Karen Knutson

Research Associate and Associate Director, UPCLOSE

knutson@pitt.edu

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Collaborative creative thinking and communication processes in the design and development of museum spaces. Visitors’ learning and meaning making and museum education strategies.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D. Curriculum Studies, University of British Columbia, 2000
• M.A. Art History, Queen’s University, 1995
• B.A. (hons.), Art History, Queen’s University, 1992

NATIONAL SERVICE and RECOGNITION

• Institute of Library and Museum Services (2008). Presentation to panel on the Future of Libraries and Museums in the 21st Century. at the National Academies, Expertise and experience: Museums, a place for talk.
• National Research Council (2006) Presentation to the Board of Informal Science Education at the National Academies, Perspectives on research on learning in informal environments.
• Chair Publications committee, Visitor Studies Association (2008 to present).
• Board member, Visitor Studies Association    (2007-present)
• Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award, Association of Science and Technology Centers award for innovative professional practice for the UPCLOSE partnership with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. (2005)
• Met Life Promising Practice award from the Association of Children’s Museums, for innovative business practices, awarded to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and UPCLOSE (2004)
• Co-Chair, Visitor Studies Association Annual Conference (2004)
• Co-chair Division C4b Out of School Learning Environments, annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (2001)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Knutson, K. (2013). Exploring Art and History at the Warhol Museum Using a Timeweb.  In Drotner, K. & Schroeder, K. (Eds). Museum Communication and Social Media: The Connected Museum. (pp. 93-110). New York: Routledge.
• Russell, J., Knutson, K., & Crowley, K. (2012).  Informal learning organizations as part of an educational ecology: Lessons from collaboration across the formal/informal divide. Journal of Educational Change.
• Knutson, K. & Crowley K. (2011). Construindo uma ponte entre Museus e Visitantes. Bienal do Mercosul. Mediaçao traçando o territorio. Porto Allegre, 43-45. Portuguese translation of: Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2006). Bridging the gap between museums and visitors. Visitor Studies Today, 9 (3): 16-17.
• Giarrantani, L., Parikh, A., Di Salvo, B., Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2011). Click!: Pre-teen girls and a mixed reality role playing game for science and technology. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 3.6, 121-138.
• Knutson, K, Crowley, K, Russell, J, Steiner, M. (2011). Approaching art education as an ecology: Exploring the role of museums. Studies in Art Education. 52.4, 326-338.
• Luke, J. & Knutson, K. (2010). Beyond Science: Implications of the LSIE report for Art Museum Education. Curator 53.2, 229-237.
• Knutson, K. & Crowley. K. (2010). Connecting with art: How families talk about art in a museum setting. In M. K. Stein & L. Kucan (Eds.), Instructional Explanations in the Disciplines. New York: Springer.
• Sanford, C., Knutson, K., Crowley, K. (2007). “We Always Spend Time Together on Sundays”: How Grandparents and Their Grandchildren Think About and Use Informal Learning Spaces. Visitor Studies, 10 (2), 136-151.
• Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2006). Bridging the gap between museums and visitors. Visitor Studies Today, 9 (3): 16-17.
• Leinhardt, G. & Knutson, K. (2006). Grandparents speak: Museum conversations across the generations. Curator, 49 (2), 235-252.
• Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2005). Museum as learning laboratory: Developing and using a practical theory of informal learning. Hand to Hand. (Part 1 of 2) 18(4), pp. 4-5.
• Crowley, K. & Knutson, K. (2005). Museum as learning laboratory: Bringing research and practice together. Hand to Hand. (Part 2 of 2). 18(5), pp. 3,6.
• Knutson, K. (2004). What does a lifelong learning community look like? Pulling it all together. In M.Maher, (ed.) The 21st Century Learner: The continuum begins with early learning. (44-45). Washington, DC. Association of Children’s Museums.
• Leinhardt, G. & Knutson, K. (2004). Listening in on museum conversations. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.
• Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2004). Review of Behind the scenes in the Science Museum, Science Education. 88.2, 297-300.
• Leinhardt, G., Knutson, K., Crowley, K. (2003). Museum Learning Collaborative redux. Journal of Museum Education, 28.1, 23-31.
• Leinhardt, G., Crowley, K., & Knutson, K. (Eds.). (2002). Learning Conversations in Museums. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Knutson, K. (2002). Creating a space for Learning: Curators, educators and the implied audience. In Leinhardt, G., Crowley, K., & Knutson, K. (Eds.). Learning Conversations in Museums. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Leinhardt, G., Tittle, C. & Knutson, K. (2002). Talking to oneself: Diaries of museum visits. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning Conversations in Museums. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Knutson, K. (2000). Musings: On methods for studying museum visitors. Available at: http://www.museumlearning.com.
• Knutson, K. (1997). Issues in art and text at the Vancouver Art Gallery. In S. Thunder-McGuire (Ed.) Marilyn Zurhmuelhen Working Papers in Art Education, 1996-1997 (pp.151-157). Iowa State University.
• Dymond, A., Hickson, S., Hoffman, J., Knutson, K., McAtee, C., Petrie, L., & Spasoff, N. (1994). Curio/Specimen/ Art: Labelling Native Culture (exhibition and ex. cat.). Kingston, ON: Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

