The Learner Controls the Learning

Dr. Carol B. Stapp, Ph.D., Director of the Museum Education Program at The George Washington University discusses the future of museums as educational tools

Dr. Carol Stapp knows what goes into the formation of a successful museum as well as a successful mind. With over 30 years experience the winner of the AAM's Excellence in Practice Award for 2007 has been instrumental in furthering the engagement between museums and the communities they serve. Currently the Director of the Museum Education Program (MEP) at The George Washington University's Graduate School of Education and Development, she oversees the Masters of Arts in Teaching degree. The first of its kind, the program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum of independent study and fieldwork in order to provide museum educators with a solid foundation in social responsibility and ethics.

With a background in Art History, Dr. Stapp explains that her introduction into the museum world was rather happenstance. I more or less fell into it," she states, working as a teacher in the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 1969 to 1976 with a "wonderful group of colleagues." Many of these former associates have become important figures in their own right such as Patty Williams of the Denver Art Museum and Tara Robinson of the Detroit Institute of Arts. After earning high praise and recognition for developing a series of innovative educational programs, she was asked to become the Assistant Director for the MEP at The George Washington University in 1977.

In 1983 she succeeded her mentor Marcella Brenner to become the current director of the MEP and has been influencing scores of students ever since. Some of the most respected figures in the museum community are alumni of the program, including Greg Stevens, AAM Assistant Director of Professional Development, Diane Frankel, former head of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and many more. The program has been shaped and structured by the maxims of Ms. Brenner; including the phrase "the learner controls the learning." This is meant to convey the reciprocity of education that both the museum visitor controls and that the museum educator is instrumental in applying. That is, a truly productive education program allows the visitor to learn from the museum and engage the material on their own. Being successful in this application rests upon the educator integrating the three C's of "comfort, confidence and choice." By "making a person [i.e. the museum visitor] comfortable, the person feels empowered, which leads to the capacity for making informed choices." A host of other mottos guide the principles of museum education, which Dr. Stapp states "should be concerned with the outcome and not just the output." This outcome is dependent on students who she hopes will be "competent to make informed decisions as practitioners" and maintain a "commitment to public service" well into the future.

While a large portion of her daily tasks relate to the students, including organizing internships, preparing for classes, maintaining the alumni network and so forth, she is also active in professional activities and associations. Some of these include the Editorial Board of Curator: The Museum Journal, the Advisory Council of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, the Museum Committee of the National Law Enforcement Museum, member of the International Council of Museums, the American Association for University Professors, and more. "The leisurely life of the academic," she states sardonically, explaining that the main challenge of her position is balancing priorities. Keeping up with the literature, personal contacts, and information, as well as fostering communication among various organizations remains a constant but enjoyable burden and a reminder that her work is never done. At the end of the day it's "a sense of having made a contribution...or some difference" that becomes the reward.

When considering some of the challenges facing the museum community today, Dr. Stapp emphasizes that the future of any museum is contingent on its ability to make a persuasive argument for existence. However, if the only justification for a museum involves the most basic fulfillment of public mission, i.e. the presentation and preservation of objects, then what is happening for the people visiting them? "The point of museums," she states, "is to help people become more informed and enlightened citizens of the world." Noting the work of author and museum theorist Stephen E. Weil, Dr. Stapp explains that there was, and is, this switch from museums "being about stuff to being for people." In that respect the importance of a museum reaches far beyond the inherent value of its collection by influencing the lives of the people and community in which they operate. "People don't have to love museums," she goes on to say, but at least "give them the opportunity to try."

However "many museums are distracting themselves and the audience by overdoing what they offer." The technological bombardment of interactive exhibits, though born of positive intentions, may soon present a challenge to museums, as visitors become disconnected from the artifact in question and therefore feel no desire to experience the museum as a whole. Dr. Stapp believes that an interactive exhibit, if done correctly, should reward the visitor for looking closer, encouraging discussion and critical thinking by providing the opportunity to see things from all perspectives. "Different communities have different ways of learning," she mentions, and by creating ways to make a museum more inviting, museum personnel must look at what prevents people back from visiting. Secondary concerns such as "parking, day care, and public transportation" must become primary. "We must help to alleviate the barriers that people face," she says, whether through the creation of public organizations and liaisons or by "building vocabulary." Each visitor must be made comfortable with the ability to think about and process the experience while maintaining the confidence to navigate the museum both mentally and physically. She contends that this ability for the visitor to learn and be involved with the museum should be a major concern of any institution seeking to innovate and to expand their educational offerings. Among the various institutions leading these innovations Dr. Stapp commends the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Children's Museum of Boston.

Despite the current challenges Dr. Stapp remarks that the number of individuals pursuing careers in museum education has increased over the years. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, her students bring a range of knowledge and experience. For those considering a career in the museum field, she advises candidates to keep in mind that it's "not impossible to shift gears," and that being active both professionally and academically is important since "professional development is a matter of life-long learning."