An Instructional Planning and Implementation of a Museum Tour Addressing Multiple Intelligences for First Graders

Contemporary museums are not only places where collections are protected and exhibited; they are also effective and efficient learning and teaching environments. However, both contemporary and traditional museums need to be improved in terms of their educational functions. This study planned and implemented a museum tour addressing multiple intelligences for first graders at primary school with the purpose of demonstrating an effective museum tour. The convenience sampling method was used for determining the participants of the study. The researcher, together with 5 primary school teachers, 120 first-grade students and 44 undergraduates from the Department of Primary Education at the Faculty of Education participated in the study. This study was designed as action research, which is one of the qualitative research designs. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations, and student-recalled questionnaires. The study showed that the teachers’ and the undergraduates’ thoughts about the planning and implementation were mostly positive, especially in terms of students’ motivation, detail planning and the undergraduates’ role of the implementation as qualified staff. Moreover, the findings related to the students’ learning indicated that it was stored in their long-term memory. As a result of the study, the museum tour plan addressing multiple intelligences for first graders will be an example of effective museum education for teachers and museum educators in various ways.