Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The Impact of Curriculum Support through Museum/Education Partnerships in Rural Communities

<p> Museum education is a dynamic field, and often an underutilized or nonexistent resource in the educational sphere of rural communities. Within the current system of rural K-12 schools, a local museum can serve as both educational enrichment and entertainment/reward. The author’s research explores how museums in rural communities can actively collaborate with schools through a fusion of art and science using an interdisciplinary curriculum model to provide educational support and enrichment to both students and teachers. This research focused on high school students enrolled in a Title 1 charter school located within a rural district in east Texas. The author explored collaborative lesson planning with the student’s science teacher and co-created an interdisciplinary curriculum supporting art and environmental science concepts presented through several visits to a local natural history museum. The students who participated were encouraged to approach the museum visits as data gathering opportunities as they created artwork and presentations that illustrated the passage of time through environmental changes. Discussions of the efficacy of the lesson unit centered on student engagement, teacher resources, and the impact of regular museum visits on student attendance. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts - Art

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Gentry, Erin

Contributors dc:contributor

• William Nieberding
• Denise Davis
• David Lewis

• Interdisciplinary Curriculum
• K-12 Education
• Co-Teaching
• Rural Education
• STEAM
• Title 1
• Museum Education
• Art Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/608

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1647