Nathalie Ryan

National Gallery of Art Washington, DC

Cultivating

Curiosity

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” -Socrates

Curiosity, noun, the desire to learn

or know more about something or

someone; interest leading to inquiry

Harvard University, Graduate School of Education Education research in the arts, the

nature of intelligence, understanding, thinking, creativity, cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural thinking, and ethics Bridging research and practice • Nelson Goodman, founder 1967 • Howard Gardner • David Perkins • Shari Tishman • Steve Seidel • Daniel Wilson • Veronica Boix-Mansilla • Carrie James • Ron Ritchhart www.pz.harvard.edu

Zeroing in on learning as it unfolds in all its complexity.

“Learning is a consequence of thinking.” -David Perkins

The role of educators:

• Create opportunities for thinking

• Listener, observer

• Facilitator of conversation, recognize

learning is social and notice the

relationship between the individual

and the group

• Design for thinking-centered,

learner-centered experiences

• Teach metacognition

• Model thinking

“Children grow into the intellectual life

around them.” -Lev Vygotsky

Thinking dispositions / Habits of mind:

• Slowing down, observing carefully

• Wondering

• Reasoning with evidence

• Discovering connections

• Exploring perspectives

• Finding complexity

• Imagining and envisioning

• Reflecting

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Museum established in 1937 with a generous donation by Andrew Mellon to the United States government Public-private partnership www.nga.gov

• Two buildings and sculpture

garden located on the

National Mall

• Approximately 160,000 works

of art by 15,000 artists

• Approximately 1,200 full-time

staff; many part-time staff;

more than 300 volunteers

• Open 363 days a year

• Always free

• On-site attendance is around 4 million visitors annually

Mission:

• Collecting: focus is American and

European painting, sculpture,

drawing, prints, photographs, and

media from the Byzantine period

to the present era

• Exhibiting: present 15 temporary

exhibitions annually

• Preserving: conservation research

• Educating: engage diverse

audiences through a variety of

educational experiences to foster

understanding and connections

with art, creating an environment

the encourages audiences to

have personally meaningful

experiences, look carefully, think

critically and take multiple

perspectives, explore art as

historical and cultural expression,

and reflect on the creative

process.

Audiences:

• Families: multi-generational approach

• School students: ages 4 – 18,

partnerships with DC public schools

• Educators: professional development

for teachers all all subjects (local and

national) and classroom resources

• Adult: films, concerts, tours, hands-on

workshops, after-hours events

• Academic: internships, symposia for

scholars,

research/evaluation/assessment of

program impact

• National (and International): website,

social media, publications and

learning resources, off-site training

and workshops, conference

presentations

• Tourist destination: different needs than

our local audiences

• Accessibility

“Powerful questions bring people together

in conversation.” -Václav Havel

Staff learning groups:

• What is our role in the 21st

century?

• What does it mean to understand

a work of art?

• How can we diversify our

audiences to better reflect the

United States’ population?

• How do we measure the impact

of our programs?

• How do we help audiences find relevancy within our collections?

Cabinet of Curiosities Cabinets of Wonder

Theater of the World Memory Theater

Wonder Rooms (Wunderkammer)

SEE

WONDER

CONNECT

REFLECT

“To see takes time,

like to have a friend takes time.”

-Georgia

O’Keeffe

See

• What do you see?

• Observe the formal

elements—color, line, shape,

texture

• Describe through multiple

modalities—words, sketch,

body, sounds

• Look for complexity, hidden

factors, multiple dimensions

• Linger in looking, suspend

judgement, and distinguish

observation from

interpretation

“Questions drive learning

and are the outcomes of learning.”

-Ron

Ritchhart

Wonder

• What does the work of art

make you wonder?

• What are you curious to learn

more about?

• What topics might you need to

learn more about in order to

better understand this work of

art?

• What might be some other

perspectives on this work of art

(or topic) other than your own?

“We are a part of the story.”

-Shari

Tishman

Connect

• What connections (similarities or differences)

do you see between this work of art and

others?

• How does this work of art connect with what

you already know / other disciplines?

• How does this work of art connect to your life,

your community, the world?

• How does this work of art make me feel?

• How might you respond to this work of art

through writing or art-making?

“We do not learn from experiences…

we learn from reflecting on experience.”

-John Dewey

Reflect

• How has your understanding of this

work of art (or topic) changed?

• What is complex or challenging

about this work of art (or topic)?

• What is your own perspective of

this work of art (or topic) and what

informs that view?

• What can you do with what you’ve

learned?

I used to think…

Now I wonder...

I will try...

Nathalie Ryan

Senior Educator & Manager

Gallery and Studio Learning

National Gallery of Art

Washington, DC

n-ryan@nga.gov