CONTENTS · PDF filewould refer to the contents of the collection as ‘Victorian technology’. ... was the main objective of the project. ... Curriculum is split into different age

CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 1.1.The University of St Andrews Museum Collections Unit 1 1.2. The Victorian Technology Project 2 2. Aims and Objectives 3 2.1. Deliverable Aims For the Museum Collections Unit 3 2.2. Timed Objectives 3 2.3. Learning Outcomes 3 3. Project Basics 4 3.1. Choosing a Project 4 3.2. Project Advisors 4 3.3. Project Timetable 4 3.4. Budget 5 4. Research 7 5. Instructions and Repair for the Handling Collection 8 5.1. Instructions 8 5.2. Repair 8 6. Storage and Documentation 9 6.1. Storage of the Collection 9 6.2. Documentation 9 7. Education Workshops 10 7.1. Planning the Workshops 11 7.2. Presenting the Workshops 12 7.3. Feedback 15 7.4. Analysis and Improvement 18 7.5. Producing Workshop Instructions 20 8. Future Plans 21 9. Evaluation of Aims and Objectives 22 9.1 Evaluation of Deliverable Aims for the Museum Collections 22 Unit 9.2. Evaluation of Timed Objectives 23 10. Project Summary 24

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1. INTRODUCTION

As a student on the MLitt Museum and Gallery Studies course at the

University of St Andrews, I was required to plan, deliver and evaluate a

project within a museum or related institution. I chose to carry out a project at

the Museum and Collections Unit of the University of St Andrews, developing

a primary school workshop using a handling collection of Victorian technology.

This report will outline my experience with this project: what I did, what I

achieved and what I learned throughout.

1.1. The University of St Andrews Museum Collections Unit

The Museum Collections Unit of the University of St Andrews cares for and

displays a wide range of objects relating to the 600 year history of the

University of St Andrews, as well as running and managing all of the

University’s museums. The statement of purpose of the collections unit is as

follows:

‘The museum collections of the University of St Andrews are a central part of

the heritage of Scotland's oldest university. The Museum Collections Unit

exists to develop and care for these collections and to make them accessible

to all, through a variety of methods, including displays, publications, digital

technology and community engagement programmes. The Unit aims to

provide the highest quality facilities and services, matching the aspirations of

its parent University.’ (University of St Andrews Museum Collections Unit,

2013).

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Within the Unit I would work with the Learning and Access team. This

team’s remit is to ‘fulfil the objective in the Museum Collections Unit’s

Statement of Purpose to make the collections accessible to all.’ (University of

St Andrews Museum Collections Unit, 2012).

1.2. The Victorian Technology Project

The purpose of the project was to develop an education programme for

Primary schools using a handling collection of Victorian technology objects, as

well as documenting and possibly developing the collection. The collection

consists of a phonograph, a magic lantern, and related materials, and was

donated to the museum by Dr Aileen Fyfe of the University of St Andrews

School of History.

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2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

2.1. Deliverable Aims For the Museum Collections Unit

To research and appropriately document a handling collection of

Victorian scientific instruments, including instructions for the use of

these instruments.

To potentially develop the collection using the allocated budget.

To develop and pilot a programme of primary school workshops using

the collection.

2.2. Timed Objectives

Complete an outline of Primary workshop by end of November 2014.

Write instructions for using the Victorian Technology by end of

November 2014.

Carry out education workshop with at least two classes by end of

March 2015.

Create handling collection database by end of placement.

2.3. Learning Outcomes

To gain experience working with the Curriculum for Excellence.

To gain experience and confidence working with and engaging primary

school children.

To gain experience in creating and using Ad Lib databases.

To gain experience in planning and implementing a museum project.

To work with museum professionals and academics at a professional

standard.

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To be able to evaluate the success and failures of the project.

3. PROJECT BASICS

3.1. Choosing a Project

In the first week of class, mid-September 2014, we were presented with a

variety of projects to choose between. The Victorian Technologies project was

my first choice of placement, as it combined my interest in museum education

with my scientific background.

3.2. Project Advisors

My main advisor for this project was Matthew (Matt) Sheard, a Learning

and Access Curator in the Museum Collections Unit. I also received advice

from Dr Aileen Fyfe from the University of St Andrews’ School of History.

Aileen had previously used the Victorian Technology handling collection to run

her own education and outreach events, and donated the collection to MUSA

when she found that her own schedule was curtailing the time she had

available for such events.

3.3. Project Timetable

From 20th of October 2014 I worked on the project in the Museum

Collections Unit office every Monday from 10am until around 4.30pm. I also

completed further work at home as required and held meetings on other days

when the schedule of my associates required.

Working in the Collections Unit Office meant that I could informally discuss

the project with Matt throughout the day rather than arranging formal

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meetings. I was also able to speak to other members of Collection Unit staff

for advice, and enjoyed working in a professional museum environment.

3.4. Budget

The project had a budget of £1245. This funding was provided as a

Teaching and Development Grant from the University of St Andrews, awarded

prior to me starting work on the project.

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4. RESEARCH

During the first few months of the project I conducted research on the

objects in the handling collection, using books and online sources as well as

Aileen’s knowledge. This allowed me to develop a familiarity with the

collection and heavily influenced the content of my education workshops. It

quickly became apparent that the project brief was somewhat inaccurate- the

collection is not composed of Victorian scientific instruments, but rather

instruments which would have been used mostly for entertainment and, in the

case of the magic lantern, educational lectures. Therefore from then on I

would refer to the contents of the collection as ‘Victorian technology’.

Phonograph from the Victorian technology handling collection.

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5. INSTRUCTIONS AND REPAIR FOR THE HANDLING

COLLECTION

One objective for the project was to produce instructions to allow an

inexperienced operator to use the objects in the handling collection. As the

project proceeded a technical problem arose with the phonograph, so I was

also required to take action to have this object repaired.

5.1. Instructions

During our first meeting Aileen taught me how to use the phonograph and

magic lantern. I was tasked with using this information to produce written

instructions on using the objects. These documents will be required if my

workshop plans are to be used by another museum employee or volunteer.

I have now written instructions for the using magic lantern. These have

already been put to use when staff in the University of St Andrews Film

Studies Department borrowed the lantern for teaching. I also produced a first

draft of instructions for using the phonograph in November, but this has not

yet been completed due to the technical difficulties with the phonograph

detailed in section 5.2.

5.2. Repair

While photographing the collection in November 2014 I was unable to start

the phonograph. After I verified that there was no simple solution to the

problem with Aileen I began to look for someone who could repair it.

Aleksander Kolkowski, who Aileen had purchased the phonograph from,

recommended two engineers who may be able to help. As phonograph repair

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is a specialised skill it took me some time to get hold of a suitable engineer,

but in February I spoke to Mike Child who asked me to take the base off the

phonograph and send him some photographs of the mechanism. This was to

determine if there was a simple solution to the problem before we paid to

send the phonograph to his workshop in the South of England.

When Matt and I took the base off the phonograph we quickly noticed that

the belt had slipped out of place. Putting the belt back into position appeared

to fix the problem.

In March, while preparing for my workshop, I discovered that phonograph

would stop playing again after a short time. This was again due to the belt

slipping out of place, and could be temporarily repaired by moving the belt into

position. It is therefore now clear that Matt and I have not succeeded in

repairing the phonograph, and that some of the remaining project budget will

need to be used to send the phonograph to an engineer for repair.

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6. STORAGE AND DOCUMENTATION

6.1. Storage of the Collection

The need to improve the storage of the Victorian Technology collection was

readily apparent, as at the start of the project the collection was stored in a

number of un-lidded cardboard boxes. In December 2014 I measured all

objects in the collection. Separating the collection into the magic lantern and

accessories and the phonograph and accessories, I calculated what size of

plastic box (Really Useful Box brand) would be required to hold each part of

the collection and produced diagrams showing how these boxes could be

compartmentalised using plastizote.

At present the boxes have been purchased and the collection is stored in

them, but the plastizote compartments have not yet been created.

6.2. Documentation

In December 2014 I received training on the use of Ad Lib in the Museum

Collections Unit from curator Jessica Burdge, created an ‘external collection’

database for handling collections and began to document the collection. Later

in the month Matt and I agreed that I would take responsibility for

documenting the phonograph and related objects, while Mathilde (another

student working on the project) would take on the magic lantern. By April 2015

I had completed a basic entry for the magic lantern, the phonograph, and the

6 phonograph cylinders.

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7. EDUCATION WORKSHOPS

The production of a primary school education workshop using the collection

was the main objective of the project.

7.1. Planning the Workshops

For a workshop to be useful to school teachers it must cover ‘learning

outcomes’ set out by the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. I therefore used

the Curriculum for Excellence as a starting point for my workshop planning,

listing all of the learning outcomes that could potentially be incorporated. The

Curriculum is split into different age groups, or levels. I selected level 2

(Primary 4-7) as the target for my workshops, as working with the upper levels

of primary school for allow me to use more complex information in my

workshop.

