Engaging Students in Inquiry Learning at The Big Dig, Sydney

Abstract

Since opening in 2010, The Big Dig Archaeology Education Centre in Sydney has welcomed over 70,000 students aged 5–18 years to participate in school learning programmes. Students use the process of inquiry to “work like an archaeologist” in purpose-built classrooms on a site which spans the Colonial to Federation periods of Australian history (1795–1914). Using data collected from teacher evaluations, we identify four key factors that contribute to successful learning for students in our archaeology programmes.