The next big PhD step

Over the past few months (who am I kidding... the last six months) I have struggled to develop a meaningful field work project that would highlight, if not prove in quantitative measures that museums promote wellness in patients experiencing long term medical episodes.  In June I finally traveled to England to present my proposal to my PhD panel and wait with baited breathe for approval to move forward.

I presented my case, invited questions and discussed the key relationships I have established in the North American medical and museum fields which will lead to a successful research collaboration in the area of health and wellness as it relates to museum participation.  What follows is the quick and dirty of what I presented at my academic review...

The Birth of the RxMuse Project

(understanding the medical role of museums)

(Imagine you are sick and are no longer involved in the persuits that make you happy or feel valued ... Imagine you are stuck in a body you no longer recognize or feel comfortable in...what can society do to help you become engaged in the NEW world around you? The answer can be found in museums...

(Memory is a powerful tool to help people feel engaged and part of a community.... Museums are preservers of memory and makers of memory...

(Donors and galleries are memory givers, they facilitate memories and experiences...

(we are on the cusp of a great new adventure in the North American museum experiences... Museum Therapy...

(Museums are all around us, they are engaging in communities in new an unique ways... patients are a new group of museum stakeholders....

(My proposed PhD research project...

(Are you day dreaming about the future impact of museums on the wellness of their communities?  Yep me too... I'm already plotting ways to move RxMuse into the spotlight...)

What is your experience in Museum Therapy?

Prescription Museum: A life line for our world

Museums have held a fascination for people for generations. Museums provide a look into a by gone era, help visitors reflect on the world around them, provide meeting places for communities and let people learn about new things.  Yet museums are finding it increasingly difficult to reach new audiences, provide resources to everyone in their community and support their buildings and collections.  Financially speaking a lot of museums are living paycheck to paycheck.  But despite their challenges they rise to the occasions and create innovative and welcoming spaces for visitors around the world.

One unique opportunity British museums have taken advantage of is the emerging field of wellness program. A great resource on the British activity is https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/publications/mind-body-spirit-report as well as American Alliance of Museums' report on health and wellness in museums: https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/museums-on-call.pdf

I'm feeling inspired to connect my two passions, health care and museum education!

How do museums make you feel? How would you define wellbeing? Do you ever participate in culture or museum activities to increase your wellbeing?

Engaging with Museums

Museums are a hub for art, culture, science and music (among other things...). Museums speak to the very core of their visitors through exciting programs, ground-breaking research and breathe-taking collections. But museums in general aren't able to create their magic single-handedly, there are team of professionals, volunteers and community stakeholders engaging in the process day in and day out.  Through dedicated and exiting stewardship of the programs and collections museums attract a variety of stakeholders across the globe to support both a museum's individual mission and the general idea of museums to bridge cultural, social or political gaps.

Vital research is preformed in museums every day. Retrospectives on historical events and trends help shape our future social engagement strategies as a community. Research on biological and paleo-specimens help answer questions about our scientific heritage and direct us in thinking about our relationship to the physical world around us. The pursuit of knowledge is inherent in museums and their staff, but how can we translate that drive... that thirst for knowledge and reflection to the museum visitors?

This is a question I have been struggling with recently as I embark on creating a research proposal for my PhD... how do communities engage with museums? Why do they engage with museums? and what outcomes are produced through museum engagement, and how does that effect the participant?.... share your thoughts in the comments

Learning, teaching, and creating a mindful learning environment

Today I got up early... really early... to attend a day long training course on teaching university students.  This is the second course I've taken in teaching university courses and honestly am only attending because its required for moving into a teacher role later in my studies. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to "join" my classmates thanks to technology and an university willing to dive into virtual education (I am a distance student in North America while everyone else is sitting in the classroom in Leicester UK). BUT....  While sitting here, propping my eyes open with toothpicks a few things are really striking me when discussing inclusion in learning.

We started the day identifying what makes a successful teacher/facilitator. Conclusion: if I'm going to be a successful teacher I need to be inclusive to every student in my classroom (among other skills)... as I struggle to hear the discussions on the other end of the line I'm struck at the fact that I'm not feeling included at all! I don't have access to see my classmates, I can't see the power point or the videos being shown in the room and am left imaging all of the activities (for the record I have a bit of a Futurama vibe going #edutainment anyone?).

