Way back in 2003, the Generic Learning Outcomes were created as a way for museums, libraries and archives to demonstrate the outcomes and impact of users’ learning experiences. Now the GLOs are being refreshed by introducing the Sensory Engagement outcome to make it more inclusive and reflect the experiences of people who are neurodivergent or have physical or learning disabilities.
This work is being done by the Group for Education in Museums and the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, University of Leicester. The GLO framework revolutionised the way in which visitors’ experiences are understood by providing practitioners, government and funders with a meaningful way to describe and evidence the impact of museum experiences on visitors. The GLOs provide both a language to describe and present the learning that takes place in museums and a flexible tool for capturing and measuring a range of visitor experiences across the cultural heritage sector. After the demise of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council the GLOs were taken on by the Arts Council, but were removed from its website a couple of years ago, but nevertheless the current GLOs are still widely used for planning and evaluating learning in cultural heritage venues. I am very much looking forward to taking part in the forthcoming consultation sessions to develop the refreshed GLOs, and then using them.