Katz, Robin M. "Using Archives in Place-Based Learning: Lessons from Students and Faculty in the Archives." Invited to host a half-day session for visiting faculty from Kapi'olani Community College in Hawaii, a partner of City Tech's i-Cubed project. February 28, 2013. Presentation and hands-on workshop.

1. Lessons from
Students and Faculty in the Archives
Robin M. Katz
Archivist / Co-Director of SAFA

2. Schedule
9:30 – 10:00 Welcome to BHS
10:00 – 10:30 What is SAFA?
10:30 – 10:45 Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:00 SAFA Hands-On

3. Welcome
• Introductions
– Name, institution, what you hope to learn this morning

4. Welcome
• Introductions
– Name, institution, what you hope to learn this morning
• Our Goals
– Welcome you to Brooklyn and BHS
– Encourage you to connect primary sources with
place-based learning
– Leave you with some strategies for teaching with
archives and rare books

5. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Innovative postsecondary education program
which uses primary sources to build document
analysis, information literacy, and critical thinking
skills in undergraduates

6. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Three year, US Dept of Education FIPSE grant
• Three schools: City Tech, LIU, St. Francis
• Eighteen partner faculty
• Wide variety of disciplines and types of classes

7. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Centered around class visits to the archives
• Place-based learning beyond BHS building

8. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Fall 2012 (3rd
semester)
– 18 courses
– 15 professors
– 25 class visits to BHS
– 371 individual students
– 528 students through the door
– 6 on-campus previsits serving 102 individual students
• Other terms similar
– First semester: 40+ visits to BHS

9. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Our Teaching Philosophy
– Goals and objectives
– No show-and –tell
– Actively use materials
– Less is more
– Document Analysis

10. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Paid Summer Fellowships for Undergrads
– Individual research projects
– Contribute to a small exhibit in groups
– Gain exposure to museums and libraries
– http://safa.brooklynhistory.org/fellowship-2012
– http://safa.brooklynhistory.org/2013-fellowship-app

11. Findings
• Q: Why might this document be worth preserving
in an archive?
PRE POST
St udent s not i ng
a si ngl e f eat ur e or
gi vi ng a vague
r esponse
72% 49%
St udent s not i ng
mul t i pl e physi cal
f eat ur es
28% 51%

12. Findings
• Q: Why might this document be worth preserving
in an archive?
Sampl e PRE responses Sampl e POST responses
Thi s i s a phot o f r om t he
past
To show how soci et y
val ued ent er t ai nment .
Because i t showed what
was goi ng on at t hat
moment .
[ I t ] shows how t echnol ogy
was pr ogr essi ng i n t he
US.
I t gi ves i nsi ght … t o what
l i f e was l i ke dur i ng t he
1960s.
I t shows how peopl e wer e
sendi ng post al car ds
t hr ough t he t el egr ams and
how i t was di f f er ent …
t han… t oday.

13. Findings
• Just one class at LIU Brooklyn
SAFA NON- SAFA
Compl et i on Rat e 96. 9% 76. 7%
Passi ng Rat e 91. 9% 48%
Gr ade of B or
bet t er
60. 7% 30. 3%

14. Findings
• High Impact Learning Practices
– Work with firsy-year seminars, learning communities,
– Common intellectual experience (among a cohort)
– Collaborative assignments and projects
– Undergraduate research
– Diversity/global learning
– Community-based learning
– www.aacu.org/leap/hip.cfm

15. Findings
• 2012 Evaluation Report
– http://safa.brooklynhistory.org/docs/Eval-Report-2012.pdf

16. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• National Partners
– Philadelphia, PA
Hi st or i cal Soci et y of
Pennsyl vani a, Cl i veden of t he
Nat i onal Tr ust , St . Joseph’ s
Uni ver si t y
– Burlington, VT
The Uni ver si t y of Ver mont
– Providence, RI
Br own Uni ver si t y Li br ar y, Rhode
I sl and Col l ege
– New Bedford, MA
Whal i ng Museum, Br i dgewat er

17. Students and Faculty in the Archives
(SAFA)
• Summer Institutes
– for local faculty and national partners
• Dissemination
– Presentations
– Publications
– Project-level website at http://safa.brooklynhistory.org

18. After the break: Experience SAFA
• A hands-on understanding
• Learn about Brooklyn through primary sources
• Successful examples of
– Pedagogical Design
– Document Selection and Handout Creation
– Wrap-Ups
• Hear more from the professors themselves

19. 15 Minute Break
• No food or drink in the library
• While enjoying your refreshments, check out:
– Landscape paintings of agrarian Brooklyn
– 1770 Ratzer map of New York harbor
– Exploring the Journals of Gabriel Furman exhibit

20. Robin M. Katz
Archivist / Co-Director of SAFA
rkatz@brooklynhistory.org
#safabhs @robinmkatz