Learning & Loans

Conclusion: 73% (19) of 26 observations showed a lesson where questions could be recorded. Out of 385 recorded questions from 19 observations, 79% (305) of the questions were asked by teachers and 21% (80) of the questions were asked by students. 89% (343) of the questions were closed questions and 11% (42) were open questions.

In descending order of popularity, questions were concerned with: the design and function of the loan; its identification; with concepts beyond but related to the loan; with past or contemporary versions of the loan and with links to what students could remember or do.

Key: A "user" is a school that already uses the loan service. A "non-user" is a school that does not currently use the loan service.

1. School A: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
There was very little language used during play with the knitted farm. Learning occurred through experimentation.

2. School B: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 12
· What was that word?
· Can anyone remember the special name of the person who may dig up artefacts from the past?
· Just looking at it what do you think it does?
· What is it made of?
· What's best to keep in a wooden container?
· What couldn't be kept in here?
· What could it be?
· That's a good idea but what is it made out of?
· Has the person who designed it done it well?
· What was it used for?
· But why should we bother with them?
· Why not just use books?

Open questions asked by the teacher: 3
· What interest do artefacts have to us?
· What do we think about them?
· What questions do we ask about them?

Closed questions asked by the students: 3
· Was it their wig?
· Would they have put it on their washing so it would dry better?
· Is it your toes?

3. School C: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 2
· What do you have to make metal glasses comfortable?
· What is the rope made of now?
I did not see an introduction at the time of my visit so these were the only two questions that I witnessed.

4. School D: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
· Closed questions asked by the teacher: 12
· If you want to find out about India in the past what would you do?
· Where else could you go?
· How could you learn?
· How would you wear them?
· Do you think that they are ordinary shoes for that time?
· Do you think they are decorated enough for a king or princess?
· What's it made out of?
· Why a present?
· Did anyone decide what animal this might be?
· What is it?
· What is it used for?
· Who used it?

Closed questions asked by the students: 3
· Miss, is it a shoe?
· It looks like a dog, doesn't it?
· Am I right?

5. School E: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 17
· The other?
· One thing that's been on display?
· Eating them in order to?
· What is a food chain?
· What grows in a wood?
· What grows on trees?
· What animals, birds, insects may eat the plants that grow on trees?
· What may eat these smaller animals?
· Where do bees do their work?
· How does a tree begin?
· What insects may be found?
· What birds may be found?
· What animals may be found?
· Are you going to draw any old bee or are you going to draw it with wings, body and legs, in exactly the same place?
· Do you draw these in this box?
· Where do bees do their work?
· What would happen if we took away all the flowers in the world?

Closed questions asked by the students: 2
· Is it like drawing still life?
· Are the legs (of the Sparrowhawk) real?

6. School F: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teachers: 40
· What might each object do?
· An outline to remind yourself?
· Did you know what any of them were straight away?
· Were there labels?
· If there weren't labels what would you have used?
· How many?
· Is it thicker at one end than another?
· Is this right?
· Underneath?
· Is it a plough?
· Could I go down on the farm and see this today?
· Early or late Victorian?
· So a person went here?
· Where were the horses attached?
· Two?
· Where are the wheels?
· Is the frame a square or rectangle?
· What's the curve?
· Where's the wheel?
· Where?
· What's the difference?
· Is it something you would use to carry milk on your shoulders?
· Does a human carry it?
· Do horses carry it?
· Are the others all ploughs?
· Shall we do the last one?
· What can I draw first?
· How many?
· So where's the little wheel?
· Is it a farm machine?
· What did it do?
· It may have used coal?
· Which uses?
· Which produces?
· Where does steam go?
· Where?
· So it was only used to carry coal?
· Do you need to carry people on farms?
· 1700 - how many years is that before 1800?
· How old is that?

Open question asked by the teacher: 1
· Were they good?

Closed questions asked by the students: 2
· Can we draw it?
· Your brain?

7. School G: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the students: 11
· Is this Welsh?
· What's the question?
· What's ARP?
· Or is this a button or a badge?
· It could clip on?
· Maybe it was wedged in a hat?
· Ps. Charlotte of Wales?
· Warwickshire - where's that?
· ICDS - Irish Corporal…?
· It says ICDS - is it Irish?
· RA - Royal Army?

