Cultural Connections Program Announcement

Program Announcement

Creating Optimal Conditions for Learning
Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 2:00-5:00PM
Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

Scattered attention. Dwindling focus. Sporadic reading. Museum fatigue.

Average adult museum visitors often behave as if they have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. Their reading and concentration is sporadic, despite average to high intelligence. So why not turn to true "at risk" learners to look for solutions to these perennial problems?

Dyslexics and persons with ADHD are from all walks of life, all ages, all backgrounds. What they share is a neurological difference that brings into sharp relief how the brain reads and understands, and how it focuses and attends. Since the 1990s, new technologies have revolutionized our understanding of how the brain perceives, remembers, and learns. By considering these at-risk learners our "canaries in the coal mine," museum professionals may better understand what conditions the average visitor needs in order to learn symbolically without feeling overwhelmed or put off.

Paul Gabriel—a learning specialist who has conducted preliminary research with learning disabled persons in museums—will lead this forum about "brain-based learning." He will briefly present how the field of educational therapy has aggressively moved to imbed its theory and practice in the recent findings of neuroscience research. To provoke dialogue, he will then suggest how this theory and practice might be applied to present museum practice—and directly elicit your thoughts, feelings, and reactions about how all of this might apply directly to the work you do.

Come challenge what you think about how people learn and question what you know about what people know.

Program

2:00-2:30	Arrival/Check-in
2:30-4:00	Presentation & Discussion
4:00-5:00	Networking and Refreshments
Program Fee	Free for Cultural Connections members $10 for non-members
Inquiries	Email info@cultural-connections.org
Location	Asian Art Museum 200 Larkin Street (between Fulton and McAllister Streets) San Francisco, CA (415) 581-3500
Directions	http://www.asianart.org/gettingthere.htm#directions

We have transitioned to ALL e-mail flyers.
If you have not provided us with your current email address, please let us know: membership@cultural-connections.org

Save these dates for future Cultural Connections programs:

Wednesday, December 14
What's Going On? Hot Topics in Bay Area Museums
NEW DeYoung Museum, San Francisco

Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Writing for Professional Publication
JFK University, Berkeley

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Public Speaking Workshop
Location TBD

Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Paradigm Shift: Income-Generating Programming
Location TBD