Peer-Led Museum Tours as Experiential Learning: What Happens When Undergraduates Teach Each Other to Look at Art

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, students in an art education course design and lead peer-led experiences at Krannert Art Museum for peers in an introductory art course. The program has run for three annual cycles, each with a new cohort of ARTE 260 student facilitators. The present study draws on survey data and written reflections collected during Spring 2026. Student facilitators described a recurring pattern: most entered the experience positioned as teachers, then found greater effectiveness once stepping into a facilitator role. The data suggest that peer-led experiences at university art museums function as sites where pre-service art educators begin to form professional identities and where first-year students build personal connections to museum collections.