Archaeology and Basic Skills
Clifton Park Museum, Rother Valley College, University of Sheffield
Excavation at Brodsworth archaeological site in Doncaster
Learners with literacy skills below level 2 were recruited for a special ten-session summer course in archaeology, with literacy skills embedded into all activities.
Sessions in the classroom set out the theory behind archaeology, exploring its definition, handling objects and talking about chronology.
Three full days on a University of Sheffield dig gave students the chance to put theory into practice, through excavation, geophysics, graveyard survey and washing finds. Archaeology is a destructive process, so writing descriptively about what you find and recording accurate information as you work is a vital part of the process - and a great way to improve literacy skills.
At the end of the course, students produced an exhibition, writing text about the excavation they had taken part in, and using computers to type up information panels and select photographs
Learners’ Comments:
“I’ve always been interested in history, but didn’t get to study it at the special school I went to.”
“I’ve gained a lot of confidence and new skills on this course.”
100% of learners felt they had ‘learnt about new skills, processes and vocabulary’ during the course.
‘Archaeology and basic skills’ was part of a larger basic skills project based at Clifton Park Museum called the Heritage Education Project. To download the project report, click here.
Get more details about this case study: YMLAC_HeritageEducation.pdf [37.3kb]
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