Study User Guide

This User Guide is a user-friendly hub for access to the Impact Study of Facilitated Single-Visit Art Museum Programs on Students Grades 4–6 findings, study-related publications, and tools designed to make the study’s findings clear and accessible to a variety of audiences. The study’s Core Team decided on a web-based portal, rather than a bound and printed handbook, so that you can choose specific content, print it off, download it, or otherwise make it work for you in the most helpful way. If necessary, the content on the site can also be updated or supplemented without a reprint.

What you see here functions as a Table of Contents to the material. Choose “View All” or navigate directly to what you’re looking for. Hyperlinks throughout the “View All” version of the User Guide direct the reader to relevant passages, glossary definitions, or external source material. Please note, internal shortcuts within the document only work in the “View All” version.

U S E R G U I D E | VIEW ALL

Please note, when you select “View All” option, you will get the entire User Guide (32 pgs.), but not the RK&A study reports, literature review, slide presentation, etc. These documents must still be selected and downloaded individually due to their length.

U S E R G U I D E | INTRODUCTION

Front matter including credits and acknowledgements, introduction from study project director, and letters of support from NAEA and AAMD executive directors.

U S E R G U I D E | TOOLS

The following tools will help you access the study’s goals and findings quickly. If you are interested in more information, topics are linked to original documents containing extensive exposition on each topic. These tools can be used together or individually to suit your needs.

• Research Summary: A brief overview of the study’s findings, research design, methodology and parameters.

• Timeline: A brief timeline of the study, which is the culmination of several years of planning and implementation.

• Fast Facts: These are handy, one-page fact sheets, including a snapshot of the study’s findings and recommendations for how they may be used by each audience. Use them as a quick reference, share them with docents or other colleagues, or use them as talking points for a meeting. Please note, if you select, the entire “Fast Facts” section or “View All” version of the Guide, you will see the general “Study Fast Facts” page once, followed by each individual constituent’s page. However, if you select only one, for example “Museum Educators and Docents,” you will get a 2-page document, meant to be printed as a front/back sheet.

  • Study Fast Facts: These general facts summarize the study and its findings and are meant to be the first page for each following audience.
  • One Visit Works! Facilitated Single-Visit Art Museum Programs Demonstrate Learning Gains | Fast Facts for Art/Classroom Teachers & School Administrators
  • Trained Museum Representatives Contribute to Impact | Fast Facts for Museum Educators & Docents
  • Facilitated Single-Visit Art Museum Programs Catalyze Learning | Fast Facts for Museum Leadership
  • Art Museums Are Accountable Partners in Learning | Fast Facts for Policy Makers & Funders
  • Considerations to Advance Practice | Fast Facts for Research Professionals
    

• RK&A Study Tools: RK&A have shared tools used in this study that may be useful in observing and reflecting on other art museum programs.

  • RK&A Observation Tool: This is a draft observation guide tool that was used to identify the trained museum representative’s (volunteer docent or staff) teaching behaviors in the galleries.
  • Teaching Behavior Examples: Please use these to better understand the observation guide and its rubrics.
    

• RK&A Study Data Request: Data collected for the NAEA/AAMD Impact Study of the Effects of Facilitated Single-visit Art Museum Programs on Students Grades 4-6 are available for future research.

• Glossary: Definitions of key terms as they were used in this study.

U S E R G U I D E | STUDY PUBLICATIONS

This section includes all of the publications created during the course of this research study. View all or click on your desired content to find individual PDFs.

• RK&A Study Reports

  • Summary Report & Discussion: The Summary Report and Discussion highlights and interprets key findings from the study and discusses their implications for the field. We recommend reading this document for a top-level understanding of the study. Methodological details are abbreviated.
  • Technical Report: The Technical Report contains all the necessary context for readers to interpret the findings. We describe the study’s research intent and design and report findings by methodology to help readers understand the results at a granular level (as opposed to the top-level approach of the Summary Report). Please note that although we aim for this Technical Report to be comprehensive, we have relegated certain methodological or analytical details to the Appendix.
  • Appendix: This document includes study instruments (e.g., questionnaires, interview guides, etc.) and other supplemental information for those interested in interpreting or asking their own questions of the data.
    

• Arts Impact Symposium Video: The symposium held at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Saturday, October 13, 2018 was recorded and can be viewed here.
  

• Study Findings Slide Presentation: This PowerPoint®️ presentation can be downloaded and used in its entirety or mined for useful graphics and data. Or, customize it to suit your needs and share the study results with colleagues.
  

• Literature Review: Impact of Art Museum Programs on Students: During the study’s planning year (2014-2015), members of the Core Team completed an extensive Literature Review of learning research in museums.

• White Paper: Impact Study of Facilitated Single-Visit Art Museum Programs on Students Grades 4–6
  

• Summary of Results Survey of Single-Visit K–12 Art Museum Programs: In 2015, as part of information gathering during the study’s planning year, RK&A conducted a national survey of the field to identify the most representative characteristics of single-visit K–12 field-trip practices in art museums across the United States. Below are the survey’s executive summary and detailed full report.

  • Executive Summary
  • Full Report
    

• Museum Site Selection: NAEA, AAMD, and RK&A selected six museums across the country based on data from the field-wide survey that was administered to all art museums in 2015 with assistance from AAMD and NAEA.
  

  • Criteria for Museum Site Selection
  • Museum Site Selection Press Release: This press release announces the selection of the final 6 museum sites.
    

• Impact Study of Facilitated Single-Visit Art Museum Programs on Students Grades 4–6 Results and Symposium Press Release: NAEA and AAMD announced the results of the research study through a joint press release.

• Research Commission Conversation event: The Research Commission and Museum Education Division teamed up for an online discussion of the NAEA/AAMD Impact Study of the Effects of Facilitated Single-visit Art Museum Programs on Students Grades 4-6.