Practicing What We Preach: What Can We Learn From Tourism Research to Help Us Teach Tourism Managers?

Gianna Moscardo

It has almost become a cliché to begin a discussion of tertiary education in western countries with a statement about the crises and challenges currently being faced. Some of these challenges (Braxton et al 1996, Poole et al 1998, Stephens et al 1998) include the following points:

Increasingly diverse student populations,
Greater pressure on tertiary institutions to be self funding,
Increased student numbers,
Greater mobility amongst students and more competitive pressures on institutions to attract students,
Greater demands from students for better services and a quality education

One of the most commonly discussed challenges is that of ensuring that tertiary graduates have the skills necessary to be successful citizens of the future. There is growing concern amongst students, employers and the community in general that tertiary institutions are not providing the level of educational quality that is expected or required. A survey of more than 1100 employers in Australia, for example, concluded that the five most important skills for a tertiary education graduate were creativity, independent and critical thinking skills, flexibility, problem solving and oral business communication skills (ACNeilsen, 2000). This survey also found that employers rated graduates as deficient in three of these skills, creativity, problem solving and oral business communication skills. Greenan et al (1997) report on a similar set of conclusions from the United Kingdom, while Braxton et al (1996) review literature detailing these same challenges in the United States.

Tourism as an applied field is also subject to these pressures to improve student outcomes. Ritchie (1993) noted that a major challenge for tourism educators was to “meet the short term employment needs of industry while attempting to prepare students for long term success in their careers”. Interestingly many of the challenges facing tourism educators also face tourism managers. Many articles and reports on tourism research begin with statements about increasing pressures being faced by tourism managers in terms of catering to several growing factors:

Diversity of tourism populations.
Competition amongst destinations to attract tourists.
Demands from tourists for a quality experience.
Pressure from governments and communities for tourism managers to balance the short-term needs of tourism business with the longer-term sustainability of tourism as a whole.

Is it possible then that some of the results of research into improving the quality of tourism management may have applications for tourism education? This paper will argue that the answer to this question is yes. In particular there are many lessons to be learnt from research into the effectiveness of interpretation for tourists that can be used to improve the quality of tourism education. The Society for Interpreting Britain’s Heritage defines interpretation as “the process of explaining to people the significance of the place or object they have come to see, so that they enjoy their visit more, understand their heritage and environment better, and develop a more caring attitude towards conservation. It is a central activity in guided tours, museums, zoos, art galleries, historic sites and precinct, and visitor information centres. Like tertiary students tourists are voluntary participants and have many choices and options. Like tertiary students tourists make many choices about what they will attend and what they will pay attention to. Like tertiary students tourists vary in many ways including their reasons for being in a setting, their previous experience, and their pre-existing skills and levels of knowledge. There are clear parallels between the tasks of helping visitors to understand the places they visit and helping students understand the nature of tourism. This paper will review this area of tourism research before making a series of suggestions for improving tourism education.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT FROM INTERPRETATION RESEARCH?

Variety is the spice of life!

One of the most common findings in interpretation research is that repetition in interpretive activities is associated with negative outcomes. Any repetition quickly loses visitor attention and without attention it is difficult to have successful communication. Figure 1 shows the average time spent by visitors looking at paintings in art galleries as initially described by Robinson in 1928 (cited in Bitgood 1988). This pattern is one of the most common and enduring findings in visitor research. Robinson found the same pattern in 4 different art museums ranging in size from 6 rooms displaying 140 paintings to 40 rooms displaying more than 1000 paintings.

Figure 1: Basic Pattern of Visitor Attention In Art Museums of Varying Sizes.

This pattern has also been found across whole interpretive settings where similar exhibit styles, materials and formats are used. A group of American researchers, Falk et al (1985) observed visitors as they moved through museums and concluded that visitors "allocated their attention in a consistent pattern. Visitors spent the first few minutes orienting themselves, the next half-hour intently attending to exhibits, and the remaining 15 to 30 minutes "cruising" through the balance of the museum, stopping occasionally to look carefully at some of the exhibits."

