Transformative Learning in the Art Museum: A Methods Review

Abstract

Abstract: Clinical educators are continually seeking innovative methods and settings for teaching. As such, they have increasingly begun to use art museums as a new educational space in which to build clinically-relevant skills and promote learners’ professional identity formation. Art museum-based pedagogy can be understood through the framework of transformative learning theory, which provides an account of how adults learn through experience. In this article, the authors apply this theory to art museum-based teaching and offer a practical overview of art museum-based activities, highlighting three exemplars: visual thinking strategies, personal responses tour, and group poems. This toolbox of art museum-based teaching methods provides a launching pad for educators and learners to explore this innovative educational strategy.