Bringing History to Life: A Study on the Implementation of an Oral History Research Project as a High-Impact Practice in Undergraduate History Courses

Oral history research projects are assignments that can foster student engagement and learning in undergraduate survey history courses. However, existing scholarship indicates that these assignments are seldom used in undergraduate survey courses. Since the aims of undergraduate survey history cours...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social studies (Philadelphia, Pa : 1934) Pa : 1934), 2019-11, Vol.110 (6), p.267-280
Main Author: Perrotta, Katherine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community Education
Community-based learning
high-impact practices
History Instruction
Learner Engagement
Oral History
Program Implementation
Research Projects
Social Studies
student engagement
survey history courses
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:Oral history research projects are assignments that can foster student engagement and learning in undergraduate survey history courses. However, existing scholarship indicates that these assignments are seldom used in undergraduate survey courses. Since the aims of undergraduate survey history courses are to satisfy graduation requirements, foster critical thinking skills, and provide options for potential major areas of study, there is a need to examine whether engaged learning strategies, such as oral history projects, can serve as a high-impact practice (HIP) in undergraduate history courses. With these premises in mind, the purpose of this action research study is to evaluate whether my five-step oral history research project could serve as a HIP in the undergraduate history survey courses I taught at a two-year college located in metropolitan region of the Southeast. Major findings indicate that oral history research projects can be considered a HIP when grounded in pedagogies that emphasize community-based field work that encourage students to consider diverse perspectives on topics and make real-world connections to content and experiential knowledge.
ISSN:0037-7996
2152-405X
DOI:10.1080/00377996.2019.1644601