First-year undergraduates enter higher education with innate talents, and with skills and knowledge gained from their high school curriculum and from life experience. In regard to the MENA region, however, they have had few opportunities to absorb credible information. When introducing undergraduate research in MENA Studies, the facilitator must design a course that balances primary sources, historical context, and credible current information in accessible formats to support the learners’ natural curiosity. Course modules should offer a range of introductory material that connects the learner to broader opportunities for research, knowledge acquisition, and production.This presentation will provide a review of materials and assignments that are designed to move students away from pedagogical teacher-centered approaches in MENA Studies toward self-directed research questions that also support an emerging self-awareness of the learner as an independent scholar and as an active, engaged global citizen. Malcolm Knowles (2011), an adult educator who popularized the learning theory of andragogy, or self-direction, in adult learners, makes an essential point about adult learners: that the goals and purposes of adult learners are in their control. While pedagogy requires that teachers should design essential learning opportunities, one goal of undergraduate research is to foster self-directed research skills. The teacher becomes a supportive facilitator of the learner’s goals by fostering the learner’s self-concept as a competent researcher and scholar and a more capable, globally-aware citizen .

Each year, the Beloit College Mindset list provides an informal snapshot of the cultural experiences that shape the worldview of first-year American college students. What if we developed a similar snapshot of the assumptions and background knowledge that our students bring to their study of the Middle East? How might this help us craft more effective research assignments that leverage students' interest in current events, digital media, and visual means of communication to spark higher order learning in their study of the past? If, as constructivist educators argue, students primarily draw on their existing knowledge to wrestle with and make sense of new material, then it is particularly important that faculty have a deep understanding of these underlying assumptions and the ways in which our students access and process information. This paper has two goals: first, to explore ways in which the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and constructivist literature can be applied to the specific challenges of the Middle Eastern history classroom, particularly as we help students navigate complex material despite limited background knowledge. Qualitative analysis of student reflective writing responses from Middle Eastern history classes will provide concrete examples to support the theoretical framework. Second, the paper will discuss specific case studies of digital archives and collaborative research assignments that create opportunities for students to reassess their assumptions, most importantly the media lens of "timeless" conflict through which they often view both current developments and the region's history. Students are avid consumers of images on social media, for example, but often lack the tools to analyze and contextualize these images. The growing body of on-line digital image and document collections from the Middle East provides exciting opportunities for undergraduates who lack language training or access to physical archives to conduct research on the region that moves beyond western sources in a way that was not possible a few years ago. These digital collections also help to bridge the gap between what students already know, and what they need to understand to undertake complex historical analysis. Students can then apply these skills not only to research in the classroom, but in their response to the media sources they access on a daily basis.

This presentation discusses projects both of which involve undergraduates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: Harness Innovation through Virtual Exchange (HIVE) and the Afghan Cultural Heritage Education Project (ACHEP). Thinking about these courses’ pedagogies is an on-going process; implementation involves constant changes to meet the needs of students. The HIVE project involves students in the US and abroad, whereas the ACHEP program solely involves on-line instruction of students overseas. These projects provide an informative comparison and allow for a good discussion of lessons learned. HIVE, a Stevens Initiative project of the US State Department, features students at US institutions working together with students in the MENA region. The students participate jointly in a minimum of four synchronous sessions and together create a final project. At our institution, administration worked closely with our partners in Egypt to identify two classes with closely related subject matter for the test case. The US university class involves students in a cross-listed undergraduate/ graduate architecture course; students work with their counterparts at an institution in Cairo in an upper-level undergraduate studio architecture class. In class zero, professors and staff tested technology. The professor at our institution works closely with his counterpart in Egypt to ensure that subject matter needs of students in both courses are met. After discussion between faculty and staff at both institutions, planned class-meeting times were set to meet the needs and schedules of all concerned. ACHEP, jointly funded by National Park Service and US State Department, is in the process of filming “Illicit Trafficking,” its second course in English, for archaeology students in Afghanistan. The students have access through a private website to filmed lectures given by a variety of experts. The Afghan students watch the talks and work with local professors to contextualize the lectures with regional examples. The Afghan undergraduates are non-native English speakers. Instructors identified needs and made accommodations as the class progressed. For example, in the first class one challenge that arose in the virtual environment was the speed of the English videos. The video editor modified the recorded lectures to ensure that they could be slowed down, thus assisting second language learners. This paper shares lessons learned from two varied online projects regarding pedagogy, intercultural competence, and best practices for learning in an international virtual environment.

Newbook Digital Texts is an innovative digital humanities publishing house re-imagining and restructuring traditional academic research, publication, and education.  Over six years, more than 140 University of Washington undergraduate interns from 33 departments have collaborated with faculty on research projects ranging from Ottoman and Georgian poetry to nineteenth-century travel journals from Iraq and Egypt. This presentation will discuss Newbook strategies for blending the traditional values of the humanities with the development of technological competency, effective communication skills, and the ability to work in a collaborative environment.