Teaching Archaeological Pragmatism through Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

This article outlines the application of problem-based learning, or PBL, to a freshman-level course in Aegean prehistory. The project described demonstrates how PBL can be used to tap into college-level students' natural curiosity about the ancient world while training them to use practical, broadly applicable writing and research skills.When I was offered a temporary adjunct teaching position at a small liberal arts school, I jumped at the chance to design a course in my specialty from scratch. My assignment for the 4-week term was to prepare a "sexy" (i.e. student-appealing) class on Aegean prehistory as a counterpart to a course on Homer and the Bronze Age offered earlier. With an alluring title and a compelling description for the catalogue, the only challenge that remained was to create a class on prehistoric archaeology that would appeal to a largely freshman audience of non-Classics majors. At the time, I was also participating in a program meant to groom young academics to be thoughtful, scholarly instructors, in which we were introduced to a teaching strategy called problem-based learning, or PBL. PBL is a pedagogical methodology in which students focus on solving problems or completing problem-based projects that simulate real-world situations, and are asked to seek solutions to problems that replicate real-world issues in a process that transforms students into active learners, and instructors into learned guides.PBL as an educational strategy originated at medical schools in Canada and the United States as a way to train young physicians to use knowledge acquired through self-motivated study to solve patient problems.1 Since its development, the use of PBL has branched out into other areas of the sciences, as well as into law, social work and administrative training, but has been slow to permeate the humanities.2 Positive results from the use of PBL strategies in the sciences suggests that a problem-centered approach might be an exciting way to show how Classics courses can teach practical skills valuable to high school and college students preparing for a broad range of professions. It is with this in mind that I present the project from my 4-week course, which was conceived during a brainstorming session that explored ways PBL might be applicable to any field of studies, even Aegean prehistory.There are myriad benefits for students participating in PBL oriented courses. Because the problems posed are supposed to be unstructured and messy, with no single correct approach or solution, a wide variety of skills must be applied to the problem-solving process. Newly acquired knowledge that is actively used is more likely to be stored in students' long-term memory. In a classroom environment where inquiry and risk-taking are promoted,3 students seek solutions by utilizing known resources and become naturally proactive in acquiring new information. Instructors facilitate the process by providing wisdom and experience. Memorization by rote is deemphasized. The center of learning thus shifts away f...

Modern archaeological education in Russia: solving the problems of humanitarians with the involvement of experience in the training of higher technical personnel

“…For all the seeming paradoxicality of such a problem statement, we see its prospects in the conditions of the multidisciplinary nature of modern science. We draw different aspects of the educational experience of future technical specialists, firstly, from the works of the Moscow Polytechnic University staff, primarily in the use of project activities in teaching Russian [28] and foreign languages [29]; publishing [30] and our own teaching experience at this university.…”