Wednesday 20 March, 2 pm to 3:45 pm via Zoom
We are delighted to invite you to the next event in History UK’s online Pedagogy Forum series. This time, we will explore ‘Experiential Learning in History’, showcasing different ways in which historians have incorporated practice-based approaches into their university teaching. The event follows on from an in-person event held at Northumbria University in July 2023 and will contribute to our ongoing work in this field.
During the March event, we will hear about four different teaching initiatives:
- Ruth Murphy (Sheffield) – Experiential Learning through the ‘Life Worth Living’ Module
This presentation will introduce ‘Life Worth Living’, a project and pedagogical approach that equips students, educators, and the public for the lifelong process of discerning and pursuing the good life by engaging the world’s philosophical and religious traditions. In particular, it will focus on the ‘Life Worth Living’ module as it is taught to history and philosophy students at the University of Sheffield, and the ways in which it differs from other courses.
- Kristen Brill (Keele) and Rachel Adcock (Keele) – Experiential Learning in Heritage (and Beyond): Reflections on the Role of Placements and Projects in the History Curriculum
Integrating authentic experiences and assessments into the History university curriculum provides a low-stakes but high reward opportunity for students to connect their knowledge and experience to societal debates, external organisations and audiences, as well as supporting them in developing key employability skills and visualising themselves as professionals. Dr Kristen Brill and Dr Rachel Adcock will draw on their experience of integrating various opportunities for ‘off-site’ experiential learning into the History curriculum at Keele University, presenting case studies from their work with local heritage organisations including V&A Wedgwood, Tatton Park/National Trust, and a range of other organisations.
- Julia Moses (Sheffield) and Charles West (Edinburgh) – Promise, not Peril: Artificial Intelligence as an (Experiential) Teaching Tool in History
Artificial Intelligence has often been met with scepticism in the teaching of History at university. Viewed as a means to shortcut the essay writing process, or outright ‘cheat’, the potential of AI as a pedagogical tool in History has been underexplored. At the same time, it is clear that AI is shaping the everyday experiences of our students as well as the world they are moving into. In this paper, we share our experiences of teaching with AI in different settings in the UK: an undergraduate medieval history module at Edinburgh and a masters option module in modern history at Sheffield.
- Caroline Nielsen (Northampton) – Developing Humanities Student Communication and Research Skills Development via Practice-Based Communication Modules
How do you encourage students to move beyond academic communication styles? How do you support them to transfer their historical research skills to other sectors and to graduate employment? This showcase will briefly outline the pedagogic development of broadcast and communication practice-based modules for History at the University of Northampton, highlighting our key practical tips and learning for the HE History sector.
For any questions on this event, please get in touch with Daniel Laqua (daniel.laqua@northumbria.ac.uk), who has organised this workshop, or with the convenors of the History UK Pedagogy Forum, Sarah Holland (sarah.holland@nottingham.ac.uk) and Sarah Jones (sarah.jones@bristol.ac.uk).