Principles of Interpretation

1. Principles of Interpretation • Discuss facts • Appeal to the imagination and reason • Give flesh and blood to cold facts • Make life stories of inanimate objects • Deal with principles rather than isolated information • Give biographies rather than classifications

2. Principles of Interpretation • Appeal to the visitors first interest • Information is the raw material of interpretation • Through interpretation, understanding; through understanding, appreciation; through appreciation, protection • Wisdom is not knowledge of many things, but the perception of the underlying unity of seemingly unrelated things. • Children absorb facts and instances, not abstract processes

3. Principles of Interpretation • Interpretation sometimes uses “judicious silence” • In other words allow the beauty of the item to speak for itself

4. The process of interpretation • Communication: • Unidirectional • Usually one-way communication via stories, images, or ideas • Common form of communication in interpretation • Multidirectional • High level of exchange among the participants • They share their experiences, knowledge or discoveries. • Usually less formally structured

5. Group structures • Didactic Structure • Interpreter informs the listeners • Speeches, film etc. Visitor Visitor Visitor Interpreter Visitor Visitor

6. Tutorial Structure Let me see how you are coming and help you over any barriers Group structures Visitor Visitor Interpreter Visitor

7. Individual Task Structure • Individual Task Structure • Interpreter assigns tasks to individuals Visitor Task Visitor Interpreter Task Task Visitor

8. Small Group task structure • Interpreter assigns tasks to groups check on progress • Compare when you are finished

9. Small Group Task Structure Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor Interpreter Task Task Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor

10. Conference Structure • Interpreter allows free discussion among visitors, then stays out of the way

11. Conference Structure Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor Visitor

12. Group Meeting Structure • Interpreter enters as a member of the conference structure, raises problem, but remains nonjudgmental

13. Group Meeting Structure Visitor Visitor Visitor Interpreter The Problem Visitor Visitor Visitor

14. Socratic structure • Interpreter poses questions, promotes discussion/dialogue

15. http://www.nps.gov/search/query-meta?q=interpretation&v%3Aproject=NPS&as_sitesearch=http://www.nps.gov/search/query-meta?q=interpretation&v%3Aproject=NPS&as_sitesearch=

16. How do we learn? • Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day • Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime • But!!!!! • Teach a man to learn, he doesn’t have to eat fish all of the time.

17. How do we learn? • How do we absorb general information • 5 senses • Sight 75% • Hearing 13% • Touch 6% • Taste 3% • Smell 3%

18. How do we learn? • Modalities for learning • Visual • Auditory • Kinesthetic • Symbolic/abstract

19. Learning Theories • Learning Domains • Cognitive Domain • Deals with rational mind and processing information • Classifications, concepts etc • Affective Domain • Emotional/feelings

20. Learning Theories • Learning Domains • Kinesthetic Domain • Involves motor skills

21. Cognitive Development Theory • Piaget • Stage I Sensorimotor (0-2 years of age) • Develops organized patterns of behavior • Uses sensory and motor activities as a primary means of learning • Stage II Preoperational (2-7 years of age) • Masters symbols (words) • Centers attention on one thing at a time

22. Cognitive Development Theory • Stage III Concrete Operations (7-11 years) • Generalizes from concrete experiences • Unable to mentally manipulate conditions not yet experienced • Stage IV Formal Operations (>11 years) • Able to form hypothesis • Deals with abstractions

23. Cognitive Development Theory • Finalistic or functional • What is the purpose of the plant • Causal or logical • Anthropomorphic • Purposive or utilitarian

24. Social Cognition Theory • Egocentric (3-6) • Subjective (5-9) • Look at things from own perspective • Self-reflective (7-12) • Can look at things from others perspectives • Mutual (10-15) • Can look at things from a third person perspective • In-depth and societal

25. Bloom’s Taxonomy

26. Bloom’s Taxonomy • Knowledge • Facts • Comprehension • Understands information and can translate it • Application • Takes information from several sources and relates them to new situations

27. Bloom’s Taxonomy • Analysis • Breaking down ideas into components • Synthesis • Creating new ideas from old components • Evaluation • Appraises or judges information

28. Moral Development Theory • Preconventional morality • Fear on punishment • Maximizing pleasure/minimizing pain • Conventional Morality • What significant others think • What society thinks • Postconventional Morality • Justice and fairness • Self-respect