After listing Curriculum outcomes that a Victorian technology workshop

could cover I began to develop activities and structure the workshop, with

input from Matt and Aileen. I chose to split my project into two separate

workshops, one based on the magic lantern and the other on the phonograph.

Each would last around an hour and a half, and these workshops could be

presented a school individually or together. By mid-November I had

completed a plan for each workshop, with details of every activity that would

be included. I discussed this plan with Matt, Aileen and Sara Russell, a

teacher at Cannongate Primary School, and by February 2015 I had finalised

this plan. An outline of each workshop is as follows:

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Magic Lantern Workshop Phonograph Workshop

Introduce the lantern by telling the

story of Little Red Hood.

Introduce the phonograph and

explain how it works.

Explain how the lantern works and

discuss its history.

Compare the recording length of the

phonograph to modern music and

mp3 players.

Show how layers are used in moving

slides and cartoons.

Compare the phonograph cylinder to

vinyl records and CDs.

Pupils make and show their own

moving slides.

Technology card matching game.

Show a film of St Andrews in the

1920s.

Compare the sound quality of the

phonograph to an MP3 (Spot the

Instrument activity).

Discuss what else recordings can be

used for apart from music.

Pupils make their own record player

from household materials

In both workshops I included a mix of listening and active activities to

prevent pupils from getting bored. I also tried to get pupils to work out or

guess answers, rather than simply telling them.

As well as purchasing a new set of story slides, I prepared various

resources for the workshops: PowerPoint presentations, a script to

accompany the story slides, slides to assist children in creating a story with

moving slides, and cards for the technology matching game.

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7.2. Presenting the Workshops

The part of the project that I was most worried about was presenting the

workshops to a class. To gain experience and confidence with this I

shadowed Sara’s teaching on two afternoons, and also assisted with a MUSA

Young Artists workshop. Shadowing Sara was particularly helpful, as it

allowed me to get to know the class, and the class me. Being able to meet a

class prior to a workshop would not happen in professional museum

education, but it was very useful for alleviating my worries and improving my

confidence for this first session.

On the 18th of March I presented the workshops to Sara’s class in the

morning, with morning break acting as an interval. Sara’s class was small (18

pupils, 15 of whom were present for the workshop) and consisted of Primary 6

and 7 pupils. I was lucky in that Sara was very flexible about the length of the

workshop. I would start at 9.20am, and could work with the class until

lunchtime at 12.25pm, but if the session finished before then Sara was happy

to take over and teach the class until lunch.

Overall I believe the workshop went very well. The pupils seemed engaged

and to enjoy most activities. The standard of behaviour was generally high,

and when problems arose Sara dealt with them, leaving me to carry on with

the workshop.

When I first played the phonograph to the class the machine stopped

working due to the belt problems detailed in section 5.2., requiring me to

repair the phonograph in front of the class. Fortunately the class were very

well behaved during this time, and Sara used it as an opportunity to discuss

problems of technology. However, in a less calm classroom this could have

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been a big problem and the occurrence highlighted the need for the

phonograph to be repaired.

My key observations from the workshops are as follows:

Little Red Hood story: I had worried that older children would find the

story telling introduction boring, but seeing the slides on the magic

lantern was enough to keep them interested.

Slide Making: Pupils took a while to understand the activity, but once

they did most seemed to enjoy it. I should have emphasised the need

to leave a border around slides, and a ‘tab’ on moving parts to hold on

to. Making slides took longer than expected.

Card matching game: This section was the most problematic. Pupils

found the game quite difficult and were confused by my inclusion of

categories as normal cards alongside answers.

Spot the Instrument activity: The pupils found it very difficult to

recognise instruments on the phonograph version of Hungarian

Rhapsody No 2, and when they suggested instruments which weren’t

on the recording I wasn’t sure whether to write them down or not. I

Pupils working on their moving slides

Pupils' slides being shown on the magic lantern.

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chose to write incorrect guesses down to keep the activity flowing, but

in retrospect that was the wrong choice. The activity clearly required

some further development.

Making a record player: Due to time limitations Sara and I carried out

this activity in the front of the class rather than having the pupils try it

themselves. Having this homemade record player create a

recognisable sound was far more difficult than I had thought, but the

pupils seemed to get the point and found the demonstration amusing.

Film of 1920s St Andrews: I forgot to play this video after the magic

lantern workshop, so played it after the phonograph session. I felt it

was a nice way to round off the morning, and the pupils enjoyed

working out which streets were in the video.

