Article | Academic Programs: Teaching and learning with collections at the Allen Memorial Art Museum | Liliana MILKOVA | 2018
Jill Decrop Ernst
10 April, 2024
This article presents examples of collaboration between the staff of Allen Memorial Art Museum, and faculty and students from the Oberlin College to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and new ways to use the collections.
Milkova (2018) introduces 5 models for teaching with artworks, illustrating each one with several examples. For instance, model 4 introduces art as a primary text and cultural document, which is especially interesting for students who rely largely on texts as primary sources.
What was striking about this article is the variety of fields in which these models are implemented, going from Africana and religious studies to neuroscience, including music theory. In addition to showing the transferability of the approaches described, this highlights that teaching with objects can be implemented in all fields.
Section 2. Benefits and challenges of teaching with objects in different field in the State of the Field further reflects on teaching with objects in different fields. Section 5. Teaching with objects in different fields offers additional reflections on this topic.
Link to source:
Milkova, L. (2018). Art engagement and the college curriculum: Factors and strategies for success in collection-based teaching. University Museums and Collections Journal, 10, 67-76.
Milkova, L., Crossman, C., Wiles, S., & Allen, T. (2013). Engagement and skill development in biology students through analysis of art. CBE life sciences education, 12(4), 687–700.
Milkova, L., & Volk, S. S. (2014). Transfer: Learning in and through the Academic Museum. A Handbook for Academic Museums: Advancing Engagement, 29-63. Retrieved April 24, 2023 from