The YEAR Centre: A Research-Driven Pedagogical Approach to Experimental Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part 1" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In recent years, since the development of our outdoor experimental archaeology “lab” (York Experimental Archaeological Research “YEAR” Centre, University of York) we have designed a series of modules that place experiential learning at the center of pedagogical practice. Such is the success of these modules we now have a dedicated master’s program on Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture. The pedagogical pathway commences with an UG module interweaving theory and practice, focused on experiential learning, facilitating practical engagement with diverse archaeological materials. By UG year 2, students undertake a practical skills module, enabling them to build firsthand experience with a range of analytical methods, linked to different archaeological materials, while learning to execute and report on their own research projects, working in a group. The journey continues with our postgraduate courses where the focus shifts, with students achieving intellectual independence through practice-based research related to real research questions involving report writing, with the results sometimes published. These modules constitute a learning framework that support students to develop the skills to design their own experiments, select the appropriate methodological tools to analyze the data, and feel confident in integrating theoretical approaches to fully interpret and write up the data generated.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Experimental Pedagogies: Teaching through Experimental Archaeology Part 1   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39246.0