Study	Types of Interpretation Examined	Major Conclusions
Birney (1988)	Compared a traditional caged birds display to the same display with the addition of an interactive exhibit on bird wing movement	Visitors in the second condition learnt more about bird movement than those in the first condition
Bitgood et al. (1990)	Compared a board walk through a zoo exhibition area to the same walk with life size cut outs of the animals in the area placed by the board walk.	Visitors paid greater attention to the displays in the area when the cut outs were introduced.
Blud (1990)	Compared a traditional text and graphics display in a science museum to the same display with a touch button game added and the same content placed in an interactive exhibit format.	The interactive format created the greatest increase in visitors’ understanding of content, but the push button and the interactive versions were better than the traditional static display.
Brockmeyer et al (1983)	Visitors on a guided walk where the guide encouraged participants to use all their senses and asked them questions were compared to visitors on a traditional walk where the guide did the talking and the visitors listened only.	The first group remembered more details about the walk and enjoyed their walk more
Falk et al. (1992)	Compared visitor responses to a traditional science museum display and to the same display with changed labels that asked visitors questions about the content.	New labels increased time spent at the display and visitors who experienced the new labels to the topic than those who experienced the traditional version.
Horn (1980)	A traditional look and listen to the guide tour of an art gallery was compared to an inquiry tour where the guide asked questions and encouraged discussion.	Visitors on the inquiry tours reported much higher enjoyment and learning than those on the traditional tour.
Jacobson (1988)	Compared visitors who went along a national park walking trail with visitors on the trail when signs with information about the setting were added, to visitors on the trail who were given a brochure about the setting and visitors who took a guided trial walk.	Signs, brochure and a guide were all more effective at increasing visitor knowledge than the walk alone. The guided tour was given the best ratings but the biggest improvement in visitor ratings was between no interpretation at all and adding the signs.
Ogden et al. (1993)	Compared visitors to a tropical zoo exhibit with visitors to same area with addition of background sound effects.	Use of sounds increased visitor enjoyment and learning and had a positive influence on attitudes towards the animals.
Worts (1990)	Compared visitors to a traditional art gallery with visitors to the same gallery after interactive displays were installed.	The interactive displays were associated with increased attention to the art and greater enjoyment of the gallery.

Table 1: Selection of Studies Into Visitor Responses to Interpretation

Looking at the reverse situation, equally clear and consistent patterns of results indicate the positive benefits of variety in interpretive activities. Numerous studies have been conducted which compare the traditional or common version of an interpretive activity, such as a trail or exhibit, with the same activity subjected to various alterations. Table 1 presents the results of a selection of these studies. There are two important points that can be made based on the results reported in Table 1. Firstly, changes that allow visitors greater opportunities to interact with the information or objects on display are associated with increased visitor learning. Secondly, it appears that any change away from a traditional or expected format has the greatest impact on visitors.

The positive benefits of a change in pace or style in an interpretive setting or activity are clear in the comments of visitor themselves. In the Smithsonian Institute in Washington an evaluation study found positive responses for Discovery Corners, which offered both contact with a guide and the opportunity for interaction with objects. When asked why the experience was so positively rated, it was common in visitors' answers to find references to a different experience or change of pace to the other activities and exhibits available. In the words of the visitors;

"It breaks the monotony of pace - which is good. I never saw a presentation anything like this in a museum before. It's a good idea. It wouldn't be good to have these all over the place but here and there it gives you something different to do." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz 1979).

Provide Personal Connections

The Smithsonian study on visitor responses to the Discovery Corners also noted another common theme in visitors responses, that of the possibility for personally relevant explanations. Again in the words of the visitors themselves:

"It's something personal that you can do. When you get a chance to have a personal thing like this you don't feel so lost." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz 1979).

It is clear from the comments made by visitors in survey and interview studies that being able to find or make a personal link is a major factor influencing their satisfaction and how much they feel they learn. Table 2 lists some visitor comments that provide both support for this proposal but also some examples of how such personal connections can be made.

"The analogies the woman used were ones that any child could understand. It was really great." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz, 1979, p. 32).

