Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ACA5040

 
TITLE Curriculum Development and Museums

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit will equip participants with the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills in curriculum design, development and evaluation. It will particularly focus on how community interests, aspirations, visions and identities can be incorporated in a curricular experience that is substantial and public oriented.

The fundamental purpose of this study-unit is to help participants plan for curricular experiences that contribute to personal, collective, academic and professional learning and development.

Study-Unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to help participants think about and produce curricular experiences which enhance visitor/community engagement at the three levels described by Graham Black (2005):

- Providing the stimulus to visit;
- Place visitors in the right frame of mind;
- Provide the motivation and support to engage directly with the site and/or collection.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Engage with the multifaceted concept of curriculum.
- Engage with different curricular paradigms and understand how such paradigms lead to different ways of framing the educational experience.
- Understand curriculum development from a historical perspective.
- Demonstrate an understanding the language used in the art and science of curriculum production.
- Explore best practices in community-oriented curriculum development.
- Explore best practices in community-oriented and public-centered museology.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Differentiate between content-driven and public-centered curriculum design.
- Develop and evaluate curricular experiences that enhance visitor engagement.
- Build a curricular experience, including generation of themes, development of concrete outcomes, select and/or construct resources, develop experiences and produce of evaluation criteria.
- Actualise and evaluate a curricular experience as a collective (group of MA students).

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- Black, G (2005) The Engaging Museum. Developing Museums for Visitors Involvement. London & New York: Routledge.
- Crispin, P., and Ambrose, T. (1993) Museum Basics. London and New York: Routledge.
- Hein, G.E. (2012) Progressive Museum Practice. John Dewey and Democracy. CA, USA: Left Coast Press.
- Macdonald, S. (Ed.) (2006) A Companion to Museum Studies. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Performance

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Fieldwork Yes 40%
Assignment Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S Carmel P. Borg

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit