Teaching with the Good Stuff: Educational Strategies for Archives, Libraries, and Museums – 2014 November – PACSCL

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EVENT SUMMARY
(for reference by others organizing similar events)
Format: Lectures (2 x 45 minutes), Case study presentations (6 x 7 minutes plus 10 minutes Q&A), Discussion sessions (1 hour, 4 concurrent)
Audience: Primarily archivists and special collections librarians, with a handful of museum educators and higher ed & K-12 teachers
No. attendees: 53, plus 12 speakers
Catchment: All but a few from within 5-45 minutes travel time
Duration: 4 hours (plus 1 hour reception) — full afternoon
Cost for attendees: Free
Budget: Coffee & snack break and reception, approx. $700. No speaker reimbursement/stipend (all local)
Contacts: Matt Herbison, Lynne Farrington
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Date: Thursday, November 20, 2014
Time: 12:30pm – 5:00pm, with wine & snacks from 5:00-6:00pm
Location: University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Kislak Center, located on the sixth floor of Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. Be prepared to show a photo ID upon entering the Library. More location info »

Free Registration Here »
Open to individuals from all institutions and with all levels of experience.

PACSCL and Penn Libraries brings you a one-afternoon event that combines presentations on practical practices for K-12 and college/grad students, lightning-round case studies, and attendee-driven conversations.  We bring together a whole variety of people teaching and managing student programs and projects using archives, rare books, museum collections, and other special collections materials.


Post-Event Resources:


EVENT SCHEDULE – NOVEMBER 20, 2014

12:30pm  Arrival and Check-In

12:50pm  Welcome and Introduction

1:00-1:45  Beth Twiss Houting, Senior Director of Programs and Services at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will share ideas for how to teach with documents with the K12 audience. She will review characteristics of the audience and then present examples of programs that have worked to excite students about the past and build their research and critical thinking skills. A model for working with National History Day students will be included. Presentation slides »
On Nov 20, everyone take notes in the Live Notes Document »

1:45-2:30  This presentation will explore the various approaches that can be taken when using special collections with undergraduates and graduate students. It will also examine ways to integrate the history of material texts into these encounters. Session lead by Lynne Farrington (Curator of Printed Books) and John Pollack (Library Specialist, Public Services), University of Pennsylvania Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Presentation handout »
On Nov 20, everyone take notes in the Live Notes Document »

2:30-3:00  Coffee & Cookie Break — Sponsored by the Kislak Center, Penn Libraries

3:00-4:00  Six Case Studies / Short Talks that will drive initial discussions
On Nov 20, everyone take notes in the Live Notes Document »

      • Rachel Buurma (Swarthmore) & Jon Shaw (Penn Libraries) – Case study: We will discuss using special collections materials in research production pedagogy. Specifically, we will talk about involving undergraduates in creating and using very rich metadata for eighteenth-century novels, stretching from low-investment assignments in conventional courses to intensive summer work on the Early Novels Database (earlynovels.org).
        Live Notes Document (RB/JS) »
      • Sarah M. Horowitz, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts & Head of Special Collections, Haverford College. My case study will focus on assessment of student learning in the Special Collections classroom at both Haverford and Augustana College (Illinois).
        Live Notes Document (SMH) »
      • Melissa Mandell, Program Manager for Education and Interpretation, Legacy Center Archives, Drexel College of MedicineCase study: Developing a website (Doctor or Doctress?) to connect high school students and teachers with primary sources.  When students “do history” by coming up with evidence-based interpretations of history, what can a website provide that a classroom setting can’t?  What gets missed doing it this way?
        Live Notes Document with example links (MM) »
      • JC Cloutier & Holly Mengel – Case study: A semester-long University of Pennsylvania English course designed to de-mystify the archives for future researchers.  Students researched both processed and unprocessed papers created by literary figures and were exposed to the hands-on work of an archivist, with a focus on deciding how collections should be assessed, arranged, and described.
        Live Notes Document (JCC/HM) »
      • Adrienne Whaley, Curator of Education & Public Programming, African American Museum in Philadelphia.  Case study: Using objects from our Trailblazers to Freedom Traveling Trunks, which are traveling extensions of our core exhibit, Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776 – 1876, I will talk about how we imagined K-12 teachers would use them in the classroom and some of the ways they have actually been used, both in classroom and in the museum itself. Presentation slides »
        Live Notes Document (AW) »
      • Jessica BaumertExecutive DirectorThe Woodlands Cemetery.  Case study: A yearly project where 11th graders at Philadelphia School District’s Masterman School do authentic historical research on individuals buried at this historic cemetery.
        Live Notes Document with links (JB) »

4:00-5:00  Discussions on topics driven by attendees.
This will function like a mini unconference.

