Abstract

Currently, dramatic changes take place in terms of rapidly emerging modes of communication, technologies, increased cultural diversity, evolving workplaces cultures, new challenges for equitable education and the varying and changing identities of students everywhere. Bearing this in mind, this paper argues the need for museums to respond to global trends by investigating the potential of multiliteracies theory and pedagogy to facilitate learning. Drawing from doctoral research, this paper will address: What sort of pedagogical approach and engagement with multiliteracies would empower museum visiting for learning 21st century skills? Briefly reporting on the role of museums in the 21st century, the core of this paper is to present a conceptual model called “Museum-based Multiliteracies-Dynamic Learning Approach” (MMDLA) where multiliteracies pedagogy plays a central role (New London Group 1996, Cope and Kalantzis 2000). The model presents a pedagogy-driven, research-led, and empirically-based approach. A single case study undertaken in the form of a Museum Learning Project (MLP) with a school group in Cyprus is described to explain implementation practices of the proposed model. Findings indicate that addressing museum-based multiliteracies can be meaningful for learning in museums, and particularly for museum-school relationships, as it recognizes the particular demands of developing learning experiences in museum settings that enable cultural participation (Mathewson-Mitchell 2007, 3).