"You really learn more if there is a story or an experience. You can look all day - - but if it all comes closer to home, you remember more if you can come closer to the objects." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz, 1979, p. 29).

"Having a person to ask questions was really good. The woman can talk and answer the questions that we have -- an exhibit can't." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz, 1979, p. 33).

"You can handle the objects, touch them and feel them. You're not just looking in, but you can be part of it too." (Wolf, Munley and Tymitz, 1979, p. 34).

"Putting Snoopy in there shows the museum has a sense of humor. I like that. . . . Everything doesn't have to be dry and scientific. Having Snoopy there shows that the museum is part of our daily life." (Wolf and Tymitz 1981, p. 32)

"I'd like to learn about ways to improve the environment. There should be more about the future - - what's going to happen, what we can do." (Wolf and Tymitz 1979, p. 39).

"When I go through the hall on the rocks I see lots of rocks placed by other rocks and I see the categories and classifications of rocks -- but in here if I don't want to look at the fossils, I can choose to look at other kinds of things that the museum has. I guess what I'm saying is I feel like I have a choice." (Wolf and Tymitz, 1978, p.19).

The comments listed above suggest several mechanisms for providing personal connections including the use of humour, analogies and metaphors which build links between the interpretive content and the everyday experience of the visitor, giving visitors the opportunity to ask questions, telling stories (particularly those which have characters that can be related to), challenging visitors and giving them information about what they can do in their everyday lives, and giving visitors opportunities to interact, participate and make choices about their interpretive experiences.

Providing Opportunities to Participate and Take Control

Providing opportunities for visitor participation or interaction in an interpretive experience has many benefits. As has just been noted, it is a way to personalise an experience and to give visitors a sense of control over the experience. It is also a method for introducing variety into interpretive activities. It is important to note, however, that not all of what is seen by interpreters as interactive is seen by visitors as interactive. Table 2 contains the results of a study conducted several years ago into the features of computer exhibits that contribute to their success in attracting visitor attention and enhancing visitor learning. In particular the study looked at the differences in visitor responses to computer exhibits with three levels of visitor participation (Moscardo, 1989). The first level was a quiz game with a low level of participation. Visitors could only choose from a series of multiple-choice answers that were presented in a set order. The second level was an information program that allowed visitors to choose the topics and levels of information that the program gave them. The third level was a story game where the visitors could both personalise the story by playing the part of a character and control the program by choosing the topics, actions, order and locations of the story components. The results presented in the table indicate that greater opportunity for visitor participation was usually associated with more positive outcomes. In summary, it is important that interpreters actually practice participation rather than just preach it and that they recognise that participation involves giving some degree of control over the interpretation to the visitor. This may be as simple as a guide encouraging the visitors to ask questions and letting these questions direct the tour or talk a little, or as complex as a multimedia virtual reality experience that allows the visitor to create their own museum.

Outcome	Quiz Game	Information Program	Story Program
Mean Time Spent (in minutes)	14	16	21
Mean Enjoyment (0-10 scale)	6	7	8
Mean Perceived Learning (0-10 scale)	8	10	9

Table 2: Results of An Evaluation of Different Computer Exhibits.

Taking Visitors From Where They Are.

A final principle that can be derived from the interpretation literature is the importance of finding out what visitors already know about a topic and building the content from that point. There are three possible situations that can occur when interpreters and visitors come together:

The information presented by the interpreter may be so unfamiliar or abstract that the visitors cannot make sense of it. Griggs (1982) provides an interesting example of the importance of this factor in his description of a study conducted by the British Museum of Natural History into visitor knowledge as part of the development of a dinosaur exhibition. The study found that few visitors understood the concepts of natural selection and evolution, which were critical to the planned exhibition. The result was "a decision to redevelop the exhibits from scratch, including writing a new storyline and new set of objectives".

The visitors have quite detailed knowledge or beliefs about the topic of the communication but these beliefs conflict with the information presented by the interpreter. Typically in this situation visitors adapt the information to suit their existing beliefs. The unintended consequence can be the reinforcing of inaccurate beliefs. Statham (1993) provides an example of this problem. The final possibility is that visitors have the relevant knowledge and share common ground with the interpreter. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

Implications for Teaching Tourism

The four principles derived from interpretation literature can now be adapted for teaching tourism.