I very much enjoyed carrying out the workshop. It was my first experience

of leading an education event rather than following other people’s instructions,

so provided a great opportunity to develop my presentation skills as well as

improving my confidence working with children. I was able to think on my feet

and alter activities in response to pupils’ needs and time constraints. Such

flexibility is important when running an education event.

A magic lantern slide from the Little Red Riding Hood set.

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7.3. Feedback

7.3.1. Pupil Feedback

Following advice from Sara, I collected feedback from the pupils via a

‘plenary’ activity. At the end of the morning, the pupils drew around their

hands and wrote one thing that they had learnt on each finger. On the top of

their palm they wrote the part of the workshops that they had enjoyed the

most, and on the bottom they wrote what they found the most difficult.

I feel that this was a suitable method of collecting feedback, as it provided

information for me while also asking the pupils to reflect on what they had

learnt. However, one downside is that I had to dismiss some data due to

problems reading handwriting.

The table below summarises what feedback indicates that pupil learnt

during the session. I was pleased to see that there are entries from both

workshops, suggesting pupils learnt from both the phonograph and magic

lantern sessions.

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‘What I learnt’ Number of pupils

Differences between different types of music

technologies.

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What a magic lantern was, how it works and what it was

used for.

10

What a phonograph was, and what it was used for 9

About the Edison talking doll, and its failure. 6

The use of layers in cartoons. 5

How to make moving slides and use them to tell a story. 4

How to make a record player. 3

Museums have old technology. 1

Old technology can still work if cared for. 1

The use of bumps in sound recording. 1

On the next page are pie charts representing the pupils’ favourite aspects

of the workshops (Figure 1), and those they found most difficult (Figure 2).

This feedback confirms my observations that pupils enjoyed making slides

and found the card matching game challenging. However, it also shows that

pupils enjoyed a wide range of activities including making a record player and

learning about how layers are used in animation. The card matching game

was the most common choice for a difficult task, but second was the Spot the

Instrument activity, confirming that this also needed some work.

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.

Technology Card game,

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Making moving slides, 1 The magic

lantern, 1 Show slides using the

magic lantern, 1

Music comparison,

2

No response, 4

Figure 2: Pie chart representing pupils' most challenging aspect of the Victorian Technology workshops. n=15.

Technology Card game, 1

Making moving slides, 4

The magic lantern, 2 Learning

about animation, 2

Making a record

player, 2

'Learning', 1

No response, 3

Figure 1: Pie chart representing pupils' favourite aspect of the Victorian Technology workshops. n=15.

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7.3.2. Teacher Feedback

I discussed the workshop with Sara straight after the session, and also emailed

her the same day to receive some written feedback. Overall, Sara felt that the

workshop had went well. She reported that the children had most enjoyed the slide

making activity and confirmed that they had found the card matching game

confusing. She also suggested that it might be beneficial to include more information

about how the objects worked in future workshops

7.4. Analysis and Improvement

The week after carrying out the workshops I had a meeting with Matt to discuss

and analyse them. Due to my own reservations and the feedback about the card

matching game and the Spot the Instrument activity, we discussed ways that these

sections could be improved. We came up with the following plans:

Card Matching Game: Split pupils into groups and give them large (A5) cards with

the answer cards, colour coded by category. Workshop leader writes the four music

technologies and the categories on the board, and ask groups to hold up a card with

their answer for each answer in turn. Keep a point tally and announce a winner at the

end.

This alteration will prevent pupils from getting confused about categories, and will

allow them to consider each question separately rather than having to think about all

cards at once. It will also allow the workshop leader to give clues about any

questions the class gets stuck on. The activity will be quick and interactive, and

adding a competitive aspect will improve engagement.

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Spot the Instrument: List every instrument that can be heard in the recordings on

the board. Don’t tell pupils whether the instruments are in the recordings or not, but

present them as a range of options. Pupils tell the workshop leader when they can

hear one of the instrument options.

This alteration solves the problem of whether to write down incorrect guesses. It

also helps pupils who might recognise the sound of an instrument but not know its

name.

Overall, Matt was very pleased with my account of the workshop. He confirmed

my suspicion that having to repair the phonograph during the workshop would have

been a problem in a less well-behaved class. He also thought that my decision to

make a record player as a demonstration rather than an activity would have been

problematic in a less engaged class, so recommended that I keep it as an activity in

my workshop instructions. He stressed that I would need to outline the times

required for the workshops in my instructions, as teachers are not generally as

flexible about workshop length as Sara was.

One problem with the workshop plan came up in this meeting that I have not yet

been able to solve. The magic lantern workshop requires the playing of a short

cartoon clip via www.bobnational.net, a website which allows universities to access

television footage for education use. I was able to access this at Cannongate

Primary School, but other schools may block such sites on their network. I have not

yet found an alternative to this online video, but possible solutions are to buy a DVD

with a suitable cartoon, or look into whether there are any suitable downloadable

videos available for education use.

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7.5. Production of Workshop Instructions

The purpose of the project was to produce resources that a member of MUSA

staff or a volunteer could use to carry out the workshops in the future. To assist with

this I produced an instructional report that would allow someone else to perform the

workshops. This included the alterations made to activities following my discussion

with Matt and the time needed for each workshop and activity. It also included

information about resources and preparation required for the workshops and some

background information on the objects.

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8. FUTURE PLANS

I hope to continue my involvement with the Victorian Technology project over the

summer. The key objectives for this will be to have the phonograph repaired, to

produce instructions for using the phonograph, and to continue to improve storage of

the collection. As stated in the brief the Museum Collections Unit hoped that through

this placement I would develop a workshop which could be carried out by other

members of staff or volunteers. I hope that I have created resources that will allow

this to happen.

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9. EVALUATION OF AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

At the start of the project I received a list of deliverable objectives for the Museum

Collections Unit, and set myself a set of timed project objectives. In this section I will

evaluate my success in meeting these aims and objectives.

9.1. Evaluation of Deliverable Aims For the Museum Collections Unit

To research and appropriately document a handling collection of Victorian

scientific instruments, including instructions for the use of these instruments.

PARTIALLY ACHEIVED. I produced an account of the history of the handling

objects (as provided in my workshop instruction report) and documented my

allocated section of the collection. I have produced instructions for using the

magic lantern, but not the phonograph.

To potentially develop the collection using the allocated budget.

PARTIALLY ACHIEVED. I made one addition to the collection in the form of

the Little Red Riding Hood story slides, and partially implemented plans to

improve collection storage. If I had focussed more on the development of the

collection rather than its use in workshops I could have done more to achieve

this aim.

To develop and pilot a programme of primary school workshops using the

collection.

ACHIEVED. I was successful in developing and piloting workshops using the

collection, and in using this pilot session to improve the workshop programme.

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9.2. Evaluation of Timed Objectives

Complete an outline of primary workshop by end of November 2014.

ACHIEVED: I submitted my initial workshop outline in November. I was able

to improve this plan through advice from Matt, Aileen and Sara prior to the

workshops, and using teacher and pupil feedback after the workshop.

Write instructions for using the Victorian Technology by end of November

2014.

PARTIALLY ACHIEVED: I completed first drafts of these instructions in

November. However, only the magic lantern instructions have been proof read

and tested by an untrained user.

Carry out education workshop with at least two classes by end of March 2015.

NOT ACHIEVED: I only had time to carry out the workshops with one class.

Create handling collection database by end of placement.

ACHIEVED: I created a database for documenting the Museum Collections

Unit’s handling collections, and created entries for the phonograph and its

associated objects, as well as the magic lantern.

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10. PROJECT SUMMARY

The one project objective that I did not meet was to pilot the programme with two

classes- I only had time to carry it out with one. Looking back over the project I feel

that this objective was rather ambitious. It would have been useful to receive

feedback from two classes, but considering the project timetable I think planning for

one from the start would have been more realistic.

Another objective that was only partially achieved was the production of

instructions for using the instruments. The phonograph instructions were side lined

while the phonograph was out of use, and by the time it was repaired I was too busy

preparing the workshop to complete these instructions. With retrospect, I could have

written the instructions from memory while the phonograph wasn’t working, but I can

complete these instructions as I continue to work on the project over the summer. I

am satisfied with my decision to focus on workshop preparation rather than collection

development during the project, as this was the aspect I was most passionate about.

At times in the project I faced difficulties with confidence in my ability to engage

pupils and maintain behaviour during the workshop, but I took steps to alleviate

these worries such as shadowing Sara teaching. The final workshop was a very

positive experience, which has hugely increased my confidence leading education

events..

Overall, I feel that the Victorian Technology project was very successful. I gained

a lot of new skills by seeing an education programme from conception to

implementation, including working with the Curriculum for Excellence, planning

engaging activities for children, working with advice from a variety of advisors,

working with children in a school setting, and responding to feedback. I also gained

practical experience in documentation and producing instructional reports for use

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with museum objects. I feel that I succeeded in creating a strong school workshop,

and hope that I have created a programme which my host organisation will be able

to continue to use in the future.