(tactile & auditory museum participation)

But where does this leave me as a learner? (especially one who should be learning how to teach). As a stew on my situation with my eyes closed, as one does at 5 am when they only hear buzz noise during "small group discussions," I start to think about all the types of learning I've participated in and what's made it effective or ineffective. I've concluded that I am not going to get out of this session the skills to be an effective teacher, either in class or online.... or am I?

The facilitator turned on a video for the class to analyse.  I, of course, didn't have access to this so I had to imagine the subtext and subcontext being presented. Shockingly (insert scarcastic voice) I started to loose interest in a video... mostly because videos are meant to be SEEN!!!... and started jotting down notes that will make me an effective teacher when trying to accommodate students who may not have access to sights or sounds.  How can I include them in my lectures? Small groups? Study sessions?

 (my view for the last 2 hrs)

More than that, as a museum professional, how can I include these learners in museum programs?

Did you make that jump with me??? (Formal learning to informal learning)

Museum programs are nothing more than informal educational settings. They bring together people who are seeking shared knowledge or experience. But not everyone who walks through a museum's front door can participate in the learning experience on the same level as the, dare I say, average participant. As I think about museums, and my experiences learning about them and working in them I am reminded that many museum are now trying to make their galleries and programs multi-sensory, you know appealing to all sense...
But what about people like me... learners who can't access a sensory experience?  Will they achieve the same learning outcomes?? In some cases I would say no.  Using today's example, I can't see and I can barely hear what's happening in class, and so, I'm not going to walk away with strategies to be an effective teacher. However, I'm going to walk away with ideas on what is NOT effective, and I'm sure I'm going to be more mindful of how those who can't (physically) participate feel during participatory activities in both formal and informal settings. In away I'm going to get as much out of my struggle to participate as my classmates are going to get out of their experience in participation.

 (visual based museum participation)

However, this all still leaves me with the observation that we, as educators, need to be inclusive to all those we offer and accept into our programs (as I've typed this out I've thought of all the opportunities the university had to say no to my participation or work to create a unique yet equal experience for any distance student that would need this training, but I digress...). Museums are a unique model for other educational institutions to use when developing alternative teaching methods and programs, no? Museums have successfully integrated technology, tactile, auditory and visual learning to generate specific learning outcomes for their visitors. Perhaps we shouldn't be sitting in a classroom to learn how to be effective teachers, but rather engaging with museum professionals to learn how they engage their students in acquiring knowledge.

So how do we change our ideas about knowledge presentation to be inclusive to those who need assistance?  Can museums help facilitate alternative learning in the classroom?.... I'm still mid lecture so I'm sure this discussion in my head will continue as my day continues... feel free to comment and help me develop to become an effective teacher to both in class and online students!

Why RxMuse

Many of you may be wondering about the curious name choice RxMuse.  As I mentioned before I'm a want-to-be medical historian (who am I kidding I could tell you the history of defibrillators and the g-suit without even batting an eye) and have a background in hospital museums.  In fact it has been my work in managing hospital collections that inspired my PhD (more on that later).

Needless to say I full heartedly believe that museums are an essential part to community and personal well-being.  Being involved in museums increases health markers in all populations.  So basically, when you need a bit of a pick me up, or you are needing a new motivation to push through some personal goals, visit your local museum:

Welcome

Hi!

I'm glad you found me here at RxMuse!  We are going to embark on a wonderful journey together. There will be laughs, I hope. Some blood boiling opinions and articles. And maybe even some tears. Together I hope we can explore new perspectives in museums, museum studies and cultural interactions with our collective material culture. I love talking about museums, their programs, and their collections and hope to hear from you about your experiences in galleries around the world.

Inspired by the workshop group Shut Up and Write Tuesdays (@SUWTues), who are helping me push through writers block... I am going to work on a piece of writing every week for the rest of the year (and hopefully far beyond!). The more conversations and adventures we have together the more inspired I will be to dive deeper and find new and interesting topics for us.  Until then you are stuck with my knowledge of medical history, hospitals and historic sites.  As if that isn't interesting, am I right??


Are you excited yet?  If you aren't, and you should be, we are going to have lots of fun. However, before we start I feel I need to offer a fair warning, a disclaimer if you will... I'm a PhD candidate and may be working on academic papers and not always blog posts (in fact I think my adviser would prefer me working on papers instead of this side project ;-) )  and your comments may point me into new and exciting directions.  I will not directly cite anything in my academic pursuits without first clearing it with my contributors.... so your opinions are "internet safe" if you will.

PS. If you are looking for ways to support my projects or get involved with museums don't hesitate to ask... we are a close community who help people achieve great things!