Teaching History in a Museum Setting Using a Service Learning Experience

Service-learning programs at museums can be effective, especially when coupled with learning style theory and sound teaching strategies. This study examines the training of high school students to lead family tours at Clayton, the restored nineteenth century Pittsburgh home of Henry Clay Frick. It uses the four learning styles profiles of David A. Kolb's experiential learning model (1984) as a lens through which to observe and analyze the effectiveness of teaching in the program. Kolb's model, in combination with Barry K. Beyer's Inquiry Based Learning Process (1971), becomes a gauge to check the degree and accuracy of students' increased knowledge and proficiency with historical information.