A Case Study on the Incorporation of Museum and Artifact-Based Fieldtrips in the Teaching of Ancient Singapore History: Teacher Reflections and Student Learning

Abstract

Although there is no large-scale and coherent survey available on teacher-guided history fieldtrips in Singapore, recent exploratory case studies have emerged on the use of museums in the teaching of premodern Singapore history. This chapter seeks to locate the efforts of a group of history teachers in the context of collaboration with academic and professional bodies as well as a Networked Learning Community who systematically sought to incorporate museum-based learning and embed such teaching resources in the teaching of ancient Singapore history. Using Activity Theory (AT) as a learning theory to explore these networks of collaboration, the learning networks that were established showed that such approaches could lead to a more effective co-creation of knowledge outcome for practitioner inquiry and have some positive outcomes for student learning. Data was collected from teacher reflections and surveys as a basic unit of analysis and from students to gauge how they benefited from such learning approaches. The analysis of teacher responses showed that there was increased teacher confidence in the teaching of ancient Singapore history, and students derived direct and indirect benefits from a networked system of learning. From the perspective of AT, although the collaborative linkages established between the different institutions (museums, academic institutions, schools, and Ministry of Education) were not bound by any fixed rules, the committed efforts of the Master Teacher and teachers played an important role in setting up norms of collaboration among the different institutions to impact student learning about ancient Singapore.

Appendices

Appendices

Inquiry and Guiding Questions, Museum Learning Program, Learning Intentions, Activities and Sample Survey.

Inquiry Question

• 1. What can archaeological evidence tell us about the people living in Temasek and the kind of activities they were engaged in, in the 14^th century?

Guiding Questions

• 1. How does archaeology work? What is the archaeological process like?

• 2. How has human material culture developed over time?

• 3. What were the kinds of artifacts discovered in Singapore?

• 4. What do these artifacts tell you about the people living in Temasek in the 14^th century?

• 5. What can you infer about the kind of activities that the people in Temasek were doing in the 14^th century?

Museum Learning Program

• 1. To enable students to have a better understanding of the archaeological process and the work of archaeologists in supporting historians to construct knowledge about Singapore’s early past.

• 2. To provide students with a broad understanding of the development of human material culture.

• 3. To provide students with an opportunity for a hands-on experience in handling and studying artifacts.

Learning Intentions

Students will be able to:

• 1. Classify and sort the sherds/ceramics according to their different types,

• 2. Identify on the Singapore map where selected artifacts were discovered, and

• 3. Make inferences about the people living in Singapore and the kind of activities that took place in Singapore in the 14^th century, based on the artifacts discovered and the additional contextual information provided.

Activity 1: The Lost Bag of Sherds! Sort the Sherds!

Archaeology involves more than just excavation of sites to search for artifacts. It also involves laboratory work to clean, catalogue, and analyze artifacts.

• 1. Study the bag of sherds on the table.

• 2. Sort the sherds into different categories.

• 3. Use the table that describes the characteristics of the different types of pottery to guide you.

• 4. Examine the following before sorting them according to the:

  • Texture

  • Color

  • Design

• 5. Explain why you categorize the sherds in those ways.

Activity 2: Plot It on a Map

• 1. The map shows you three major excavations sites in Singapore:

  • Fort Canning Hill

  • St Andrews’ Cathedral

  • River Area: Empress Place / Parliament House Complex / Old Parliament House / Padang

• 2. Archaeologists discovered various artifacts in these three areas and more is written about them in the cards.

• 3. Study the pictures of artifacts and the additional information given to you.

• 4. Sort the artifacts according to where they were discovered in Singapore.

• 5. Plot these artifacts on the map.

  

  Courtesy of J. Miksic and the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board.

  

  Courtesy of Singapore Land Authority (SLA) (One Map).

• 6. Look for two or three other artifacts that were discovered in Singapore from the Archaeology Library (not mentioned in the pictures) and then plot them on the map.

• 7. Map your activity and then answer the following questions:

  • What was life like for people who lived in the different areas in Ancient Singapore?

  • What evidence supports your argument?

Sample Survey: Survey on the learning of Ancient Singapore and sherd handling

• 1. Write down five key words about what you learned in chapters 1 and 2 on Temasek Singapore.

  

• 2. Did you know about Temasek Singapore (Temasek) before you study it in school? Yes/No

  

• 3. What did you know about Temasek Singapore?

  

• 4. How did you know about Temasek Singapore then?

  

• 5. What did you like about the trips to the museums?

  

• 6. Write down three to five key words about what you have learned at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM)?

  

• 7. How did going to the NUS Museum help you better understand Temasek Singapore?

  

• 8. Can you make a suggestion to improve learning at the museums?