Conservation days - Informal Adult Learning
During the first few years of the PAS, before it was fully rolled out across the country, the educational work of the project was mainly concerned with adult learners. These people were the PAS’s original target audience, people who were finding archaeology and archaeological objects but had often felt excluded from the heritage world and did not come in to regular contact with heritage professionals or visit museums. By asking potential learners what they wanted and what had stopped them from learning in the past[1], the PAS realised that what was needed was friendly, accessible archaeologists to act as both a conduit for information and a catalyst for learning. Research done in 2000[2] and followed up in 2004[3].
These specialist sessions have been in addition to the Finds Days, lectures, history fairs, local society and community group evenings and other outreach sessions that the FLOs go to and talk at. In the year 2003-4, 13,518 people got involved in learning in this way. showed that the finders of portable antiquities like learning through the PAS because it does all of the things that they are looking for: it takes the learning opportunities out to the metal detecting clubs and society meetings and by using the FLO as a learning facilitator, learning is personal, relevant and responsive to people’s needs. When questioned about their learning needs in 2003, finders told the PAS that they wanted an individual learner-centred approach whereby learning is incorporated in to other activities. They don’t want formal learning scenarios or to be archaeologists. They want to know enough to satiate their thirst for knowledge and allow them to be more skilful at their hobby and then, if they are ready or have the inclination possibly progress on to other areas of archaeology.
Those finders that told us about learner progression said that what they wanted to do next was a practical course in excavation techniques, remote sensing and finds processing, something along the lines of practical courses like the old HND in Field Archaeology that Bournemouth University used to run.With this in mind, the PAS has worked in conjunction with other archaeological bodies to provide the learning that finders want. One of the most notable ways that this has happened has been through regional Conservation Days which were held in a variety of locations all over the country in conjunction with York Archaeological Trust during 2005-2006 and were accompanied by a series of friendly advice notes dealing with questions like how to record and lift finds on site, how to store and display finds and why cleaning isn’t a good idea
