Troy Smythe

M.A. - Education Consultant

Troy Smythe has managed museum education programs at the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana. He has produced education technology initiatives that include two-way video broadcasts as well as web-based school programs. Smythe develops programming models that help museums apply the findings of current research in educational psychology and cognitive development to the process of collection interpretation and volunteer tour guide training. He is a trained instructor of Visual Thinking Strategies, a field-tested teaching methodology that helps teachers integrate art in their regular curriculum while developing students' visual literacy, communication, and critical thinking skills. He studies particularly the psycho-emotional aspects of museum experiences to help museum practitioners more effectively and efficiently engage their audiences. He has trained students and teachers from K-12 to university classrooms to integrate museum resources into daily learning. Smythe received a master of arts in art history from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor of arts in administrative management from the University of Arkansas. He received the National Art Educators Association (NAEA) Western Region Museum Education Award in 2001 and served at the national level on the museum division's development committee from 2001 to 2005.