Reacting to the Past in English Instruction at the University of Agder

Dr. Sean Taylor, Associate Professor of history at University of Minnesota, Moorhead, was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Agder during the academic year 2011-2012. One of his greatest contributions while in Norway was to facilitate and evaluate a new and innovative teaching pedagogy entitled "Reacting to the Past" activity for the students of the American survey course (EN-104). "Reacting to the Past," developed at Barnard College, part of Columbia Univerisity in New York City, combines in-depth research and assimilation of specific historical occurrences with strong exercising of rhetorical skills, written as well as oral, in a simulation format that invites (and structurally compels) a high degree of active participation through individual rese arch and oral debate. In the feedback from this course offered in spring 2012, Reacting to the Past was singled out by the students as demanding, engaging, and successful. "Reacting to the Past" challenges the typical Norwegian university student on a nu mber of levels: the element of group work (and team work), the insight into the sometime vagaries of historical developments, and, not least, the extreme demands on the production of reasoned discourse, written and oral. It is a remarkable activity for yo ung scholars on several levels, but key to our purpose is the development of critical thinking skills, and the attendant rhetorical activities. In a word, no other instructional activity in my experience involves students to this degree, especially in she er language production (a difficult skill to practice at University level). We intend to involve our colleagues from the history and theology departments, and will be observed also by faculty from Kristiansand Katedralskolen who have expressed interest i n this method.