Tourism teachers need to build upon what students already know.
Students should be given greater opportunities to participate and take control of their own learning.
Tourism teachers should encourage students to pursue their own personal interests and attempt to make information as relevant to student experiences as possible.
Variety is the spice of life.

The first principle can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly it can be considered in a constructivist sense of conducting some sort of evaluation before teaching commences that identifies the skills and knowledge that students already have, and then designing course content to build upon these foundations or to address gaps in existing knowledge. In a second sense it can be taken to mean an expanded role for the use of students’ experiences in the study of topic areas. Jackson (1999) suggests that much educational practice ignores the potential for students to critically analyse and use their own experiences to develop better understanding of various phenomena. She argues that many students do analyse their own experiences and use their own experiences to understand new material and this process should be encouraged and supported by teachers.

Biggs (1996) makes a similar argument in his discussion of an alternative approach to assessment. Biggs suggests that teachers should set clear objectives for a subject and then allow students to develop portfolios that include a variety of options for demonstrating that they have achieved the objectives. This would replace the traditional situation of the teacher in total control of the assessment. Bigg’s approach has the advantages of students being able to use their existing skills and relevant experiences, of students being able to demonstrate what they have learnt or achieved in a broad sense and of giving them the opportunity to pursue what is of personal interest to them. This suggestion of Biggs incorporates three of the principles derived for the interpretation research; building on existing experience, encouraging personal interests and giving students more control.

Some other options for personal connections for students could include allowing them to choose essay or research report topics of interest to them and allowing the option of applying concepts or techniques in topic areas of their own choice. Another method for enhancing the relevance of material to students is the use of real world problems. Hendry et al (1999) and Sobral (1995) note the effectiveness of problem-based learning as a teaching activity and that the applied nature of the problems is a major benefit for students.

Problem-based learning is usually conducted in the context of students working in small groups relatively independently of teaching staff. Thus this technique also meets the principles of variety in teaching techniques and giving students greater control. Introducing greater variety into tertiary techniques means moving away from the dominance of lectures and traditional laboratory practicals and tutorial discussions to include such things as simulation games, field trips, self completion modules, group activities and time spent conducting research activities in settings outside the tertiary institution. It also means moving away from the traditional assessment techniques of exams, essays and written reports to include such things as the design of products relevant to the field of study such as staffing manuals, codes of practice for tourists, promotional brochures and advertising campaigns, concept maps and personal diaries.

Giving students greater control and encouraging greater student participation is perhaps the most challenging of the four principles. Braxton et al (1996) found in a US study that very few tertiary teachers supported the idea of fostering more egalitarian classrooms. Giampetro-Meyer and Holc (1997) believe that tertiary teachers find it very hard to give up control of their classrooms and that this is a major cause of the lack of student participation in classroom activities. These authors make a series of suggestions for changing this type of atmosphere including asking specific students to answer questions and giving them time to think, moving away from traditional lectures and encouraging students to make connections to their own experiences. Nunn (1996) also found that student participation was greater when teachers used student names when asking questions, when teachers gave students praise for answering questions, and when they asked for elaboration of answers.

Giampetro-Meyer and Holc (1997) ask tertiary teachers to ask themselves the following questions about silence.

"If students are silent, what are other explanations for their silence besides laziness? What does it mean when we as faculty fall silent in a committee meeting or after a colleague’s talk? It can mean that the chair of the committee has made it clear that she wants a short meeting, or that we are not certain that we will not be belittled for our comments. It can mean that of all your required tasks, this meeting was so mediocre that you could not bear to take part. It can mean that while your college states that it values service, or your colleague states that he values your criticism, you know neither really does. Or it can mean that the issue at stake in the meeting is ambiguous, complex or disagreeable to you.

In sum, it can mean that you perceive quite rationally that speaking up is costly and that remaining silent is beneficial. Is it possible that you have created an environment like this for your students?"

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TERTIARY TEACHING:

Flexible Teaching and Learning Across the Disciplines