© University of Reading 2008 www.reading.ac.uk
Department of Archaeology
University of Reading
April 21, 2023
ATLAS: Assessing, Teaching, Learning, Archaeological SkillsAmanda Clarke
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 2
Silchester Roman town:The Insula IX ‘Town Life’ project: 1997 - ?
ResearchTraining
•Research
UNIVERSITY TRAINING EXCAVATIONS
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 3
Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks(and some new ones…)
Quality Assurance Agency Archaeological Benchmarking Statement ‘Fieldwork constitutes an essential aspect of the engagement with professional practice’
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2001 The Silchester Field School module
Teaching Core archaeological skills:•Collecting & recording archaeological data
Teaching more generic skills:•Skills awareness•Reflection
Employability: skills, knowledge
and personal attributes
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 5
• Aim: To provide the student with a basic knowledge of archaeological field techniques
Employability
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• …and site recording methods.
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 7
Student diversity: something for everyone
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Teaching & learning - outside the classroom
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
The Silchester Field School module5 years on…. Reflection…
• 2006 – Oxford Archaeology 2nd biggest employer of all University of Reading graduates
Education versus Training; HE versus Employers
•embed employability into curriculum – skills, knowledge & personal attributes
•teach skills awareness – self-assessment/reflection/PDP
•transform work experience into learning – ongoing reflection and assessment
•work experience must be credit-bearing
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The IfA - Skills & Knowledge
Skills that are learning•technical skills•initiative•team-working•working under pressure•communication skills•adaptability•attention to detail•taking responsibility and decisions
Knowledge not necessarily learning•commercial context of archaeological practice•roles and responsibilities of differing sectors of archaeological practice in the UKWessex Archaeology
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
10 years on…..Archaeology Now and in the Future
sectoral recession
Wessex Archaeology
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The Silchester Field School module10 years on…. Reflection…
• Exactly what skills are we teaching?
• How effective are we?
• Do our students recognise the skills they are learning – and their value?
• Can skills recognition/awareness/self-reflection lead to better employability?
What if we did not haveArchaeological Field Schools?
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 13
Subject Centre for History,
Classics and Archaeology
Progression Beyond the Classroom: Actively Teaching and Learning
• This project will evaluate methods used to teach fieldwork skills, with a view to increasing student self-reflection, improving assessment, and developing student understanding of the importance of personal development plans (PDP). This will help students maximise opportunities on other departmental research projects, and enhance their employability within the archaeological profession.
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Assessing, Teaching, Learning Archaeological Skills
ATLAS Transferable
Technical
Academic
http://sites.google.com/site/atlasreading/
ATLAS: 3 University Field
Schools Heslington East, University of York Silchester, University of Reading
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Dorchester-on-Thames, University of Oxford
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
ATLAS Methodology• Questionnaires
• Focus Groups - students
• Interviews - Site Directors and Supervisors
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Students: What will Fieldwork do for you?Staff:What has Fieldwork done for you?
• What are the best methods for teaching archaeological fieldwork?
• What aspects of fieldwork training should be assessed?
• What are the best methods for assessing performance?
• How can assessment be linked to your future employability?
ATLAS – THEMESCareers, expectations, teaching methods, the experience, assessment, PDP, employability
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
ATLAS Results
• Site Director interviews x 5
• Supervisor interviews x 26
• Student Focus Groups x 22
• Supervisor questionnaires x 19
• Student questionnaires x 78
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ATLAS: some results
READING YORK OXFORD
Length of Field School
2 or 4 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks
Residential? Yes No Yes
Assessed? Yes Yes No
1st year preparation?
Yes Yes No
2nd year follow-up? Yes Yes No
Careers lectures Yes No No
Type of Archaeology
Complicated, urban, lots of finds, difficult
Less complicated, rural settlement and fewer finds, but intercutting features make interpretation difficult
Fairly complicated, urban, many finds, can be difficult
Type of Supervisor % Commercial – 67%PG – 25%UG – 0%Other – 8%
Commercial – 83%PG – 17%UG – 0%Other – 0%
Commercial – 0%PG – 60%UG – 20%Other – 20%
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Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
ATLAS: some results
READING YORK OXFORD
Students: Has fieldwork training lived up to your
expectations? % Yes
90.5% 86% 33%
Students: Effective Field Skills teaching? % Yes
90.5% 83% 60%
Students: Importance of assessment. % Yes
100% 59.5% 21%
Students: Career in archaeology? % Yes
62% 45% 28%
Staff: how well you think that the ways in which you teach field skills has been effective? % Yes
82% 80% 66%
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Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
ATLAS - The Student Experience: expect the unexpected..
• Physical work
• Few finds
• Methodical process
• Detail & complexity versus using a mattock
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
ATLAS The Student Experience: the expected….
• Team working
• Experience of ‘real-life’ work
• Problem solving
• etc, etc
..but what does it mean?
ATLAS Teaching methods
• Importance of the Supervisor/sectoral knowledge
• Importance of explanation ‘We spent over two hours trowelling down an area and then they just come along and tell us to mattock it. I don’t see the point, what a total waste of time and effort.’
• Importance of small group teaching/peer group teaching etc
• Importance of real-world scenarios & putting transferable skills in context
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ATLAS Assessment
• Incentive: ‘If we weren’t assessed on this the trench wouldn’t be half so deep.’
• Proof of achievement• Difficult to judge
individuals on something as dynamic and flexible as archaeological fieldwork
• How to assess individuals for group effort?
ATLAS Personal Development Plans
‘People know what their skills are and there is no need to write them down.’ Oxford student
•Problems of student engagement
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Lessons of ATLAS
• Skills awareness is high amongst students…..but real life applicability of these skills is still elusive
• Generally employability skills awareness is good amongst universities & this is reflected in the on-site teaching methods
• Assessment of employability skills is crucial
• We still have a long way to go with PDP
• Employability skills need to be embedded throughout the university years
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To Sum Up….. EMPLOYABILITY – who cares?
The ‘right fit’ for employment
•Students
•Universities
•Employers
•IfA
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What Students Wantto be employable
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What Universities Want
GGAT
to demonstrate that they are delivering employability
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What Employers Want
they don’t necessarilywant the ‘finished item’
they want someone who shows they can learn
who can fit into a teamYork Archaeological Trust
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What IfA Wants
sectoral commitment to standards
individuals demonstrating their technical and ethical competence
archaeologists better at working in archaeology, archaeology better for archaeologists to work in
MoLA
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 32
Training Deliverers: issues?
•who delivers the training
•how to demonstrate competence
•learning standards?
•learning about the sector
•life-long learning
Wessex Archaeology
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading 33
IfA Accreditation of Field Schools?
•common model for accrediting learning experiences
•industrial endorsement
•IfA doesn’t want to QA teaching quality
•IfA might want to QA learning content
Wessex Archaeology
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
Lessons for Silchester :the most valuable skills
• Communication: within team and outside team
• Learning to work together towards a common objective
• ‘Jigsaw’ skills: seeing the whole picture.
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Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
Lessons for Silchester: ASSESSMENT• Interactive database quiz – 5%
• Daily practical assessment - 40%
• Self evaluation report – 30%
• An on-site ‘test’– 25%
•Tension between the acquisition of specific archaeological skills and the acquisition of generic skills•How to assess generic skills
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
Lessons for Silchester Access to learning resources:Undergraduate Research Opportunities & Traineeships
Student support
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Silchester Placements
PART 2 STUDENTS
SILCHESTER 2011 Assessed Employability PLACEMENTS
• Building on excavation and post excavation skills
• Team work and organisational skills
• Skills and Knowledge about running a large, long-running excavation project
• Professional Development and Employability Skills
• Progression towards a Traineeship
PART 3 STUDENTS
SILCHESTER 2011 Assessed ARCHAEOLOGICAL
TRAINEESHIPS
• Excavation and post excavation skills
• Management Skills
• Professional Development and Employability Skills
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
What next?
• Group assessments
• Training Supervisors
• Atlas offspring…following the ATLAS students into their 2nd year and beyond
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
What Employers Want
• Attention to Detail
• High boredom threshold
• Common sense
• Forward planning
• Ability to ask questions
• Work within a team
• Understanding of the post excavation process and how it relates to the site
• Writing field reports
• Ability to produce good site plans & sections
• Good knowledge of and flair for studio photography and lighting for artefacts
• Driving licence
• H&S, Manual Handling
• Variety of experience
• Ability to pick up the phone and COMMUNICATE
• CSCS card
• EXPERIENCE COUNTS……
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Department of Archaeology, University of Reading
the consummate archaeologist:an impossible dream?
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