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Educational reform: Henry VIII contributes to critical debate Simon Taylor examines lessons to be learned from history The English Reformation is associated with the dissolution of the monasteries, the separation of Tudor England from Rome’s Catholic influence and Henry VIII’s divorce(s). However, a more subtle reformation – in 21st century educational experiences – has been taking place in Portsmouth, UK, home port of Britain’s Royal Navy and resting place of Henry VIII’s flagship, The Mary Rose. The Mary Rose, a carrack-type warship, sank during a battle with the French in 1545. She lay on the seabed for over 400 years until she was raised from the Solent floor in 1982. Since then, an award-winning museum has been built around her and, from the equipment and supplies on board, she contributes one of the greatest collections of Tudor artefacts to be found. So how has this historical event and nautical relic from the past been influential in reforming educational experiences in the present day? The answer lies on the seabed, or more specifically on how she got to the seabed. By taking students out of their usual classroom and asking the question What sank the Mary Rose?, the museum’s Education Department, working initially with International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma students and staff from Portsmouth Grammar School UK, has set up a day-long, cross-curricular enquiry for Sixth Form students – which is also now open to students from all
schools, exploring critical thinking in its broadest sense. Theories abound, and imagination stirs. Was the recent refit to blame, with too many heavy guns placed on the higher decks? Was it a sudden gust of wind, with lower gun ports left open? Was it a French cannonball, or friendly fire? Was it too sudden a turn? Was it disorder or incompetence within the (foreign) crew? Or a combination of these? These questions pit the historical and archaeological evidence against the scientific. Not all correspond though, and in the battle of corroborating and conflicting evidence, students are challenged to step back out of the cross-fire, and to think critically about both the detail and the big picture. They are encouraged to evaluate their observations and to draw conclusions about the nature of knowledge in general, as well as within specific disciplines such as history and science. The broadside of documentary evidence comprises written accounts and drawings, some English, some French, one in code, some contemporaneous, some retrospective, some modern. These self-contradict and are not all consistent with an examination of the ship itself or hands-on experiments with scientific concepts such as ‘centre of gravity’ and ‘centre of buoyancy’. At the end of theand Mary Rose? the session, each studentWhat group sank presents defends their
Critical Thinking Experience Day
At the end of the session, each student group presents and defends their hypothesis of what sank the Mary Rose.
Autumn | | 2019 Supports IB Theory of Knowledge and A-Level Arts and Sciences Spring
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