Are you tired of using the same old thinking routines in your museum and gallery programmes? Maybe it's time to try something new? In this week’s episode, I'm sharing three exciting thinking routines that you can add to your repertoire.

These routines will help you engage your audience and encourage them to think creatively about art and objects.

• Start with the basics: building a repertoire of thinking routines.
• Experiment and try new thinking routines to stay curious and inspired.
• Three new thinking routines to try out: Imagine If, Take Note, and Creating Space for Learning
• Imagine If: a thinking routine for looking closely, finding opportunity, and pursuing new ideas.
• Take Note: a thinking routine for distilling ideas in response to a piece of art or an object.
• Creating Space for Learning: a thinking routine that is essentially a grounding exercise that helps us to prepare for any programme, class or task.

Three new thinking routines for you to try out. I hope you find them helpful in engaging your audience with art and objects in a new and exciting way.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

Episode 6 - 6 Essential Thinking Routines You Need in your Repertoire

Episode 16 - How to use See Think Wonder in your Art Discussions

Episode 57 - How to End Well

Episode 59 - 9 Thinking Routines to Improve your Powers of Observation

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

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Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m exploring the concept of creating intellectual comfort in your museum and gallery programmes. 

In my (forthcoming) book Slow Looking at Art: The Visible Thinking in the Museum Approach I have a chapter dedicated to creating a collaborative culture in your museum and gallery programmes. As part of this chapter, I talk about how important it is to make participants feel not only psychologically safe, but also intellectually safe. 

Museums can be intimidating spaces. And this is particularly prevalent in art museums and around art in general. So many people feel that museums are not places for them, that there is a prerequisite amount of information required before you can enjoy being in a museum.

Your job as a facilitator is to ensure that everyone feels confident and able to participate fully in your programme, whatever their motivation or knowledge level upon arriving. This is what it means to create intellectual comfort on a museum or gallery programme. 

In today's episode, I'm exploring what intellectual comfort is, why it's important and 8 ways you can foster it in your programmes.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

Episode 74 - How to Enjoy Art (without knowing anything about it)

Episode 44 - The 4 elements of a great introduction

Episode 48 - 10 types of questions you should never ask

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Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

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Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Articles quoted on Intellectual Safety:

Critical Communities: Intellectual Safety and the Power of Disagreement - Ashby Butnor

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1005647.pdf

The Importance of Intellectually Safe Classrooms for Our Keiki - Trevor Baba https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1237572.pdf

I have a guest for you today on the show. I’m really happy to be talking to Hannah Cushion about her work as an artist and educator. 

Hannah is an artist and museum educator working in London and Oxfordshire in the UK. Her work is interested in themes around archiving and preservation. She’s interested in why we keep the things we keep and who we're keeping them for. 

Since receiving a creative practice grant from Arts Council England in 2021, Hannah has been looking at ways to directly connect her museum practice with her art practice. 

This has led to the development of the Memory Bank Project, a collection of stories and memories connected to everyday objects. 

In our chat today, Hannah and I discuss how inclusivity, curiosity, and the opportunity to collaborate with people and to create meaningful connections with objects and between people are really important values in her practice.

Museum labels tell us one story but what if the objects themselves could talk? How do we encourage people to include their own stories and experiences when we talk about objects? 

As this project develops Hannah is exploring how she can adapt her skills as a facilitator to her role as a story collector.

We talk about what the Memory Bank Project is, how it works and how Hannah encourages participants to share their personal connections, stories, experiences and memories around an object. And we tell you how you can take part too!

So here it is, enjoy!

Links

Episode Web Page

https://www.hannahcushion.com/the-memory-bank

Instagram: @hannahcushionartist @thememorybankproject

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

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Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m exploring play in museum education practice. How can we create and lead playful museum programmes? How can we bring more opportunities for play into our guided tours and educational programmes?

I was inspired for today's post by our new theme in the Slow Looking Club. Every two weeks we have a new theme and right now we’re exploring play as the focus for our slow looking. We’re looking for depictions of play and playful approaches in art, but also how we can adopt a playful attitude to slow looking when we’re out and about.

This led me to thinking about how we can be more playful in our programmes when we are with visitors (of all ages, not just children) and incorporate more meaningful opportunities for play? 

Today I'm sharing 9 ways that you can incorporate play into your guided tours and programmes.

Links

Episode Web Page

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Episode 56 Learning to Love ‘Boring’ Objects through slow looking

Episode 45 - What we can learn from improv with Samantha Boffin

Episode 59 - 9 Thinking Routines to Improve your Powers of Observation

Episode 72 - Reacting to art with our bodies with Rachel Ropeik

Episode 25 - 3 Thinking Routines for Slow Looking and Drawing

Episode 61 - How mindfulness and drawing can help us to connect with art with Karly Allen

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Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Today I’m returning to one of my favourite subjects - questions. 

I’m going to explore open-ended questions in detail - not just what they are, but why they are important and when you can use them for the best engagement.

Plus, how can you get better at asking open ended questions and ask more of them in your programmes? How can you make sure that you don’t default to closed questions or recall questions? 

I'm sharing 4 ideas that will help you to ask more open-ended questions & keep the conversation flowing in an open and engaging way.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

The Art of Questioning Class with Claire Bown

Download the 2023 Ultimate Thinking Routine List

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Download my free guide - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

I often get asked about neutrality as a 'stance' for museum facilitators of discussions around art and objects. So today I'm addressing the question: How neutral do we need to be as a facilitator in the museum?  

Facilitation is a key part of creating engaging and interactive discussions around art and museum objects.