Closed questions asked by the teacher on the sheet: 9
1a) Can you sort out the buttons from the badges. How many buttons and badges are there?
1b) How can you tell the difference between them? Explain.
2a) Look at the buttons carefully. Where do you think you would find these buttons?
2b) What jobs do you think these people would have done?
3) Using the box to help you, can you identify each button? Write a list of the buttons you could identify.
4) Choose one button and draw it in detail. Label it and write what you notice.
5) Look at the badges carefully. Draw and label one of them.
6a) What do you think these badges were worn for?
6b) Who wore them? Were they in the British forces?
Bonus: Find out about the uniforms our soldiers wore in WWII. How did this compare to the German soldiers uniforms?

8. School H: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
As I was not shown a lesson but shown evidence from the lesson and displays, I do not know which questions were asked.

9. School I: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
I was not shown a lesson.

10. School J: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 18
· What did we have out?
· Were the models of old or new vehicles?
· What do you think is in this box?
· What was it used for?
· Things or people?
· What would we use now to transport things?
· Do we usually have a wheel always down at the back?
· How are they different?
· Do we have that now?
· What about the runway - what's missing for when it is dark?
· What do we have today?
· What can you see?
· Do you remember when we did a dance as cogs?
· Which works which axle?
· Remember our work on axles that we are doing?
· Why is there a big pipe at the front?
· Do we use coal now?
· What do we have?

11. School K: User: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 14
· What is copper?
· Who remembers the Masai?
· Who can say what it is decorated with?
· What is that?
· What is a game reserve?
· What are the animals kept safe from?
· What is extinction?
· Why might they be dying out?
· Why would someone want to kill an elephant?
· Who can tell me what an elephant tusk is made of?
· What are cheetahs killed for?
· What is this enlarged one that shows somewhere in Kenya?
· Do we have a kiwi?
· Are kiwis from Africa or New Zealand?

Open question asked by the teacher:
· Would you like to pass around this hat, Sophie?

12. School L: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 27
· What is it?
· What year/s was it built or used?
· What provides the power to make it move?
· What forces are acting upon the real thing when it is moving?
· What is pulling it down?
· What keeps it up?
· If it is flying are these forces balanced or unbalanced?
· How many people can sit in the coach?
· Do they just sit on the inside?
· What is special about that vehicle?
· Are there trains that run by electricity?
· A lot of hotels and pubs are still called "post house" - have you heard that name before?
· What is it?
· Why does it have a name?
· What is it?
· Could it be a form of carriage?
· What is it now?
· What Queen was alive when this was used?
· What evidence is there?
· What is it?
· What provides the power to make it move?
· Does it use petrol to make it work?
· How far is it across the Atlantic?
· If the world is 24,000 miles in circumference, half of it would be?
· And about a quarter of that would be?
· What's the real one made of?
· What's balancing it?

Closed questions asked by the students: 6
· Why don't people sit down on it?
· Why is it called the Rocket?
· Do you think that the train track is made up of electricity?
· How do you spell Victorian?
· Can I do 4 questions?
· Can we do this every day?

13. School M: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed?

I did not hear any questions from the students as they were working individually or in pairs and there was no class discussion.
Closed questions asked by the teacher on a question sheet: 4
· Study the vehicle closely. What is it?
· How did it operate?
· Look carefully at the collection. Draw and describe each item and what it was used for. What is it made of?
· Is it similar or different from today?

More open questions asked by the teacher on a question sheet: 4
· Look closely at the clothing. Draw and describe it. Who did the clothing belong to? (imagine)
· Who were they and where did they live? Write a story about the two of them set in the 1930's.
· Look in the trunk and describe each article. Who did the trunk belong to? (imagine)
· Imagine that person. Where did they live and where were they going?

14. School N: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 47
· What do you want to find out?
· Why did we say check there is nothing in them?
· Which is the worst one?
· What shape and size are they?
· Were they like the loans?
· What were you amazed about?
· So it had a head?
· Can you describe it?
· What does it eat?
· Do you mean different types of creatures?
· If we go back to the shell do you think the shape makes a difference?
· So the size of the creature inside would have fitted their shell?
· Do they change shells?
· Are they attached?
· Can we go back - someone mentioned algae?
· Would I find it in my garden?
· What did you slip on in the water when we were away?
· What plant life did you see near the seaside?
· Where?
· Is it the same as we have in the garden?
· What could you tell by the trees?
· How?
· Why?
· Why can they grow palm trees in Cornwall and I can't in my garden?
· What else did you see?
· What's it like?
· Where?
· How would you describe the texture just by looking?
· What do you mean?
· When you see them under the water, what do they look like?
· Why not now?
· What did it live on?
· Does this eat it?
· What eats it?
· If we'd gone out further would we have found coral?
· Have you seen a programme?
· Do you think it's a plant?
· It's living but neither a plant or animal?
· Did it have a name, that creature?
· What did you find out?
· What's the name of it?
· What is "depths"?
· Charlotte?
· What is "wing span"?
· What's that fact you found out?
· What rubbish?
· How?

