Innovation and Excellence Grants celebrate their success in practice - Volume 3
Read about the experiences of the internal learning support challenges.
Markéta Melounová (Department of Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, MU) presents an innovative form of teaching the history of the early Roman Empire at MU, which includes teamwork of students, excursions to museums and connection with non-literary sources.
With the project Innovation on the way to improving the quality of teaching
I have been teaching at MU for more than ten years and during that time I have taught many hours of compulsory courses in the Ancient History programme. A project from the Strategic Management Support Programme aimed at innovating the key teaching subjects of MU degree programmes has provided a welcome opportunity to reflect on something that has been somewhat natural and to some extent spontaneous: how I teach and how it could be done differently, perhaps a little more creatively.
For innovation, I chose a course on the history of the early Roman Empire (principate) taught in the fall semester (DSBcA11). The basic two-hour lecture had to be maintained, so the innovation affected mostly the seminar part. Students were divided into teams of three (with code names and leaders), which were given two research assignments each. It was important to maintain teamwork even in the seminar presentations and discussions, and this was successful in the case of the "experimental" group. The students evaluated this way of working mostly positively also in the final questionnaire survey, but they also identified possible risks:
“The work in the group went smoothly and the communication as well. It was an interesting change from the traditional individual paper.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“I liked the group work very much, I would appreciate it in other seminars.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“Working in a team was a great boost, one was able to see the perspective of one's colleagues while working on a paper, papers could also be worked on in more depth. I think the only downside was that it was difficult for us as a group to meet in person, so there were some minor mix-ups during the presentation.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“The group work went smoothly... I'm not sure if I was more comfortable working alone than with a group, since with the wrong group it could mean unnecessary complications.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
The assignments were designed so that students would first gain an overview of the topic and methodological inspiration by studying a scholarly article or chapter of a scholarly work, and then they would study and analyze a particular type of source. The aim of the course was to show the variety of sources on which to base the study of a given period; to avoid students remaining within the confines of traditional literary sources, and to make them also deal with sources of a material nature, such as visual representations, buildings and especially coins (both iconographically and inscriptionally). An important part of the course, therefore, was to bring students into direct contact with these non-literary sources by means of trips to two nearby collecting institutions - the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (imperial portraits and gems) and the National Museum in Prague (coins, especially from the Marcomannic Wars). Both excursions were complemented by explanations by specialists. At the end of the semester, the importance of an interdisciplinary approach was reiterated by a lecture by Dr. Tomáš Glomb from the Department of Religious Studies, who presented innovative methods applicable to the exploration of topics between religious studies and classical studies.
The students appreciated the importance of direct acquaintance with the sources and the new format of the seminar:
“Thanks to the topics discussed in the presentations, I have memorized the material, interesting facts, etc. I have a better understanding of the subject. For example, thanks to reading Seneca's drama, I have better remembered Nero's reign and his affair.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“Interesting addition to the lessons, I liked the closer focus on certain events.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“The field trip was enriching, I found the explanation of the evolution of the depiction of emperors and dynasties very beneficial.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
“The excursion was rewarding, mainly because of the opportunity to see the coins up close and listen to an expert's interpretation.”
Student of the History of the Early Roman Empire
The students' interest was evidenced by the fact that they took their own images during the excursions, which they then used in their research presentations.
The project involved not only the actual implementation of new methods in teaching, but also the acquisition of new knowledge from pedagogical theory. Which was more than welcome for me as a graduate of several non-teaching disciplines. The development of teaching competences took place in two different ways. The first was the exchange of suggestions with colleagues from other disciplines and faculties in moderated meetings reflecting on the process of innovation. The meetings brought together representatives of disciplines very different from each other who would not normally have the opportunity to get to know each other, showing that the problems related to teaching remained the same even with professional diversity.
The second method of development was prescribed participation in a developmental-competency activity of one's own choice and need. This exposed me in detail to the interesting range of CERPEK activities, which until then I had only heard about from colleagues and read about in faculty and university newsletters.
Participating in the project created a space to concentrate for once on the methodological part of teaching, to share experiences across disciplines and faculties and to think about how to adapt the established concept to remain viable in the years to come: how to use interaction with the participants themselves, the learners, or how to introduce activities that make them immerse themselves in the compulsory material while instilling the most important basics.
Markéta Melounová
