Robin S. Grenier

The Role of Learning in the Development of Expertise in Museum Docents

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how docents developed expertise within the context of their work with history museums. Twelve expert docents from four history-themed museums were interviewed to discover how expertise is developed by volunteers working in nonformal settings. Interpretation of the data revealed two primary means of preparation. First, formal training and continuing education were initially used by docents for learning their craft; and second, informal and incidental learning were critical to expertise development in museum docents. Based on the findings that emerged, implications for museum education and volunteer practice and the wider field of adult education are presented.

Toward an Integrated Model of Expertise Redevelopment and Its Implications for HRD.

Traditionally, expertise theories have focused on skills acquisition with little regard for the domain or contextual factors affecting expertise development and retention. Because the development, retention, and recruiting of individuals with expertise is critical to organizational success, it is essential that HRD professionals understand the influence of such factors on individuals, and how to address these changes and the redevelopment of expertise. This article proposes a Model of Expertise Redevelopment (MER) illustrating the redevelopment of expertise in three states—dependence, independence, and transcendence. Connected through continuous development, the states are influenced by three territories: content, constituency, and environment. Although the model can explain the initial development of expertise, it is the models representation of the impact of change on existing expertise that makes it unique. It also contributes to a broader theoretical foundation for research on this topic and calls for further investigation of the interconnectedness among the three states and the territories influencing expertise redevelopment.

“Now This Is What I Call Learning!”: A Case Study of Museum-Initiated Professional Development for Teachers

This case study sought to understand why educators participate in museum summer institutes and how participation transferred to personal development and professional practice. The study found participation was affected by an interest in and need for learning about a particular time in history, ability to transfer institute content to curricula, the chance to share their experiences with peers, and factors such as museum reputation, design and facilitation of the institute, and institutes’ speakers and presenters. Participants were able to transfer institute experiences into their professional practice as well as to their personal interests by applying learning to what and how they teach, their ability to critically reflect on history and culture, and their personal development. This study suggests further investigations in the area of museum-initiated professional development may increase our understanding of how educators are drawn to such offerings and how the experiences contribute to adult learning and education. Implications for adult education research and museum educator practice are offered.

Autoethnography as a Legitimate Approach to HRD Research A Methodological Conversation at 30,000 Feet

I believe the field of human resource development (HRD) is missing out on the opportunity to expand our methodological approaches and ignoring the calls from others to be rebellious and look beyond our standard operating procedures. The purpose of this article is to provide an evocative “conversation” on autoethnography and to explain how HRD researchers might conduct and represent autoethnographic work. Autoethnographic methods are highly suited to the task of exploring organizational and everyday work phenomenon that can lead to the development of new theories of HRD. Through talking about the challenges associated with using an autoethnographic approach and how HRD scholars might assess such reflexive ethnography, I hope to encourage the use of rich, but neglected sources of less traditional approaches to qualitative inquiry.

A Conceptual Model for Eliciting Mental Models Using a Composite Methodology

Formed through experience, observation, and learning, mental models are used in decision making to understand, predict, and solve problems. The investigation and application of mental models research are a growing area of scholarly inquiry in human resource development (HRD) and adult education, yet debate about how to best elicit such knowing still persists. Therefore, exemplars for eliciting the mental models of individuals are a matter of importance. The goal of this article is to address some of the issues central to mental model research and the methodological problems faced by scholars and provide an approach to mental model elicitation that holds promise for attending to some of the issues raised in the article. Multi-method Mental Model Elicitation (MMME) overcomes some of the limitations of current approaches, thus helping to increase the utility of mental models research in the field of HRD.

We Need To Talk: Improving Dialogue between Social Studies Teachers and Museum Educators

Researchers have argued for increased collaboration between teachers and museum educators to improve the outcomes of museum education on students; however, significant gaps in understanding between the two remain impediments to effective collaboration. We surveyed fifty-one museum educators, conducted in-depth interviews with ten of these respondents, and analyzed the data with use of an inductive lens. In this article we use a composite dialogue between a museum educator and a teacher to present a series of questions teachers should ask of, and information they should provide to, museum educators. Such questions and information can be used to initiate more effective collaborative relationships that may ultimately improve the quality of museum education for our students. We argue that gaps in museum educators’ understanding about teachers’ needs, objectives, and concerns about museum visits could be bridged if teachers knew what questions to ask and what information to volunteer to museum educators before arranging a museum visit.

“Man, Have I Got a Story for You” Facilitated Autoethnography as a Potential Research Methodology in Human Resource Development

Despite the potential value of narratives to inform and change workplace culture and practice, many stories from individuals at the margins of organizations often go untold or unheard. Based on a methodological framework of existing narrative approaches—autoethnography, guided autobiography, and narrative inquiry—we present in this article a new, emerging methodology: facilitated autoethnography (FAE). We suggest that FAE has the potential to offer human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners a new approach for exploring, collecting, and disseminating workplace narratives to a broad audience. The article concludes with a discussion of the emerging methodology and potential implications for its application in the field of HRD.

Out on the Floor

Abstract Drawing on the foundational theories of experiential learning, this article explores recent developments in theory and research on experiential learning and addresses how this work can enhance the professional development of museum docents. We introduce theories of adult learning and professional development that emphasize experiential learning as a way to foster workplace learning in museums. We illustrate the use of experiential learning interventions in the preparation of docents, and suggest how experiential learning can be applied to museum staff learning, including engaging docents more fully in experiential learning, introducing the use of portfolios to assess docent learning, and increasing the emphasis on helping docents develop skills to self-regulate their learning.

Moments of Discomfort and Conflict: Holocaust Museums as Agents of Change

Museums serve as a place of memory, where heritage is conserved, collections cared for, and the best possible conditions are created for visitors to experience exhibits and the meanings and events they represent. These cultural institutions are increasingly defined by the ability to act as disseminators of culture and history as well as conveyors of controversial issues and have the ability to provide a vast range of informal and purposeful learning opportunities for adults. Programming that addresses a range of issues centering on social and environmental consciousness and human rights allows cultural institutions to draw upon resources and expertise to provide chances for individuals to change professional practice, gain new perspectives on societal norms, and challenge existing mental models. The events of the Holocaust and its representation in museums serve as an agent of change to improve the social and environmental situations for individuals and the organizations and communities in which they live and work. Using transformational learning theory as a conceptual frame, this article presents two cases for exploring museums’ role in supporting HRD and offers suggestions for partnerships between organizations and museums. Looking to museums and historic sites as sources of human resource development has far-reaching implications for cultural, organizational, and individual practices and is an innovative approach to initiating societal and institutional change.

Taking the lead: a qualitative study of expert docent characteristics

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of docent expertise and answer the question: What are the characteristics that define an expert docent? A basic interpretive approach was employed using documents, observations, and in-depth interviews with 12 participants from four historically themed museums. Inductive analysis revealed that expert docents possess the characteristics of having extensive subject matter knowledge – utilizing prior experiences, adaptability, enthusiasm and commitment, as well as a sense of humor. Based on these findings, the implications for museum practitioners and scholars are discussed, with particular attention paid to ways of enhancing and cultivating these characteristics in docents in order to develop expertise.