As a facilitator, you are guiding the process, creating participation and activating the learning and engagement. 

But do you have to be neutral too? 

If you look at the general definition of a generic facilitator you will often see the word ‘neutral’ or ‘impartial’ used.

What do these words actually mean? And what should we be neutral about? Is it even possible to be neutral as a museum facilitator?

Neutrality is a tricky concept and this subject is always quite a thorny one in my classes and trainings. Listen to today's new episode to find out what I recommend.

Links

EPISODE WEB PAGE 

Download the Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Episode 5 - The Art of Facilitation

Episode 44 - The 4 Elements of a Great Introduction

Episode 84 - Why Inclusive Language Matters with Margaret Middleton

I know thinking routines are a huge crowd pleaser.

I’m their biggest fan too - they have fundamentally changed the way I lead discussions around art and objects.

Used in combination with the other 7  practices of the VTM approach such as  good questions, a range of facilitation skills, slow looking  and more, you can create wonderfully engaging discussions in the museum about art and objects.

Used as part of a holistic approach, thinking routines will transform the way you work with objects and with audiences in the museum.

Thinking routines have wonderful benefits for the participants in your guided tours and educational programmes.

But I also believe thinking routines are incredibly useful and beneficial tools for you too - as a museum educator, guide, docent or teacher.  

And so today I’m going to focus on you - and I’m going to share some 6 key  benefits you’ll get  from working with these magical structures with art and objects. 

I going to talk about why routines are beneficial, the importance of structure, the flexibility of routines, how they help you to master sharing information and improve your questioning technique. And finally I’m ending with probably the biggest benefit of all - so stay tuned for that one!

Links

Episode Web Page

Download The Ultimate Thinking Routine List

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download my free guide - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Episode 3 - The Magic of Thinking Routines

Episode 62 - 7 Ways to be creative with thinking routines

Episode 12 - 6 Best Practices for Sharing Information

Episode 36 - Quick Ways to Improve your Questioning Technique

Using Thinking Routines To Formulate Better Questions

I’m talking to Margaret Middleton today about what inclusive language is and why it matters. 

Margaret Middleton is an American independent exhibit designer and museum consultant currently based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

With a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design and over 15 years of experience in the museum field, they work at the intersection of design and social justice.

We know museums aim to be welcoming places for everyone, but the ways museums communicate can unintentionally exclude and alienate visitors.

Likewise, when we’re working as museum teachers, guides and educators the words we choose when we communicate can hide unconscious biases and assumptions, especially about subjects like “family.”

10 years ago, Margaret created a tool called the Family Inclusive Language chart which helps us to choose words that avoid labelling and making assumptions about the identities and relationships between museum visitors. 

We discuss:

• the ways you might use the Family Inclusive Language chart in the museum
• how certain words, phrases and tenses can have a positive or negative effect on a group.
• why choosing the right words is just as important as avoiding the wrong ones.
• how we can be more intentional about the language we use and can train ourselves to not automatically default to words that may not be inclusive.

This chat will make you more aware of the language and the words you use when you’re with visitors in the museum. And you’ll gain useful insight into how thoughtful word choices have the power to create connections and include everyone. 

Links

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

Episode webpage (+ transcript)

margaretmiddleton.com for Family Inclusive Language chart, helpful articles, and other free resources

Margaret Middleton on Twitter

Welcoming Young Children into the Museum: A Practical Guide - Sarah Erdman, Nhi Nguyen, Margaret Middleton

What words come to mind when you hear the word ‘teenager’? Or the word ‘adolescence’?

Do you love working with teens or feel a little apprehensive? 

I’ve recently been facilitating some team trainings in museums about how to engage with teenagers and so I’ve been thinking a lot about the best ways to work with teens. It's also a subject I get asked about a lot. 

Here are some tips and ideas for better ways to engage with teenagers in the museum on your guided tours and programmes.

I'm exploring:

• Why our thoughts shape our attitude towards teens
• Seeing teenage behaviour through a developmental lens
• Positive reasons for working with teens
• Creating an inclusive, warm and friendly atmosphere
• The importance of shared ownership
• The role of open-ended questions and careful listening
• Reading the group and avoiding false clues
• Why less is more
• And why teens like to discuss themes of global significance

Links

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Download the NEW resource - how to look at art (slowly)

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown

5 harmful myths and 5 inspiring truths about teenagers - Big Think

Episode 44 - The 4 elements of a great introduction

I’m talking today about making space and time for slow looking.

So if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you'll know that I've been practising the art of slow looking for a long time now the last 11/12 years. And it's very much a personal practice and also something that I use with groups of all ages with a variety of objects, artworks, situations and places.

But why is it so important to incorporate slow looking into your guided tours, educational programmes and art experiences?

In today's episode you'll hear:

• who inspired my love of slow looking when I first got started in 2011
• myth-busting: about what slow looking is and how it works. 
• how slow looking is the key to engagement
• 3 main reasons why it's important to make space and time for slow looking
• how you can incorporate it into your guided tours, your educational programmes your online session, even if you think you don't have the time or the space
• the key benefits to including slow looking onto your programmes - whatever format they take

If you're not making space and time for slow looking, then you're really missing a trick - listen to today's episode about making the space and time for slow looking and embed it as a fundamental part of all your programmes.

Links

Episode 2 - What is slow looking (and how can I get started?)

Episode 7 - How to Develop a Daily Slow Looking Practice

Free resource - Thinking Routines for Observation

Free guide - how to look at art (slowly)

Support the Show

Join the Slow Looking Club Community on Facebook

Curated newsletter by Claire Bown