More open questions asked by the teacher: 2
· What's amazing about it?
· If it doesn't have a head what sort of things do you want to ask?

Closed questions asked by the students: 9
· How does it see?
· How does it feel?
· How does it reproduce?
· What are its senses?
· What does it eat?
· Do you get different creatures in different shells?
· How did they get in?
· Has it got to do with the equator?
· Is it seaweed?

15. School O: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
The loans were used for display.

16. School P: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Open or closed questions?
I was not shown a lesson.

17. School Q: User: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 11
· Where is it a picture of?
· Why London?
· Who's the artist?
· Are there any people?
· What's in here?
· What are the main colours?
· Is it day or dark in the picture?
· What colours are in it?
· Is this a picture of a person?
· Or is it a landscape?
· Have we been doing portrait or landscape today?

Open questions asked by the teacher: 2
· Would you like to do the castle?
· You want to do it?

Closed questions asked by the students: 3
· What is it?
· Who brought this here?
· Is it heavy?

Open questions asked by the students: 2
· Does it matter?
· Have I worked hard?

18. School R: User: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
I was not shown the lesson but was taken through the plan and results by the teacher.

19. School S: User: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 7
· What colours can you see in the picture?
· Which colours can you see the most?
· Why do you think the artist chose those particular colours?
· Are there a lot of curvy or straight lines in the picture?
· What different types of shapes can you see in this picture?
· Are there some shapes in this picture that you haven't seen before?
· Why do you think the artist used these different shapes?

Open questions asked by the teacher: 16
· What do these colours remind you of?
· Choose 2 words to describe how the colours made you feel?
· If you were going to make a painting of this subject what colours would you use?
· What is your favourite colour?
· Why do you like that particular colour?
· What do the shapes remind you of?
· Look around the room at all the different shapes you can see. Describe 3 different shapes you can see in the room.
· Imagine you could "step into" the picture. How do you think you would feel?
· Now imagine walking around. Would you feel cold, cool, warm or hot?
· Touch the shapes around you. How do they feel?
· What sounds can you hear?
· Take a deep breath. What can you smell?
· What can you see in front of you?
· What is outside the picture?
· If you were playing hide and seek where would you hide in the picture?
· Imagine the picture is a video on pause. Switch the play button. What will happen next?

20. School T: User: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the teacher:
· What's a mortarium, rotary quern or amphora? Don't know? Come and see a display of Roman pottery and find the answers!
· How did the Romans live and what did they do for entertainment? The answer is in the Senior Library!

Open question asked by the teacher:
· Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a soldier during World War 1 and 2? Come and browse through a collection of WWI and WWII artefacts and try on a WWII gas mask!

21. School U: User: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
I did not witness any questions at that time.

22. School V: Non-user: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the students: 8+
· Why did they have chimneys?
· Was glass cheap?
· What was a farmhouse floor made of?
· Why was the outside of the house plastered?
· What is the name of the cheap frame they used?
· What is the expensive frame?
· What year was it made law that you had stone roofs?
· Name four differences between the rich and poor late Tudor dresses?
(+ at least 20 other questions that I did not have time to record)

Open questions asked by the students: 1
· Would anyone like to read what is on the overhead?

Closed questions asked by the teacher: 1
· Which ones are brand new foods?

Open questions asked by the teacher: 2
· Which one was best?
· Which one was worst?

23. School W: Non-user: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 3
· What's this? It is from the Blackfoot tribe.
· Have you seen a moose?
· What do you think this is?

Closed questions asked by the students: 6
· What's it made of?
· How did they make this?
· Is this Adidas?
· Is there money in there?
· Have you got a knife in there?
· Can we see the last loan? Just a little peek?

Open questions asked by the students: 1
· Why did the cowboys shoot the Indians?

