An oral history of a field trip: a study of participants' historical imagination in "Action" and "Artifact within action"
Date
2018-07-03
Authors
Green, Vicki Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study investigated former students' historical
imaginations and recollections emanating from a visit to an historic
site as an extension of the curriculum in social studies in grade five
a decade ago. Historical imagination was defined as placing children
within past "actions" or experiences of history through heritage to
discern for themselves the thoughts and experiences of people of the
past. The following question guided this study: What was the nature
of historical imagination constructed from participants'
recollections through "action" and "artifact within action" based on
an extended field trip to an historic site in the recent past?
"Action" was defined as vigorous activity of children involved in
learning through experience, such as panning for gold. "Artifact
within action" referred to objects illustrative of human
workmanship, such as those found in historic sites.
Ten years ago, ten and eleven year old students participated in
historic site ‘interpretation’ programs including a court trial, school
house activities, gold panning, graveyard exploration, household
chores and carpentry tasks. They explored the reconstructed
townsite of Barkerville where these activities occurred. The
investigation of historical imagination was not intended as an
evaluation of the educational programs offered at Barkerville, nor
was it intended to generalize these findings to other historical
sites.
The author involved young adults to construct memories of
shared events from their experiences of a field trip to Barkerville.
In spite of efforts to determine efficacy of education through field
trips, little has been written about the stimulation of historical
imagination through this process.
The author’s definition of historical imagination formed the
foundation for this study. In addition, the concept of shared voice or
the interactive memory of former students and their teacher through
conversation was developed for use through the methodology of oral
history. Hermeneutics provided the interpretive instrument for
constructing and understanding the narrative expressed through
participants' conversation. The interview lent itself to the
expression of former students' stories recollecting "action" and
"artifact within action." Thematic analysis was used to interpret
the conversational data. Three main themes emerged from the data:
recollecting feelings, creating images and pictures and experiencing
the past. Within the theme recollecting feelings, three references
emerged: feelings of emotional involvement, "the actual feeling" and
feeling closeness with the group.
A salient conclusion of this study is that participants'
historical response was evident over time, expressed as the "actual
feeling" and utilized in the active construction of meaning through
vivid recollections, which employed historical imagination to
explain and extend historical understandings. The constructs most
evident underlying historical imagination were interaction, free
play, provocation, the supernatural and engagement. Furthermore,
gender recollection was a significant construct and, as a result,
woman's past emerged as a reference within the theme experiencing
the past.
Description
Keywords
School field trips, Oral history, Imagination