Affordances and Constraints of Online Museum Experiences for Family Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Learning From COVID-19 About Remote Teaching and Beyond

Abstract

Online museum experiences, or OMEs, expand access to museums beyond the physical building. With limited visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, many museums increased development of OMEs, including those for families. However, as most OMEs are developed for K-12 audiences, we have yet to understand how OMEs support families’ learning goals. In response, this paper reports findings from 11 interviews with parents about their families’ interactions with OMEs. We used quantitative discourse analysis to identify the affordances and constraints of OMEs for participation in learning, including science learning. From these findings, we developed multiple design recommendations for OMEs to effectively support families’ self-directed learning, and we describe future directions for understanding how OMEs support scientific reasoning in home-based contexts.

Authors

• Catherine L. Dornfeld Tissenbaum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• McKenna Lane, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign