Museum Education and Outreach (Spring 2025) - Online Course

Course Description 

An AASLH Small Museum Pro! Online Course

At their heart, regardless of type or size, museums are engaging, dynamic places of education. This AASLH online course, Museum Education and Outreach, is about how we can facilitate visitors’ meaningful and memorable experiences in the informal environments of museums. The program looks at the larger umbrella of programming at sites and explores the large concept of who our audiences are, how best to connect with them, and what is needed to develop various methods.

This course requires regular check-ins, sharing and commenting on peer work, and participation in scheduled live chats. Participants will help shape the flow of the course in addition to providing resources and insights on each other’s work. Assignments are made weekly to allow for regular feedback and dialogue. While work can be done at your own pace, meeting deadlines is encouraged to maximize the experience. Throughout the course you will develop a toolkit of strategies, policies, and documents ready for immediate implementation.

• Week 1: Practical Guidelines Regarding Learning and Museums
• Week 2: Museum Audiences - Characteristics, Needs, and Learning
• Week 3: Interpretation Strengths, Weaknesses, and Best Practices
• Week 4: Education Program Planning, Management, and Evaluation
• Week 5: Organizing of Museum Education and Outreach
• Week 6: Youth and Adult Programming
• Week 7: Leading Staff and Volunteers
• Week 8: Action Plan for Future Programming at your Museum

Details

SESSION DATES: March 24 - May 25, 2025

COST: Early bird before January 1: $215 AASLH Members / $315 Nonmembers 
After January 1: $230 AASLH Members / $330 Nonmembers 

10% discount for STEPS participants with promo code found in the online STEPS Community or by emailing learn@aaslh.org

OPEN REGISTRATION: Until March 17, 2025; 30 participant limit. Courses typically fill up before the registration deadline, so register early.

Course Logistics

FORMAT: Online, Instructor-led, Weekly-paced course

LENGTH: 8 weeks

PARTICIPATION: Students should expect to spend approximately 5-7 hours per week on readings, video discussions, text-based forum discussions, and assignments.

LIVE ZOOM DISCUSSIONS: We recommend downloading the Zoom mobile or desktop app for this course. 

• A one-hour live Zoom discussion will be held biweekly
• Final dates/times will be determined by the instructor at the start of the course
• Zoom discussions are recorded in case a participant is unable to attend the live sessions

MATERIALS: 

• One required text: The Museum Educator’s Manual: Educators Share Successful Techniques, Second Edition, Anna Johnson, Kimberly A. Huber, Nancy Cutler, Melissa Bingmann and Tim Grove, 2017. 
• Texts are NOT INCLUDED with registration. Participants must order the book separately from the book seller of their choice. A discount code is provided after registration when ordering directly from Rowman and Littlefield. 

TECHNOLOGY: Participants will need access to internet and a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet to participate in this course. For the live Zoom discussions, we recommend having access to a camera and a headset, earpods, or other audio and microphone device. Automatic captioning is available in the Zoom discussions.

CREDIT: Successful completion of this course (B or higher) will earn one credit toward the Small Museum Pro! certificate from AASLH.

Participant Outcomes

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• describe the characteristics and learning needs of various museum audiences;
• summarize what we know about learning in museums;
• assess the strengths and weaknesses of interpretive techniques and program approaches;
• utilize a system for planning, operating, and evaluating museum educational programs;
• access resources to assist you in future development of effective learning experiences

Who Should Take This Course

This course is a beginning level course designed for professional staff and volunteers of historical organizations and libraries with historical collections who have little to no experience with developing education programs and goals for museums. Successful participants should be ready to look past traditional methods and challenge themselves to work around site-specific hurdles.

How to Register

Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event. 

Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event. 

If you have any questions, please contact AASLH Professional Development staff at learn@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203.

Cancellation/Refunds for onsite workshops must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the early-bird registration deadline date will receive a full refund. Cancellations made between the early-bird deadline date and eight days prior to the workshop will be subject to a $55 processing/materials charge. No refunds will be given within seven days of the workshop date. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.

Cancellations/Refunds for online professional development (webinars and online courses) must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the start date for the online course or the day of the webinar will be given a full refund. No refund will be given after the start date for the online course or on/after the day of the webinar. Registrants may transfer their registration to another person. Registrations cannot be transferred between courses or course sessions. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.