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Bringing collections into the classroom

A partnership between Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Cumbria Record Office and a local history teacher has strengthened relationships with local schools, and led to the development of a resource pack for history teachers.

In 2006/7, history teacher Carmel Bones took advantage of a Learning Links Placement in which she explored, with museum and archive partners, how collections could enliven the GCSE curriculum and make it more meaningful for students.

They decided to focus on developments in public health and medicine in and around Carlisle, from the nineteenth century to the present day. “I started by searching the museum and archive for objects and documents relating to medicine and public health throughout history,” explained Carmel.

A project of firsts

This was a project of firsts, as despite offering an educational service, the archive had never worked with GCSE students before. Partnering with Tullie House gave the archive the opportunity to cater to older secondary-level students, and to focus on the local dimension of the topic which greatly increased the appeal for this age group.

Students were able to handle a selection of objects, and care was taken to ensure there would be no damage, with careful supervision and use of facsimiles. Taking on the role of nineteenth century sanitary inspectors, in the first session the students used maps, photographs and printed reports to identify and describe the living conditions of the people of Carlisle throughout the specified time period.

The benefits of this more interesting approach to teaching were notable: “This form of learning compelled them to use their investigative skills rather than passively absorb information,” explained Carmel.

The second session involved a variety of activities based around objects from Tullie House’s collection, including a doctor’s bill from 1810 for a purgative, and nineteenth century hearing aids. Pupils worked independently, making their own observations and deductions, and both sessions led to lively debate about public health and medical practice in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Project helps GCSE students

The project significantly helped the performance of students in their GCSE exams, and 10 out of the 30 in the group went on to take history at ‘A’ level. “I think this level of uptake can be attributed in part to the inspiration and enjoyment students obtained through their experience on the Public Health and Medicine through Time module,” confirmed Carmel.

Following on from this successful pilot, a teaching pack has been developed and the project has been shared more widely with other teachers in Cumbria.

“All three partners in the Learning Links scheme are eager to develop this approach to using original historical material in the classroom,” explained Chris Smith from Tuille House. “The pilot has given us all the confidence to do something similar in the future, but with a new area of the curriculum and a different range of documents and objects.”

For more detailed information on the Tullie House Learning Links scheme, please visit the case study section on the MLA research website