      • Discussion #1 (Pavilion) – Building a toolbox of approaches for classes (to make work more efficient) AND Doing more than just show & tell when you have only one meeting with a class.
        Live Notes Document »
      • Discussion #2 (Room 625) – How could we develop a cross-city/region Special Collections Open House? How much would it have to rely on connecting with a specific (narrow) group of attendees?
        Live Notes Document »
      • Discussion #3 (Room 626) – Primary sources online or electronic
        Live Notes Document »
      • Discussion #4 (Room 627) – Engaging students with school history
        Live Notes Document »

In addition to the discussion topics above (which did actually take place at the event), based on comments people submitted when registering, discussion topics might have included:
Connecting with faculty / with K-12 educators – 4 votes
Reaching beyond the “low-hanging fruit” of history classes – 4 votes
For the record: Other topics suggested on the day of but did not result in a discussion group:
Mentoring programs (K-12; but also undergrad?) – 4 votes
Active hands-on with large groups/classes – 2 votes
More on assessing student use – 6 votes
How to build travelling “kits” of collection materials (and other logistics) – 7 votes

5:00pm  Cheese, snacks, beverages, and wine Reception — Sponsored by PACSCL

6:00pm End


ATTENDEE LIST

Theresa Altieri – Archivist (The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia)
John Anderies – Visiting Archival Processor (University of Pennsylvania) / Archivist (William Way LGBT Community Center)
Rachel Appel – Digital Collections Librarian (Bryn Mawr College)
Joana Arruda – (Temple University)
Aslaku Berhanu – Librarian (Temple Univeristy)
Lois Black – Curator of Special Collections (Lehigh University)
Laura Blanchard – (PACSCL)
Mary Brooks – Archivist (Westtown School)
Katie Burke – Education & Volunteer Coordinator (Independence Seaport Museum)
Julia Canonica
Celia Caust-Ellenbogen – Archival Surveyor, Small Repositories Project (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
Wendy Chmielewski – Curator (Swarthmore College Peace Collection)
Ilhan Citak – Archives and Special Collections Librarian (Lehigh University)
Stephanie Corrigan – Museum Education Assistant (Chemical Heritage Foundation)
Patrick Crowley
Grace DiAgostino – Archives Student Trainee / Public History Graduate Student (National Archives at Philadelphia / Temple University)
Lynn Dorwaldt – Librarian (Wagner Free Institute of Science)
Adam Feldman – Librarian, II (Free Library of Philadelphia – Music Department)
Dr. Donald Ford
Melvin Garrison
Bettina Hess – cataloger (German Society of Pennsylvania)
Heather Isbell Schumacher – Curator of Images (Delaware Historical Society)
Annie Johnson – CLIR Postdoctoral Fellow (Lehigh University)
Alexander Johnston – Senior Assistant Librarian (University of Delaware Library)
Hillary Kativa – Archivist for Photographic and Moving Image Collections (Chemical Heritage Foundation)
Cassandra Keith – Reference Librarian/Archivist (Episcopal Academy)
Tammi Kim – Assistant Librarian (University of Delaware)
Sarah Leu – (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
Kathryn Manz – Research and Administrative Manager (Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania)
David McAllister – Archivist (Gwynedd Mercy University)
Jack McCarthy – Project Director, Hidden Collections Initiative for PA Small Archival Repositories (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
Kelley Meagher – NHD Coordinator, SEPA (Chester County Historical Society)
Allyson Mitchell – Curator of Education (Delaware History Museum)
Jennifer Moses – Program Developer (National Constitution Center)
Edith Mulhern – Library Service Assistant (Penn Libraries, Dental Library)
Jim Mundy – Director of Education & Programming (Abraham Lincoln Foundation of the Union League of Philadelphia)
Krista Oldham – College Archivist/Records Manager (Haverford College)
Emilie Parker – Director of Education (Rosenbach Museum & Library)
Marrette Pearsall – Access Service Assistant (Biddle Library)
Ian Petrie – Associate Director (U. Penn)
Maegan Pollinger
Kim Read – School Librarian (NCCVT)
Lynnette Regouby – Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Curatorial Post-Doctoral Fellow (American Philosophical Society Museum)
Nicole Scalessa – IT Manager (The Library Company of Philadelphia)
Sarah Seraphin – Special Collections Librarian (La Salle University)
Joe Shemtov – Librarian (Free Library of Philadelphia)
Rob Sieczkiewicz – Archivist (Drexel University Libraries)
Leslie Simon – (National Archives at Philadelphia)
Curtis Small – Assistant Librarian (University of Delaware)
Iren Snavely – Rare Books Librarian (State Library of Pennsylvania)
Ashley Stevens – Archives Technician (National Archives at Philadelphia)
Chella Vaidyanathan – Curator of 19th-21st Century Books & Manuscripts and Librarian for History, Africana Studies & Latin American Studies (Johns Hopkins University)


Organizers include Lynne Farrington, Holly Mengel, and John Pollack at the University of Pennsylvania Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts and Matt Herbison at the Legacy Center Archives of Drexel University College of Medicine.