Learn how primary sources…

• Introduce students to the experience of the past
• Create deeper engagement with research activities
• Spark lively discussions that improve the teaching process.

Getting some students excited about learning can be a daunting challenge. They’re often distracted by the current media environment. Primary sources, however, can transport them into a form of virtual-reality that gets them not only excited but also engaged with a topic. 

Day and Time:

Thursday, January 28, 2016 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST 

Presenter(s):

Debra Reddin Van Tuyll, Professor, Department of Communications, Augusta University 

 The objective in using primary sources—both print and material—is to put students into a virtual time machine that allows them to see, touch, feel, and even hear artifacts from earlier times. When teaching with primary sources—be it pamphlets printed by Benjamin Franklin or newspapers from the antebellum era—students’ eyes often widen and their attention becomes entirely focused on the topic at hand. 

Join us to discuss how to integrate primary sources into your teaching. Topics will include:

• Where to find relevant artifacts and printed materials
• How to explain their place in the unfolding of history
• How to help students find the meaning embedded in these sources. 

About the Presenter

Recognized for the enlivening use of primary sources in her classes, Debra Reddin van Tuyll is Professor in the Department of Communications at Augusta University. She received her Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of South Carolina. Her primary research interest today is the Civil War-era press, which she has been researching for nearly 20 years. Prof. van Tyull has written, co-authored or co-edited five books on the topic, including Journalism in the Fallen Confederacy (2015).