24. School X: Non-user: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the students: 16
· Is this where they cooked it?
· What is this? Is this a lamp?
· Is this an egg cup?
· How do you get stuff like this?
· Is this a lid?
· Does it go here?
· They look new - like the 1980s. How is that possible?
· Where are the numbers? (on the box)
· How much is it worth?
· Is this mosaic?
· What's this?
· What is it?
· How do you put the key in?
· Where is the lock?
· How much would the museum give for these coins?
· How much are the coins worth?

Closed questions asked by the teacher: 1
· What is a stylus used for?

25. School Y: Non-user: Secondary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the students: 6
· What colour is it?
· What kind of shape?
· What does interpret mean?
· Is it hard?
· What picture is on it?
· Could it be a necklace?

Open questions asked by the students: 1
· 1988?

Closed questions asked by the teacher: 19
· Is it broken or in tact?
· What is it?
· What period of history?
· What is it? Do you piss in it? Is it a chamber pot?
· What age is it from?
· Why?(is it from the Viking age)
· What is it made out of?
· What colour is it?
· What does it look like?
· What is it part of?
· What do you think it is?
· What is wax attached to?
· Where would you find something like this with an impression?
· How did they make it?
· Why a coin? Could it be a stamp or signet ring?
· Why would they stick that onto a letter?
· What time period?
· Why not sign it and leave it at that?
· Do you think everyone was educated then?

Open questions asked by the teacher: 1
· What do you think?

26. School Z: Non-user: Primary
What type of questions were asked by the teacher and students? Convergent or divergent?
Closed questions asked by the teacher: 22
· What is in the box that we looked at two weeks ago?
· What parts does it have?
· Is it an adult or a child's skull?
· How did you know?
· What about hands?
· Put your hands up if you want to look at it again?
· Did you see it?
· What does that say?
· Do we open it?
· Is it a log?
· Are they like ours?
· Do you mean adults?
· Would a baby be able to cope with this shoe?
· Where would the toes be?
· This end or that?
· Who else might wear it?
· Who do you think this is for?
· Do babies wear shoes?
· What is it made out of?
· What question did I ask?
· What is it called when you make something out of wood?
· Is that a size or a museum code?

Open question asked by the teacher: 1
· Why (is it your favourite shoe)?

No questions:
1. School A: User: Primary: The session consisted entirely of mainly non-verbal play.
2. School H: User: Primary: They showed me a display mainly.
3. School I: User: Primary: They decided to show me a display not a lesson.
4. School O: Non-user: Primary: They used the loans for display.
5. School P: Non-user: Primary: I only saw the displays in the school.
6. School R: User: Primary: I only saw the students work, plans and display.
7. School U: User: Secondary: I did not witness questions in the time.

Open and closed questions asked by the teacher and the students:
Key: C/T is a closed question asked by the teacher; O/T is an open question asked by the teacher; C/S is a closed question asked by a student; O/S is an open question asked by a student.

8. School B: User: Primary: C/T=12; O/T=3; C/S=3
9. School C: User: Primary: C/T=2
10. School D: User: Primary: C/T=12; C/S=3
11. School E: User: Primary: C/T=17; C/S=2
12. School F: User: Primary: C/T=40; O/T=1; C/S=2
13. School G: User: Primary: C/T=9; C/S=11
14. School J: User: Primary: C/T=18
15. School K: User: Primary: C/T=14; O/T=1
16. School L: Non-user: Primary: C/T=27; O/T=3; C/S=6;
17. School M: Non-user: Primary: C/T=4; O/T=4
18. School N: Non-user: Primary: C/T=47; O/T=2; C/S=9
19. School Q: User: Secondary: C/T=11; O/T=2; C/S=3; O/S=2
20. School S: User: Secondary: C/T=7; O/T=16
21. School T: User: Secondary: C/T=2; O/T=1
22. School V: Non-user: Secondary: C/T=1; O/T=2; C/S=8; O/S=1
23. School W: Non-user: Secondary: C/T=3; C/S=6; O/S=1
24. School X: Non-user: Secondary: C/T=1; C/S=16
25. School Y: Non-user: Secondary: C/T=19; O/T=1; C/S=6; O/S=1
26. School Z: Non-user: Primary: C/T=22; O/T=1

Totals: C/T: 268; O/T: 37; C/S: 75; O/S: 5 = 385 questions in total