AT A GLANCE
Provision for learners:
Norwich Castle was built by the Normans as a Royal Palace 900 years ago. Its collections of fine art, archaeology and natural history are of national importance and include the best collections anywhere of paintings by the Norwich School of Artists and the world's largest collection of ceramic teapots.
Model for working with trainees:
This project followed the enhancement model whereby experiences for trainees are not directly assessed against the QTS Standards.
ITT PROVIDER
Higher Education Institution:
University of East Anglia (UEA)
ITE Course:
PCCE Secondary History
No. of trainees involved:
Phase 1: 25 – Phase 2: 25
Subject area:
History
Logistics:
Formal outreach lectures, informal outreach workshops, supported structured museum visits.
Phase 1 – Term 1 (October – December 2006)
Phase 2 – Term 2 (February 2007)
Provider motivation:
To heighten awareness of the power of learning contexts beyond the classroom and of differentiated teaching styles.
QTS Standards:
Q3, Q6, Q10, Q18, Q19, Q24, Q25, Q30
SETTING
Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
(Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service)
Now Norfolk's principal museum, the Castle is packed with treasures to inspire and intrigue visitors of all ages. Its outstanding collections of fine art, archaeology and natural history are of national importance and include the best collections anywhere of paintings by the Norwich School of Artists and the world's largest collection of ceramic teapots.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Phase 1
Provide trainees with approaches to using artefacts and historic sites in teaching, to explore generic skills when working with artefacts and to develop knowledge about what museums can offer History teachers.
Phase 2
Prepare and deliver teaching outside the classroom and provide the opportunity to experience different teaching styles.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Phase 1
NMAS education staff delivered a lecture to the Secondary History PGCE trainees at UEA to heighten awareness of the potential of museum education and develop skills within this area of teaching.
Phase 2
Following the experience gained in Phase 1 the History trainees then participated in “Crime and Punishment”, a GCSE teaching programme at Norwich Castle Museum. The trainees participated in a carousel of activities: an object handling session in the dungeons, a tour of the prison, a session based on documents relating to transportation and a re-enactment of the trial of James Rush, who was imprisoned in Norwich Castle.
In groups of four, the trainees took responsibility for 8 Year 10 students as the pupils experienced the carousel of activities. In addition the trainees successfully led the document based session. The trainees were prepared for this event through a collaboration between the education staff at NMAS and the History tutor at UEA. The trainees worked extensively with the museum education staff, before, during and after the event. They had the opportunity to actively contribute to the event, observe the event as a whole and to reflect upon it later.
OUTCOMES
The trainees gained an overall knowledge of how museums support all teachers and in particular what they have to offer secondary History teachers. They gained generic skills to introduce their pupils to working with artefacts, documents and historic sites. They experienced the process of preparing, delivering and reflecting on teaching in a setting other than the classroom. They experienced a diverse range of teaching styles and approaches to engaging pupils in a complex range of concepts.
The education staff from NMAS gained new experience preparing the trainees for delivering within the museum setting and very much enjoyed this extension of theory into practice. The NMAS staff reflected on the experience and will build in lessons learned to future developments of this type of project.
The PGCE History tutors at UEA were present at the GCSE museum event. They observed the trainees with the pupils and commented on how valuable it was to see the trainees teaching outside the classroom, that this had been a multi-skilling day for the trainees and that the day had enabled the tutors to observe the trainees’ progress in a new and informative context. The tutors were impressed by the experience and are incorporating this model of practice into the programme for future secondary history trainees.
SURPRISES
The education staff at NMAS were surprised by just how much the Year 10 pupils enjoyed interacting with the trainees and how these interactions heightened the pupils’ concentration and learning.KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
For the education staff at NMAS this project aimed to fulfil a long held aim, to extend the theoretical training being delivered at UEA to PGCE trainees, into actual experience of museum education in practice within a museum setting.
Ideally this experience aimed to involve the trainees in actual delivery as well as observation and reflection. These aims were achieved and the experience met with such enthusiasm that the tutor staff at UEA wish to build the programme into the course structure.
