What makes K-12 public school educators choose to use a museum as part of their curriculum? was the question posed by Wellin Museum Educator and Docent Program Supervisor Amber Geary in a two-year study featured this month in an essay authored by Geary on the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) website. She shared her surprise when "teachers were not banging on our doors, even when we sent professionally printed direct mail pieces and hand-signed letters," at the beginning of her Wellin tenure, an experience that led her to pursue her research.
Her AAM essay explains the study's findings and how they have been successfully implemented at the Wellin. "The results were overwhelmingly clear that I, along with other museum educators across the country, need to refocus the way we present our offerings in a way that speaks directly to the needs of public school educators. While we can’t always control time or cost, speaking the language of public school teachers and administrators could solve the barrier of defensibility, and that can make all the difference."
