Virtual Destinations and Student Learning in Middle School: A Cas ...

Here the student can not only become acquainted with truths as they were in the past, but also as they relate in today’s world. It was not until the 1990s that more formal educational collaborations between museums and schools began. Museums began organizing more substantial programs and invited active participation by making their collections accessible and providing first-hand experiences with real objects. Through partnerships, a web of meaning takes shape in a real-world context (Hirzy, 1996). Partnerships help create a multi-dimensional quality to learning that is similar to Dewey’s school children going out to the garden to plant, grow, and harvest food. Partnerships and contact with primary resources can lead to more inquiry-based thinking and a deeper relationship within the culture of inquiry. Dewey states that children are led on to larger fields of investigation and to the intellectual discipline that is the accompaniment of such research. An online virtual biology museum used in conjunction with a museum / school partnership would uti­lize the various components of successful education such as collaboration, cooperation, communication, active engagement with the subject, construction, and inquiry.

The National Science Education Standards (NSES) specify that the school science program must extend beyond the walls of the school to include the resources of the community (National Research Council, 1996). The NSES emphasize that science is for all students, and learning science is an active process. Further, school science reflects the intellec­tual and cultural traditions that characterize the practice of contemporary science.

Meeting the challenge put forth by the NSES involves educational strategies such as partnerships between informal and formal settings. Hannon and Randolph (2001) identify six different types of partnerships between museums and schools: professional development, outreach, pilot programs, field trips, residencies, and the creation of museum schools. The type of partnership selected is determined by the purpose of the collaborators.

Numerous partnerships between for-profit museums and schools have existed through the years. These partnerships, however, are seldom sustained. Frankel (1995) has expressed the need for twelve conditions to be met for partnerships to be successful. These conditions range from understanding the schools’ needs and having a shared vision to promoting dialogue and open communication.