Teaching with Archives (and archivists!) Robin M. Katz @robinmkatz Head of Reference and User Services Brooklyn Historical Society NCHE Conference | St. AugusJne, FL | March 21, 2015
Teaching with Archives (and archivists!)
Jul 15, 2015
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Teaching with Archives (and archivists!)
Robin M. Katz @robinmkatz Head of Reference and User Services
Brooklyn Historical Society
NCHE Conference | St. AugusJne, FL | March 21, 2015
TeachArchives.org
for a global audience of librarians, archivists, museum educators,
faculty, and teachers
TeachArchives.org
middle à graduate school
The Project
award-‐winning grant project at Brooklyn Historical Society
The Project
$750,000 FIPSE US Dept of EducaJon
The Project
3 years (2011 – 2013) 4 teaching semesters (F11 -‐ S13)
The Project
3 schools
St. Francis, City Tech, LIU Brooklyn
The Project
3 schools
no archives on campus
The Project
3 schools
student populaJon
The Project
18 faculty
all ranks
The Project
18 faculty
disciplines
The Project
18 faculty
types of courses
The Project
naJonal partners
The Project
intellectual / professional community
The Project
collaboraJon between archivists and educators
The Project
1,100+ students 65 courses
100 visits to BHS
The Project
class visits to the archives
The Project
professional development
The Project
summer research fellowships
Our Teaching Philosophy
for students new to archives…
Our Teaching Philosophy
model document analysis
Our Teaching Philosophy
item-‐level
less is more
Our Teaching Philosophy
(not new to K-‐12 teachers)
Our Teaching Philosophy
specific, measurable learning objecJves
Our Teaching Philosophy
(also not new to K-‐12 teachers)
Our Teaching Philosophy
beyond “show and tell”
Our Teaching Philosophy
(new to archivists)
Our Teaching Philosophy
beyond “just get them in there”
Our Teaching Philosophy
(new to some archivists and some educators)
Our Teaching Philosophy
small group work
Our Teaching Philosophy
specific prompts
TeachArchives.org
12
“how to” arJcles
TeachArchives.org
“How to Make
LogisJcal Decisions”
TeachArchives.org
16
success stories
TeachArchives.org
Models for History Survey Courses
TeachArchives.org
14 exercises 60 documents
Exercises on TeachArchives.org
tweaked and refined in real classrooms
Exercises on TeachArchives.org
can be used in
BHS archives (NYC) or online
Exercises on TeachArchives.org
samples to serve as a model
AdapJng Exercises
“Civil Rights in Brooklyn”
scaffolded
item > folder
AdapJng Exercises
“Telling Brooklyn Stories”
impromptu speeches comparing documents
Our Findings
Our approach benefijed students and faculty
Our Findings
independent evaluators
Our Findings
independent evaluators
Our Findings
interviews, observaJons, reflecJons, student work, campus assessment data
Our Findings
evaluaJon reports
Our Findings
in well-‐matched comparisons…
Our Findings
students who came to the archives
were more engaged
Our Findings
students who came to the archives
performed bejer
Our Findings
students who came to the archives
higher retenJon rates
Our Findings
students improved skills
needed for document analysis: observaJon and summary
Our Findings
faculty improved
pedagogical strategies
8 Best PracJces
• Define measurable learning objecJves that align visit goals with course goals
• Carefully select a small number of documents to use • Cram tailored, document-‐specific prompts • Design document analysis acJviJes to connect to larger assignments
and course objecJves • Carefully consider logisJcal decisions related to the archives visit • Thoughnully facilitate archives visits, including wrap-‐up discussions • Provide a “Goldilocks” of context (not too much, and not too lijle, at
the right Jme) • Work collaboraJvely to tweak and refine the learning experience
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