MCMFA offers student program

As far as academic resources go, the Middlebury College Museum of Fine Art is regrettably unnoticed and underused by the majority of students on campus.

However, in recent years there has been a much-needed push to get students out of their desks and into the galleries, where they can find an outlet to apply classroom lessons. Taking this a step further is the Museum Assistants Program (MAP), which selects and trains students to participate in the Museum’s education programs for families and visiting school groups.

Combining museum work with training in teaching education, the MAP offers a unique opportunity for students interested in either field.

Students in the program treat it as a mix between a job, internship and class, where they are expected to attend weekly meetings, read and discuss assigned material and give tours to between 1,200 and 1,500 visitors per year.

Sand Olivo, Curator of Education at the Mahaney Center for the Arts, runs weekly meetings and teaches students about the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and Visual Understanding in Education (VUE) programs. These teaching methods, developed by psychologists Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine, identify different stages of aesthetic development in children and propose a curriculum to teach visual literacy.

“In our VTS tours we ask three questions: what is going on in this picture,  what do you see that makes you say that and what more can you find?” said Amanda Perry ’11, a MAP participant since 2008.

“We serve as facilitators and we do not give them any factual information about the piece of art they are looking at.”

During the MAP’s 90-minute tour, student visitors learn to “read” the images by following the prompts and guidance of tour guides while still making their own observations and supporting them with what they see in front of them.

“Facilitators do not pass judgment on what the students say, for example we don’t say “good observation” or “that’s right” because by doing so we might shut down other interpretations from other students,” says Perry.

“Instead we paraphrase each response while pointing at the corresponding area in the image and inserting new words to help build vocabulary.”

Weekly classes focus on many aspects of VTS and address details such as image selection, the stages of aesthetic development and even points such as museum labels. Heavy emphasis is placed on the visitor, how to introduce children to art and how to teach specifically for art, incorporating objects into lessons.

Students interested in participating in the program should be aware that a completion of at least one History of Art and Architecture introductory course is necessary for admission into the program, although students from all majors are encouraged to apply.

A strong expressed interest in teaching in a museum setting and a serious commitment to connecting to children and to working closely with museum staff should be emphasized. In addition to a written application, formal interviews will also be conducted by Olivo to help her choose which students will fill the 3-4 available slots.

Once admitted to the program, students have the option of enrolling in an independent research project with Olivo through the Education Studies department. This option allows MAP students to truly integrate their work at the museum with their studies in a way that complements and expands their interests. A Winter Term class is also offered for museum assistants during which they train for spring tours.

“The more school tours I participate in and the more I learn about VTS, the more interested I become in Museum Education,” said Perry.

“The connection with the viewer is so crucial for museums, because without that audience a museum is really just a big building full of old objects.  Unless you can connect to the viewer and really get them to look at a piece of art and try to understand it on their own terms, it is a waste.”

The direct benefits of the MAP are abundant, and yet the program’s lessons scope is so much further than the arts and education, helping students with public speaking skills, engagement with the community and planning future career goals.

The application deadline to participate in next year’s program is Monday, May 17.