Evidence of Transformative Learning Experience From the Art Museum’s Adult Program

47 The inquiry-based approach in museum education often takes the form of an educator asking open-ended questions to facilitate discussions around artworks, while encouraging students in careful observation and interpretive processes (Terrassa et al., 2016). Openended questions might include “What do you notice?,” “Can you describe what you see?,” and “What makes you say that?” (Herz, 2010). However, although art museums are emphasizing learners’ experiences and their interpretative processes, many of these institutions still continue their “traditional deeply engrained, didactic, and expert driven practices” for adult learners (Clover & Bell, 2013, p. 40). Accordingly, adult learners are still more accustomed to lecture-based tours. For example, to encourage a group of adults to observe the details and share their imaginative thoughts about an abstract sculpture—tall, rectangular, empty in the center, and made of smooth marble stone—I asked them to imagine that they were the air surrounding the sculpture, and then asked what they saw and how they felt. Right away, one woman with a frown on her face stopped me and told me that she wanted to learn about the artist’s philosophy and intention, as well as the meaning of the artworks, and that I should talk instead of asking questions. Soon after, most of the participants walked away and looked for wall labels.