenplay
..
message. Whenyoumove, make it [that]havesostruttedandbellow'dthat
purposeful. Ifyouwantto talkabout IhavethoughtsomeofNature's
anobject,move toit (iffeasible). journeymenhadmademen,andnot
Ifavisitorasks aquestion ormakes a madethemwell, theyimitated
comment,leanormove toward them. humanitysoabominably.
.
Both actions implyarespect either
forthe objectorperson. Beyourself. Don'ttrytoimitate
Varyyourvocalpattern. someone else. Be aware ofyour
Be aware ofyourpitch and don'tlet strengths andweaknesses. Playto
itgettoo high. The higherthepitch, yourstrengths,butdon'tsimply
the more distractingthe sound and acceptyourweaknesses;workon
theless thevisitorconcentrates on the improvingorminimizingthem.
message. Letyourvolume andpitch Don't reject aparticularinterpretive
mirrorthe emotions thewords are technique simplybecause"it's not
expressing. If,forexample,you are you." Give newtechniques and
interpretinga storythatinvolves concepts achance and see howyou
somethingseditious,loweryourvoice canfitthemintoyourown style.
andslowitdown; nothingspoils the Above all,projectconfidence.
moodofagood conspiracymore than Interpretationbeginswithpercep-
ahigh chippervoice happilydeclaim- tions (bothways). Giveyourvisitors
ingthe morallimitations ofthe the perceptionthatyouknowyour
centralcharacter. Also,be aware of stuffandthatyou respectthem.
howyouendyoursentences. Doyou Stand straight,lookthem inthe eye, AuthorMarkHowellapplieshisown,personalcreativityto
extractusefuladviceaboutteachingandcommunicatingfrom
tendtoletwords trailoffattheend smile, acknowledge theircomments
ofasentence? Doyou enddeclamatory withpositive reinforcement, appearat oWnielloifatmheSwhoarkledsp'esagrree.ateTshtisliptoerrtarryafiitgoufreSshaaknedspceoamrmeunwiacsatcorresat,ed
sentences the samewayyouend ease, and avoidlordingyourperceived byMartinDroeshout, andappearedeightyearsafter
questions,trailingup inpitch? Well, superiorunderstandingsoverthem. Shakespeare'sdeath.
don't! Bothimplythatyoudon'thave Do this anditwillimprove their
confidenceinwhatyou are talking abilityto appreciate the importance
aboutandyourcredibilityas a ofyourmessage.
knowledgeable educatorwillgoright "Suitthe actionto theword,the
into the dumper. Well,maybe that's a wordto the action." The rightblend
little strong,butitwillhave a negative ofindividualstyle and information
effectonhowpeople respond toyou. results in aninterpretation thatis
focusedon the materialyet appears
Benottootameneither,butlet personalizedto the listener.
yourowndiscretionbeyourtutor.
Suittheactiontotheword,theword Andletthosethatplayyourclowns
totheaction, withthisspecialobser- speaknomorethanissetdownforthem,
vance,thatyouo'erstepnotthemodesty fortherebeofthemthatwillthemselves
ofnature:foranythingsoo'erdoneis laughtosetonsomequantityofbarren
fromthepurposeofplaying.... Now spectatorstolaughtoo,thoughinthe
thisoverdone,orcometardyoff,though meantimesomenecessaryquestionof
itmakestheunskillfullaugh,cannotbut theplaybethentobeconsider'd. That's Thisarticlecontinueson thenextpage.
makethejudiciousgrieve;thecensureof villainous,andshowsamostpitiful
whichonemustinyourallowanceo'er ambitioninthefoolthatusesit.
7
The Docent Educator Winter 96 97
)
The Baid on Interpretation
(Continuedfrompreviouspage.
We allwanttobe loved. I can't Lastly, nothingannoyed the Gomakeyourselfready!
imagine a single soulreadingthiswho Bard more than havingactors rewrite Need I saymore than that!?
doesn'twantheraudience tolike her, theirlines. The message here forus is
right? Itis all too easytoputthe to studiouslyavoid makingthings up
messengerbefore the message and, ormakingjokes atthe expense of A
in so doing,we eitherconsciouslyor history. Isyourinformation grounded
unconsciouslycheapen the points in scholarship oris itbased onwhat
we hope togetacross. We tell ajoke, gets arise outofvisitors? Be true to MarkHowellisProgramManager
thevisitorlaughs,and,before too yourinformation and relymore on oftheColonialWilliamsburgFoundation's
long,the interpretationbecomes a "we don'tknow"and"currentresearch historiccommunityevents, in Williamsburg,
stringofone-liners and superficial indicates"than"I heard it said that ..." Virginia. Amonghisresponsibilitiesis
anecdotes and thevisitorleaves or"I don'tknowifthisis true ornot, teachingpresentationskillstothe
thinking,"Hey,thatdocentsure but ..."or"Well,theytoldus notto interpretivestaff. Mr.Howellwishesto
was fun! Uh,did anyone catchwhat tell this storyanymore,butI thinkit's thankBillWeldon, managerofthe
shewas talkingabout? Oh,well, justdarling." To horriblybastardize Foundation'sfirst-personinterpretation
let'sgogetsome lunch." You are anotherofShakespeare's cleverquips: efforts,forinspiringthetackforthisarticle.
rememberedbutyou failed to "To thine institution's mission
responsiblyrepresentyourinstitution. statementbe true."
Neverforget,the message comes first!
Members of the American Association for State and Local History receive:
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TN
530 Church Street, #600, Nashville, 37219-2325
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The Docent Educator Winter96-97