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Teacher Meaning-Making at a Jewish Heritage Museum David Russell

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Teacher Meaning-Making at a Jewish Heritage Museum David Russell Museum-Based Teacher Education: Teacher Meaning-Making at a Jewish Heritage Museum David Russell Goldberg Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 David Russell Goldberg All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT MUSEUM-BASED TEACHER EDUCATION: TEACHER MEANING-MAKING AT A JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM David Russell Goldberg This study answers the question of what meanings teacher-participants make in Holocaust professional development at a Jewish heritage museum in a mandate state. By understanding these meanings, the educational community can better understand how a particular context and approach influences teacher meaning-making and the ways in which museum teacher education programs shape the learning of participants. Meaning- making is a process of interpretation and understanding experiences in ways that make sense to each individual teacher. Meanings that are formed may impact teachers’ pedagogic interpretation of the Holocaust, which may in turn shape their instructional practices. This instrumental case study used multiple interviews, observations, surveys and documents to explore the meanings teachers make about the Holocaust from participation in Holocaust professional development at a Jewish heritage museum. Participants in the study included nine teachers from public schools and private Jewish schools and two professional developers from the Museum. Each participant was interviewed three times, and six different professional development programs were observed over a period of six months. Programs typically lasted from one to six days and included a presentation by museum staff, Holocaust experts, and survivors. At any museum, each representation of the Holocaust conveys particular messages and mediates Holocaust history through a particular lens. This study reveals insights about how intended aims are interpreted in Holocaust professional development. Three categories emerged of meanings teachers made, namely (1) the hopeful narrative, (2) identity, and (3) the emotional narrative of the Holocaust. This study contributes to the larger field of professional development by partially filling in an area of missing scholarship on Holocaust professional development. Findings from this study may be used to plan future professional development programs on the Holocaust, as well as on other topics, through a deeper understanding of the meanings teachers make of multiple programs at one site. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................ i LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................................ viii I – INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................................ 5 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................................. 10 II – REVIEW OF SCHOLARLY LITERATURE ............................................................................. 17 Holocaust Education ....................................................................................................................... 18 Brief History of Holocaust Education in the United States ............................................ 18 Holocaust Educational Concerns ............................................................................................... 25 Holocaust Professional Development ....................................................................... 36 Defining Professional Development ........................................................................................ 43 Best Practices in Professional Development ..........................................................47 Museums and Education .............................................................................................................. 55 Museum Teacher Education ......................................................................................... 64 III – METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................... 73 Rationale for Qualitative Research Design ............................................................................ 73 Researchers Role ............................................................................................................... 77 Bounding the Study ......................................................................................................................... 80 Setting and Participants ................................................................................................. 80 Access to Site ..................................................................................................................... 82 Data Collection Procedure ............................................................................................................ 82 Observations ...................................................................................................................... 83 Survey Questionnaire ..................................................................................................... 85 i Interviews ............................................................................................................................. 86 Document Analysis .......................................................................................................... 88 Data Analysis Procedures .............................................................................................. 88 Triangulation ...................................................................................................................................... 90 IRB and Human Subjects Compliance .................................................................................... 91 Confidentiality................................................................................................................... 92 Data Management ............................................................................................................. 93 Use of the Data .................................................................................................................. 93 Limits of the Research ...................................................................................................................93 IV – FINDINGS ..............................................................................................................................................96 Overview of the Professional Development Programs ..................................................... 96 Jewish School Programs .............................................................................................. 104 Public School Programs ............................................................................................... 107 Programs for all Teachers ........................................................................................... 109 Museum of Jewish Heritage – Background and Context ..............................................112 Analysis of the Data .................................................................................................................... .117 The Hopeful Narrative ................................................................................................. 118 Personalizing the Holocaust ................................................................ 120 Rescuers and Resistance ....................................................................... 132 Identity ................................................................................................................................ 143 The Emotional Narrative ............................................................................................. 163 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 180 V – DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...................................................................................... 183 Cross-Case Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 184 The Physical Context .................................................................................................... 184 The Personal Context of the Teacher ..................................................................... 193 The Affective Desires of the Teacher .................................................................... 198 Implications ..................................................................................................................................... 204 ii Understanding Museum Identity and Teacher Meaning-Making ............... 204 Pedagogical
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