Week 3 blog

Readings: What are some of the challenges of measuring learning in MOXI? What kinds of evaluations do you think would be the most helpful in assessing learning in this space and why?

The challenges we face at MOXI in measuring learning are intrinsic to an informal environment. This includes only interacting with people for a brief time, not knowing their background knowledge, and indistinct learning goals. Other challenges we could face are people being uninterested or not wanting staff to be involved because they are on a family outing. There are a plethora of issues that can show face in an environment like MOXI in terms of evaluation. 

I think the first step to assessing learning in this space is to decide what your goal is. Your goal could change by the day, by the person, etc. But once you set a goal, you are able to narrow down your assessment. That being said, I think the most effective way to assess learning is through observation and interviewing (informal interviewing). With observing, we do not get to hear what they think, however, there are so many behaviors that can show their level of engagement as well as learning outcomes and thought processes. When I think of interviewing, I think very informal and simply asking questions during or after someone is interacting with an exhibit. Questions about what they were thinking, how they could change an outcome, and so on. I think surveys are a very useful tool, however, in a space like MOXI I think they would be ineffective for assessing learning. Much of our audience is not at an age where they would be able to take a survey and parents should not answer the questions for the kids. That eliminates a large population of our guests and would not allow for a consistent assessment.