Enhancing the Student Learning Experience: Developing a PBL resource for Foundation History students working with local museums
1. Enhancing the Student Learning Experience:
Developing a PBL resource for Foundation History
students working with local museums
Engaging With Our Past Project
R. L. Dunn & E. J. Bowey – Foundation Centre
Teaching Fellow Network Meeting - 19th September 2014
C. Barclay & S. Price – Durham University Museums
C. Blenkinsopp – Foundation Centre
2. Engaging With Our Past Project
overview
• The project is a collaborative venture between Durham University’s Foundation Centre
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and Durham University Museums.
• The project is funded by a Durham University Enhancing the Student Learning
Experience grant (R. Dunn, C. Blenkinsopp, C. Barclay & S. Price, 2013-15).
• This project aims to promote student learning and develop specific research and
presentation skills useful for transition from Level 0 to Level 1.
• The project intends to enhance Foundation student learning through the development
of a Problem Based Learning (PBL) resource focussed on public dissemination of
student research in Ancient History.
• The initial iteration involves students studying the Level 0 module, ‘Introduction to
Ancient History’ but will be rolled out to additional History modules in 2014/15.
3. What is Problem Based Learning?
• Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a method of teaching subjects in which students
are encouraged to think about a particular problem or scenario that is set in a
real world framework.
• Through a staged sequence of problems or tasks, students acquire relevant
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subject-specific and key transferable skills.
• The main components of PBL are group work, problem solving and discovering
new knowledge.
• The aim is to encourage students to start thinking like active researchers early
on in their careers, thereby easing the transition from Foundation to
Undergraduate studies. Through their Ancient History research students develop
skills that are central to their undergraduate studies: critically examining
information, synthesising it into a public presentation and evaluating their own
knowledge across history, language and communication.
4. Ancient History Assessment
The course is assessed by the following tasks:
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Assignment – 40%
End of Module test – 60%
Coursework – 40% is broken down into:
Essay – 70%
Poster presentation – 30%
5. What did students have to do?
• Conduct their own research – this helps them to
develop their skills (useful for extended essay) and
become part of our research community.
– Use a primary source and/or artefact as a starting point.
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– Generate a research question that will help to guide their
research and presentation/essay.
• Produce a poster presentation that summarises their
findings/essay.
• Write a 2,000 word essay that answers their own
question.
6. Using PBL in Ancient History
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Define research
question.
Conduct primary and
secondary research,
using DU Museums
as a starting point.
Group work and case
studies.
Produce a poster and
write an essay based
on findings.
7. Teaching strategies
Combination of face-to-face and interactive/online teaching.
Face-to-face:
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• Lectures/Seminars.
• Ability to use DU Museums as a teaching resource and make
curriculum more interactive.
• DU Museum staff teach sessions (based around the DU
Collections) to Foundation History students – an innovation in
teaching and collaboration.
• Field trips to Durham University Museums to interact with
artefacts.
• Promoted a ‘hands on’ real-world approach to History and
enabled tactile or kinaesthetic learners to interact with
material, moving away from ‘book-learning.
8. Teaching strategies
Combination of face-to-face and interactive/online teaching.
• Online included:
• Virtual field trip videos to enable students to revisit the material
and introduce the concept to those unable to attend; links with
recent developments in digital humanities and e-heritage.
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• Interactive materials for use on the VLE to prepare students for
research and to support progress alongside subject knowledge.
• Archive including images of DU collections and local museum
content.
• Examples of past posters, planning exercises and templates for
students to use in PPT to create their A1 sized poster.
9. What skills did students develop?
• Integration of teaching and research – develops discovery and autonomous learning:
• Taking responsibility for own learning and performance.
• Time-keeping – working to set deadlines within the project, students had to ensure they hit
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targets – a key skill in the world of work.
• Research skills:
• Research methods and quantitative/qualitative analysis – integrating research methods from
other modules (e.g. Foundations of Statistics) to AH. How to carry out ethical research, how to
evaluate and present findings.
• Library, literature review skills, writing and editing skills.
• Critical analysis (links with Academic Practice and English Literature).
• Problem solving.
• Communication skills:
• Working with others, respecting and valuing opinions.
• Presentation skills
• Reflection: looking back and learning from learning process; adapting to change.
12. Moving forward: What did we learn?
Positive
• Get involved with non-academic departments and colleagues – particularly in a
historical subject, students benefit from the hands-on experience of working in a
museum that science students get from a lab.
• Using a real-world focus (such as a PBL activity) encourages students to ‘see the
point’ in the subject and invest in the module. Moving away from ‘book learning’ has
been a positive experience.
• Learner autonomy – allowing students to choose a topic introduces the notion of
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original research early in their academic careers.
• Creating an event that allows Foundation students to present their research in a
mutually supportive environment helps to promote research skills and public
engagement. Disseminating project and wider public engagement activities through
research networks such as NCCPE.
• We moved from formative to summative assessment of the poster task, promoting
curriculum development and placing emphasis on transferrable skills.
• Poster presentation used as an assessment method in additional modules. Move
towards varied, integrated assessment rather than traditional summative essays.
“I enjoyed the freedom of choosing a topic.” Student.
13. Moving forward: What did we learn?
Negative
• Some students had difficulty managing a research project alongside other
more traditional, structured assessments. In future, more guidance and
additional workshops available to support student development.
• Some students struggled with the structure of a poster so to combat this,
we have created several PPT templates for 14/15.
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• Students are not always keen to complete formative work, so the poster is
now summative. It is seen as a planning document and an important step in
the research process.
• Some students complained about the freedom – international students
preferred to be given a set topic/question to investigate and wanted a
traditional essay/assignment rather than a term-long project. Highlighted
cultural differences and made staff recognise and manage student
expectations.
14. ∂
Engaging With Our Past Project:
E-mail: engagingwithourpast.fc@durham.ac.uk
URL: http://engagingwithourpast.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @fc_history
Thank You
Any questions?
