Developing literacy skills in a 3D museum

In a virtual museum – “A library of life, love and loss” – adult learners can post images and brief tales and develop their literacy skills. The gallery shares poignant stories and represents a valuable teaching method.

The website “A library of life, love and loss” went live in July 2024 – but the idea was born a year earlier during a taxi ride to the airport in Croatia. Two experienced figures in the adult learning field, Professor Dina Soeiro of the Polytechnical University of Coimbra, Portugal, and Beth John, a regional manager at Adult Learning Wales (ALW), met at the EAEA Conference in Zagreb. There, they had both visited ‘The Museum of Broken Relationships,’ a unique local attraction that inspired their project.

The idea is simple: members of the public can contribute emotionally charged objects with accompanying explanations. Soeiro and John saw how the idea could be adapted – with a more positive spin – as a rich educational process for adult learners developing their literacy.

“We wanted to make it more positive,” explains John. “And that’s been really important for us, given that with our organisation, we have a number of people who are asylum seekers and refugees and have come from quite horrific circumstances. We don’t want to upset them. We want to support them and allow them to have a voice.”

In the Adult Learning Wales part of the gallery, visitors can find Eden holding a Geez, a book left to her by her grandmother. Her grandmother would read from it when Eden was a child, and it reminds her of the time they spent together. Photo: Nicole Kinnaird.

Some fled their home countries with few possessions – and in some cases these precious keepsakes of previous lives are featured in their stories.

“When we went into it, the teachers were very well aware that they could be opening old wounds or traumas,” says Tamara Garnault, Curriculum Development Coordinator at ALW. “So the tutors created a sense of safe space within the classroom and stressed that this wasn’t compulsory. As one person shared, another felt more confident to share their story. It was very cathartic for them to share it and support each other.”

The organisers realised that storytelling can be a powerful tool to help learners with literacy, while the contribution process also bolsters other skills such as IT.

In collaboration between their two organisations, they set up the online museum as a platform where participating organisations can post images, audio and written or typed text of brief tales created by adult learners from around the world. The Adult Learning Wales digital team set up the website and 3D Gallery, which is being gradually expanded to include images and stories from other countries.

Step into a magical gallery

For the website visitor, the experience is fascinating. You step into a bright, enclosed space decorated with plants, where you can hear birds twittering. Through an open roof, you can see a blue sky with rocky mountain outcrops in the distance. A screen with an introductory video welcomes you.

Strolling virtually behind it, you come to a lift door which magically opens as you approach. You pick which country’s or organisation’s gallery you’d like to visit, then the elevator whisks you up to another level as mellow jazz plays. Each bright gallery is lined with frames, each containing a photo, audio, written/typed text or video with explanatory text.

A mature take on a children’s activity

John likens it to a grown-up version of ‘Show and Tell’, a practice used particularly in English-speaking countries where learners present items that are important to them and explain why. In the ALW gallery, these include an heirloom rocking horse, an old-fashioned iron, wedding gift jewellery and a photo of a Majorca sunrise.

“Show and Tell is used worldwide, mainly in primary school classrooms and in literacy and language classrooms,” says John. “We wanted to see whether that sits comfortably in an adult learning environment. So we’re looking at pedagogy moving into andragogy. And it works! It’s been greatly received across a number of curriculum areas, so we haven’t limited it to language and literacy classrooms.”

We’re looking at pedagogy moving into andragogy. And it works!

The project supports literacy development and learners in a variety of ways, says John.

“For instance, they might want to read about the history of the item, so it includes reading skills. Then they’re writing about it, developing spelling, punctuation and grammar skills and their digital literacy skills as well.”

In the gallery, visitors can also find Kelly presenting her birthday bracelet with two gold charms, one of a cat and one of a dog. It is also engraved with her family name. It represents her hobbies and her interests. She plans to pass this down to future generations. Photo: Nicole Kinnaird.

For adults who may not be used to writing texts, says Garnault, oral storytelling can bridge the gap and allow an entry point to literacy. This in turn helps them express themselves more clearly in classroom, work and social situations, boosting confidence and promoting critical, logical thinking.

“When a person is passionate about a subject, they are more naturally engaged in the process of telling that story. This adds energy and purpose to the story, making it more meaningful,” she says.

“Some learners are happy that their story will live on through the legacy of this project and might inspire people they hadn’t met who may be on the same journey,” she adds. “Our learners come from a wide variety of backgrounds and situations, but people’s general life experiences are not all that dissimilar regardless of where they come from, although the journey through life has many, diverse paths.”

The gallery, while still under construction, can be used as a learning tool for learners, who can read and hear others’ stories. This helps to boost vocabulary and enhance comprehension and grammar, she points out.

“It helps to stimulate creativity as the learner is taken to another space and time through the story. Seeing the world through another’s eyes is an experience that either resonates for them or gives them a glimpse of another world.”

Getting to know the learners better

Every organisation that joins will have their own gallery area within the main gallery. The goal is to offer English translations for all contributions in other languages.

So far, says John, the feedback from teachers has been “really, really positive. They’ve come to know their learners better because they’ve opened up. They’ve seen different sides to them, and that’s strengthened the tutor-learner relationship.”

Teachers have come to know their learners better.

Garnault explains that the organisers are creating accredited qualifications based on the project.

“If the teachers want to make this an accredited piece of work, then we’ve got two units that we’re just writing, one for written communications and one for oral communications which will give the learners accreditation,” she says.

For Garnault, some of the most powerful contributions are ones where the actual object is missing.

“The stories all centre around a memory relating to an artefact – something that evokes a memory and all these gave us an emotional resonance. Stories where there was no artefact, because it had to be left behind on the journey were just as, if not more, emotionally charged. As the storyteller conveyed the importance of that memory, that gave us a real sense of loss and longing.”

Embracing all ability levels

John foresees that the project could expand commercially and extend into other educational sectors beyond adult learners.

“We’re open to including everyone regardless of their ability level. That’s the inclusive nature about this project. We don’t want to be discriminating in terms of ability levels because there’s a richness in that that,” she says. Already, though, the process has exceeded expectations.

In the gallery, Shireen is holding an emotion toy gifted to her by her daughter. It gives her the motivation to think positively while taking her studies. Photo: Nicole Kinnaird.

At first, she and Soeiro assumed that the project would be limited to the European adult community learning sector.

“We thought this was just going to be a little project that Professor Soeiro’s university and ALW were going to put together. We didn’t realise the transformative effect that this would have and the interest that it would garner outside of Europe. It has snowballed and become something much bigger than we ever imagined,” she says.

“It’s been an organic process since June 2023, tentatively taking gentle steps and then eventually winning the European Literacy Network’s Best Practice category in 2025.”

“One of the main aims of the project is to establish a ‘Community of Practice’ of learners, literacy practitioners and researchers, and to bridge the gaps between non-formal, informal and formal adult education literacy delivery,” she adds.

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