Learning from the H.I.P.: Engagement through Reacting to the Past

Abstract

Implementing curriculum that includes all students, that celebrates individual learners’ needs, that fosters student responsibility, and that teaches skills that transcend discipline-specific outcomes is possible with a pedagogy that embraces immersion learning. Reacting to the Past is a High Impact Practice (H.I.P.) approach that uses elaborate, flexible, experiential role-immersion scenarios; all set in the past, these immersion scenarios assign the students historical roles that utilize knowledge of classic texts to respond to historical situations. Igniting a student’s desire to embrace learning is a challenge in a society where what passes for learning is either rote and unchallenging, or unimportant and task specific. When teaching is approached as a universally designed concept that challenges current and past pedagogical traditions learning is transformed for all. Reacting to the Past is a pedagogical approach that can inspire students with a passion for learning.