by Kara Flynn
This case study describes a 2-part archival instruction session the author taught for a History Research Methods course at Augusta University. The students in the course have one semester-long assignment, an eight- to ten-page research paper, which serves as most students’ first attempt at integrating primary sources into the research process. The primary goals of the two instruction sessions were to build students’ confidence in being able to identify, find, and analyze primary sources, both online and in person (objectives 2.C. and 3.B.), and ensure that students would be able to use the background information about time period and cultural context that they were learning in class to “situate a primary source in context” (objective 4.C.). While in-class assessment shows that she sessions were successful in teaching most students the foundational skills outlined by objectives 2.C., 3.B., and 4.C., some students still struggled to translate what they learned into their research papers. The final section of the case study outlines future modifications that could be made to help address this gap in student learning.
Access: Scaffolding Primary Source Research and Analysis in an Undergraduate History Research Methods Course