The Use of Experimental Archaeology As a Didactic Resource in the Learning Process: An Educational Experience with Students of Tourist Administration in Lima, Perú

Abstract

In the Peruvian educational context there is a lack of specialized and experimental didactic resources for courses on Pre-Columbian History of Peru. For this reason, experimental archaeology was adapted and applied as a didactic resource (Arquered), a methodology used in the archaeologist’s work. In consequence, the research has as a general objective that is to demonstrate that the application of the Arquered improves the students’ learning process. The research approach is a quantitative and explanatory type. Likewise, the quasi-experimental design, with post-test only and control group, has been chosen. A non-probability sampling was implemented and consisted of 55 students, of which 30 were selected from the morning shift (control group), and 25 from the night shift (experimental group). The non-participant survey and observation was applied through two instruments: the Q1 questionnaire and the Q2 comparison list, respectively. In relation to the analysis, the IBM SPSS version 20.0 program was used to obtain the chi-square value (X2) of each item. The results showed that the use of the Arquered improves the learning process of the History of Pre-Columbian Peru, since it contributes to identify the students’ previous knowledge and increases their degree of participation and level in the learning achievements, either in the case of conceptual and procedural contents, or in a favorable attitude towards the archaeological heritage.