Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between distance learning, engagement, and field trips to art museums. The study aims to answer two questions: (1) Are indicators for engagement in museum settings, as identified by Griffin and Symington (1999), being met through videoconferencing technology? and (2) What are the best practices of videoconference field trips to art museums? Two long-range goals for this study are: (i) to identify the roles and competencies necessary for conducting effective videoconference field trips to art museums; and (ii) to enhance engagement of videoconference field trips to art museums. This research project took place over the course of the 2007/2008 school year and involved the use of videoconferencing in the art classroom at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Lindsay, Ontario. Four different groups visited a different art museum at a distant location. Fifty-eight students were administered the Rubric for Assessing Student Engagement of Learning in a Museum Setting (Table 5, Appendix A), developed for this study in order to determine students' perception of the program's overall level of engagement qualities. Results reveal that many indicators for engagement are being met but at varying degrees. Although many students responded favorably to the experience and felt that they had learned something new, the opportunity provided by museums to purposefully handle objects, materials and ideas was inconsistent. In addition to including quality hands-on activities in museum settings that are visited from a distance, this study also reveals that students expected to see more of the museum environment, exhibits and artwork.