This thesis addresses adult education in a museum setting and measures adult learning during and after a museum visit. While a number of studies have investigated the impact of museum visits on children’s learning, there are few studies on adult learners. This thesis is an initial effort to fill that gap. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with 24 adult visitors at the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, California. The objective was to determine which exhibits were found to be of greatest interest to the visitor. Follow-up interviews were conducted four weeks later to measure retention. The qualitative data were grouped by responses and compared to the demographic data to reveal any relationships. The study found that while adult visitors may initially learn new information during their museum visit, the information is not retained; learning must be reinforced. The solutions offered to achieve this reinforcement are reflection, follow-up interviews, and additional museum visits.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis addresses adult education in a museum setting and measures adult learning during and after a museum visit. While a number of studies have investigated the impact of museum visits on children’s learning, there are few studies on adult learners. This thesis is an initial effort to fill that gap. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with 24 adult visitors at the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, California. The objective was to determine which exhibits were found to be of greatest interest to the visitor. Follow-up interviews were conducted four weeks later to measure retention. The qualitative data were grouped by responses and compared to the demographic data to reveal any relationships. The study found that while adult visitors may initially learn new information during their museum visit, the information is not retained; learning must be reinforced. The solutions offered to achieve this reinforcement are reflection, follow-up interviews, and additional museum visits. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lowman, Judy Ann"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jesunathadas, Joseph"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:52:53Z","subjects":["museum studies","adult education","Educational Methods","Other Education","Science and Mathematics Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/227","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jesunathadas, Joseph"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lowman, Judy Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-06-19T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["museum studies","adult education","Educational Methods","Other Education","Science and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/227"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis addresses adult education in a museum setting and measures adult learning during and after a museum visit. While a number of studies have investigated the impact of museum visits on children’s learning, there are few studies on adult learners. This thesis is an initial effort to fill that gap. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with 24 adult visitors at the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, California. The objective was to determine which exhibits were found to be of greatest interest to the visitor. Follow-up interviews were conducted four weeks later to measure retention. The qualitative data were grouped by responses and compared to the demographic data to reveal any relationships. The study found that while adult visitors may initially learn new information during their museum visit, the information is not retained; learning must be reinforced. The solutions offered to achieve this reinforcement are reflection, follow-up interviews, and additional museum visits.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["ADULT EDUCATION IN A MUSEUM SETTING REQUIRES REINFORCEMENT"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jesunathadas, Joseph"],"dc:creator":["Lowman, Judy Ann"],"dc:date.available":["2015-06-19T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis addresses adult education in a museum setting and measures adult learning during and after a museum visit. While a number of studies have investigated the impact of museum visits on children’s learning, there are few studies on adult learners. This thesis is an initial effort to fill that gap. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews with 24 adult visitors at the Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley, California. The objective was to determine which exhibits were found to be of greatest interest to the visitor. Follow-up interviews were conducted four weeks later to measure retention. The qualitative data were grouped by responses and compared to the demographic data to reveal any relationships. The study found that while adult visitors may initially learn new information during their museum visit, the information is not retained; learning must be reinforced. The solutions offered to achieve this reinforcement are reflection, follow-up interviews, and additional museum visits.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/227"],"dc:subject":["museum studies","adult education","Educational Methods","Other Education","Science and Mathematics Education"],"dc:title":["ADULT EDUCATION IN A MUSEUM SETTING REQUIRES REINFORCEMENT"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:52:53Z"}