IDeATe: Learning in Museums

Catalog description

This hybrid seminar-studio course brings together students from across disciplines to explore the design of mediated learning experiences through a research-informed, project-based design inquiry process in a museum setting. Students will be introduced to a range of informal learning theory frameworks and evaluation methods that examine the cognitive, social, and affective dimensions of learning in everyday contexts. These topics will be explored through readings, invited lectures, in-class activities, and out-of-class assignments, with the learning applied in a team-based exhibit design process in partnership with a museum. Students will gain hands-on experience conducting formative visitor research, as well as developing, prototyping, and evaluating exhibit concepts to ensure they effectively engage and support meaning-making for diverse audiences. The course emphasizes positioning museum visitors as active participants in constructing their own learning. Additionally, we will examine discursive design strategies and discuss the critical issues museums face as they strive to adopt more expansive and inclusive views of learning. The course will culminate in a final demonstration and evaluation of a prototyped exhibit concept, presented to a review panel of museum stakeholders, learning researchers, museum evaluators, and design professionals. Course Website: https://canvas.cmu.edu/courses/44621