• Knutson, K. (2011, April). More than exposure: How to think about learning in art museums. Invited speaker. SIG: Informal Learning. American Educational Research Association annual meeting, New Orleans, LA.
• Knutson, K. (2011, Jan.). Current trends and research in informal learning environments. Invited Speaker, University of Washington Museum Studies Program. Seattle, WA.
• Knutson, K. (2010, Nov.) Connecting through the gallery: Thinking about disciplinary traces and transfer in an interactive museum setting. Designing Bridges: Structures for Learning Across Sites. Intermedia, University of Oslo, Oslo. NO.
• Knutson, K. (2010, Sept.). Co-authoring, participation, interactivity and authority: What does it mean to engage with art in a museum and an online context? Invited presentation, Expert Summit, “Transnational research agenda for digital museum futures: cultural industries, public good, social resource?” DREAM: University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen.
• Knutson, K. (2009, May). Building a New Town Square at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Museums Australia National Conference held at Newcastle City Hall, NSW, Australia.
• Crowley, K. & Knutson, K. (2007, Nov.) The need for a practical theory of museum learning. Presented at Institut für Wissensmedien IWM / Knowledge Media Research Center KMRC, Tubingen, Germany.
• Knutson, K. (2003, June). Creativity and the design of museum environments. The Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, and Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
• Knutson, K. (2003, May). Learning theory research in museums: What do people learn from visiting museums and how do they learn it? Invited presentation, annual meeting of the American Association of Children’s Museums, Houston, TX.
• Knutson, K. (2003, March). What does research tell us about museum learning? Invited presentation, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA.
• Knutson, K. (2003, October). What research tells us about learning in museums? Invited presentation, Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.

PRESENTATIONS

• Knutson, K. & Crowley, K. (2012, April). Activating Young Science Learners: Igniting Persistent Engagement in Science Learning and Inquiry. AERA annual conference, Vancouver, BC.
• Ellenbogen, K, Crowley, K., Knutson, K. (2011, July). Building informal science education: Synthetic analysis and cross-ISE connections. VSA conference, Chicago, IL.
• Knutson, K. (2010, Oct.) From Object to Evidence: Rethinking what’s real in Science Museums. ASTC Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI.
• Russell, J. L., Knutson, K., Crowley, K., Kisa, J. & Steiner, M. A. (2010, May). Collaborations bridging the formal-informal divide in an educational ecology. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.
• Knutson, K. (2008, March). Talking about art: Thinking about concepts in an informal setting. Paper presented annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
• Knutson, K. (2004, August). Developing expertise: Supporting art learning in a children’s museum. Visitor Studies Association annual meeting, Albuquerque, NM.
• Knutson, K. (2004, May). Creating a lifelong learning community. ACM annual meeting of the American Association of Children’s Museums, New Orleans, LA.
• Knutson, K. (2004, April). Two installations, one show: Aluminum by Design: From Jewelry to Jets. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
• Knutson, K. (2002, May). Museum research:  On visitors, conversations and the curatorial message. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education annual meeting, Toronto, ON.
• Knutson, K. (2002, March). Visitors, conversations and the curatorial message. Paper presented at the National Art Education Association Conference, Miami, FL.
• Knutson, K. (2001, April). How are conflicting notions of visitor learning reconciled in museum exhibits?  Plenary session at the Pennsylvania Statewide Museum Conference, Pittsburgh, PA
• Knutson, K (2001, April). Creating a space for learning: Curators, educators, and the implied
• Audience. Invited paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.
• Leinhardt, G., Tittle, C. & Knutson, K. (2000, April). Talking to oneself: Diaries of museum visits. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
• Knutson, K. (1999, April). Postmodernism and writing history for the public. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, QC.
• Knutson, K. (1999, March). Aesthetics, multiculturalism, and the museum. Paper presented at the National Art Education Association Conference, Washington, DC.
• Knutson, K. (1999, March). Entry points and webs of meaning in the museum. Paper presented at the National Art Education Association Conference, Washington, DC.
• Knutson, K. (1998). Visitor studies: Expectations and experiences. Invited presentation at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC.
• Knutson, K.  (1998). Exhibition as narrative form: Possibilities. Paper presented at Explorations in Research III Annual Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
• Knutson, K. (1998, March). Writing for “Studies in Art Education.” Panel presentation at the National Art Education Association Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Knutson, K. (1996, March). Hanging Emily: Issues in art and text at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Paper presented at the National Art Education Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Knutson, K. (1996). Text use in gallery settings. Invited presentation at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC.