Hunner, Jon. “Historic Environment Education: Using Nearby History in Classrooms and Museums.” (2011)

This article describes the efforts of the Historic Environment Education (HEE), an organization that merges active learning with local resources to engage learners in their local history and environment. HEE uses the primary sources found at local historical sites to provide active educational experiences through oral history, heritage preservation, archaeology, and naturalist studies. HEE’s integration of active history learning entails students’ personal preparation before an activity or trip, students conducting oral histories from family members, and students’ participation in interpreting history through visiting a historic house, old neighborhood, or through role-playing activities. The article also explains the historic environment education pedagogy that explores the “zone of proximal development,” “local knowledge,” multiple forms of intelligence, and socialization through play. Lastly, the article outlines the role of oral history, role-playing, and heritage preservation as ways to invigorate the learning and doing of history.