Action Research. The first steps to start up a pilot experiment in heritage education

Working paper

Janine Sprünker (jsprunker@uoc.edu)
IN3-UOC PhD research intern

Abstract

The relationships between museums and schools are changing through the use of internet. We want to analyse how these new relationships occur at a national level. It is important to analyse these possible new relationships, which are the product of social and technological changes. They allow for new interactions and participation whilst requiring changes in the forms of organisation, web resource management, and teaching and learning models.

Specifically, learning networks can establish a new form of relationship between museums and schools and educational online resources with cultural heritage content can offer learning opportunities and knowledge resources beyond the boundaries of formal education. However, there is a need for experimental projects to test the evidence and to see how these kinds of teaching and learning practices will work within a concrete social and cultural context. Thus, Action Research can contribute to the development of a learning experience, based on reflection and actions.

The aim of this experimentation is to obtain a working model and best practices for learning and teaching in learning networks shaped by heritage managers, teachers and students where the members produce and use educational online resources with cultural heritage content. The results of this empirical research project will be compared with results from the first methodological part of the PhD thesis to obtain a model that can be exported to other contexts.


Keywords

action research, cultural heritage content, educational online resources, heritage education, heritage managers, high school students, learning networks, learning, researchers, teachers


Submission date: September 2008
Accepted in: November 2008
Published in: December 2008
IN3 code: Working Papers Series: WP 08-006