29. Learning styles • Action oriented (Dionysian) • Existential approach to life • Actual-spontaneous • They like to experience things • Lectures are boring • Epimethean temperament (Actual routine) • Doesn't like to be rushed • Likes lectures & traditional learning

30. Learning styles • Promethean temperament (conceptual-specific) • Enjoys thinking and learning • Like to collect, organize and classify • Research oriented • Can focus on a specific topic/point for long periods of time • Doesn’t like routine and structure

31. Learning styles • Appollonian temperament (conceptual-global) • Seek significance of events and try to discover meanings and relationships • Breakdown (pg 138) • Actual spontaneous (38%) • Actual routine (38%) • Conceptual-Specific Learners (12%) • Conceptual-Global Learners (12%)

32. Cognitive Map Theory • ??????

33. Learning Theories • Constructivist • How people make meanings • Everyone has a “construct” of information and attitudes that they bring to any learning process • “visitors make meaning in the museum; they learn by constructing their own understandings.”

34. Learning Theories

35. So what do we need to know about learning theories? Common sense reminders • Learning is an act of structuring and relating information and experiences • People process information differently, at different ages, and among different individuals and cultural groups • A sense of comfort and security affects a person’s readiness to learn • When people feel good about the person facilitating the learning experience, they care about and remember the information presented

36. So what do we need to know about learning theories? • Most people learn more easily when they use many of their senses • Many people tend to remember most what they do, and less of what they see or read, and least of what they hear. • A variety of approaches to a subject enhances the learning process by making it more interesting and by meeting then needs of the learners • Self-discovery is a powerful motivator • An organized presentation of information and activities helps many people learn • Repetition can effectively facilitate learning.

37. Writing for Interpretation • Writing is the hardest work in the world not involving heavy lifting • Writing is an essential skill for interpreters • It allows you to put into writing key elements • It also allows you to get your point across

38. Writing for Interpretation • All writing is communication • Creative writing is communication through revelation --- it is the self escaping into the open • Keys to good writing (communication) • Never put more than one idea in a sentence • Use short words • Use short sentences • Use short paragraphs

39. Writing for Interpretation • Keys to good writing (communication) • Write action verbs (avoid to be etc) • Appeal to the five senses when appropriate • Use accurate colorful words • Think rhythmically when combining and choosing words

41. Preparing to Write • Know the purpose • What are your objectives? • Define them before you start • Avoid tangents • Know the audience • Target the audience • If you have children, write in a language they will understand • If you have a learned group, write accordingly • Know the subject • Do you homework • Get beyond the basic facts • Interpreter should be able to shape and mold the message (comes with knowledge

42. Writing (Structure) • Structure • Very important in writing since it directs the reader toward where the writer intends them to go • Lead • Captures the readers attention, indicates the general theme • Transition • Tells the reader about the subject and its relevance • Moves the reader smoothly from the lead into the body

43. Writing (Structure) • Development • The body of the work • Key points are addressed or discussed • Chronological order is important if discussing historical events • Deductive order takers the reader from the familiar to the unfamiliar • Inductive order draws general conclusions from specific facts • Strong ending • Summarize the article in a thematic, colorful way.

44. Print Media • Brochures, flyers, newsletters, signs, booklets • Brochures • Most commonly used form of written interpretation • Estimated that 4,000 brochures come from federal agencies • Advantages • Easy to distribute • Low cost comparatively • Disadvantages • Reading issues • Cold, impersonal

45. Print Media • Here is a nice formula that I don’t expect you to remembger • Fraction of selection= Expectation of reward/effort required

46. Print Media • Tips for brochures • Title • Color • Layout • Composition • Margins • Font

47. Print Media • Tips for Signs and Labels • Contrast • Lighting • Lettering

48. Museums and Visitor Centers • American Association of Museums (1998) • 7,700 museums in the united states • Visitor Center • Visitor center, interpretive center, nature center, trailside museum, history center

49. Museums and Visitor Centers • They are often used interchangeably • Museums • Contains original objects, brought in for display in a convenient place • Visitor Centers • also have original objects, but they come from right outside the door. • In other words, the visitor center is near the genus loci

50. Museums and Visitor Centers • Both serve as orientation and education instructions to the greater world around them. • Their intention is to make the visitor more aware of the historic phenomenon, or items being presented • Historic building or site • Often located right on site and serve as a visitor center or museum of the site.