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The mission of the Sussex College of Egyptology is to research Sussex based collections and to make this information available to the Egyptology community, to further other scholar’s research, which may link to these collections, and to make this these collections accessible to the public.

2003 - 2004 AN EDUCATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE BEXHILL MUSEUM EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITEIES COLLECTION EAST SUSSEX
By Robert Graham Scott

Abstract
This research project is an educational analysis of an Egyptian antiquities collection located at Bexhill Museum East Sussex.

The models used to assess the educational value of the collection are key stages 1 – 6 of the National Curriculum and the current needs of learners located in the town & district of Bexhill East Sussex.

The collection could provide a valuable future resource for key stage 1 & 2 learners located in the surrounding Primary, Junior & Middle Schools of Bexhill. Providing the museum concerned makes provision for their Egyptian collection when the future refurbishment of the building/galleries is completed. The current Egyptian permanent exhibit needs to be expanded and reorganised taking into consideration the role of a museum within the key stage requirement of the National Curriculum. Any future exhibit needs to be supported with visual aids and worksheets, for learners to be able to engage with the collection successfully.

A further survey is required to access the needs of all adult learners who engage with the museums collections. This survey will ascertain the adult learners educational needs for either; general information on the subject of the ancient Egyptians or a specialization approach to their Egyptian collection located at Bexhill, or both.

Although the museum has only 200 Egyptian objects in their collection there is enough material to make a provision for all learners within the town of Bexhill.

Preface
I first became aware of the Bexhill Museum Egyptian Antiquities Collection in September of 1999. After contacting the Curator Mr Julian Porter. We agreed the first step in researching this collection was to produce a photographic catalogue of the objects, this was completed in January 2001 and converted into an information technology format in April 2001 and installed onto the museums Information Communication Technology centres computers.

As an unpaid researcher of the collection I started my research by investigating ceramic technology of ancient Egypt and followed the work of Dr Colin Hope, who is a specialist of ancient Egyptian ceramics.

As an outreach teaching specialist of Egyptian Archaeology working with pupils of First, Middle, Junior & Primary schools and adults in Further Education within the counties of Sussex. My aim was to take an interactive approach to this research and to employ the theory of ‘effective learning’. This is when a teacher is able to engage the learners feeling and emotions and by doing so, the learner is most likely to retain the learning. This is regarded in the teaching profession as the finest way in which a learner can learn and why I originally approached the research from a ceramic point of view. In the expectation that on completion of a visit to the museums Egyptian collection, the younger learners would return to the classroom environment and produce Egyptian duplicate ceramics. Which would engage the effective learning.

As mentioned in the abstract (i) the model I employed for the analysis was the key stages of the National Curriculum. With my current studies in archaeology and understanding of ‘agency theory’ I committed my approach from an educational point of view to encourage future visitors of the collection to engage, not just the Egyptian objects they viewed but also the past Egyptian people and by doing so it would cultivate ‘effective learning’ in the learners. I realised that this is an ambitious approach but my experience of researching site reports, where accounts of the context of discovery is given, has convinced me that by reassembling objects discovered in groups and exhibiting these objects in replica environments within museums. The learners would be able to connect with the past Egyptian people.

My reasoning for this is, that learners will better understand the objects exhibited in a burial context, which will have more meaning than objects, which are exhibited by chronology and on an individual basis. Obviously objects, which are exhibited individually as examples of technology development are valued, but my argument is that these types of exhibits do not catch the learner’s imagination or inspiration.

The point I am trying to achieve in this research report is to demonstrate that by exhibiting Egyptian Objects in a replica context of discovery this will provide more meaning for learners who visit museums with Egyptian collections.

Note: The abstract & preface are extracts of a dissertation which was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the First Year M.A. in Egyptian Archaeology of the University of London in 2004.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Note: ©Sussex College of Egyptology - these extracts should not be quoted or cited without permission of the author, Robert Scott.

An unedited version of this dissertation research report is available to view at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London,  University of London, until 2009.

An edited version will be available for purchase from the College in January 2005, at cost price.

CURRENT RESEARCH
The College is currently researching the possibility of a combined Certificate & Diploma in Egyptian Archaeology with Information Technology, Business Enterprise & Life Skills units, included within the awards, for post 16 learners.

Publication Date: 2006