Group Research Projects on Local Historical Sites : An Analysis of Student Outcomes

This educational research & report article discusses the author’s recent implementation of a new assessment in the teaching of his“ History of Modern Japan” course. This assessment is a group research project which requires small groups of students to visit and research about a local historical site. The article explains the rationale for creating this project, what the project involves in terms of student work, and initial anonymous feedback from students on what they have learned from the process. The author argues that this type of research promotes experiential learning and can support Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. This type of project also can help students to better make connections with students in their class and with the local community. Given the university campus’s proximity to countless historical sites in the Kansai region, this project can be implemented relatively easily. This report also includes the author’s reflections thus far on implementation of the group research project.