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Planning
the Investigation The 'big question' was further divided into four parts: 'Site and Siting', 'Attack and Defence', 'Life in the Castle' (site-based) and 'The Castle and the Community' (classroom-based). The children were divided into three groups, each one responsible for investigating one of the site-based aspects. At the end of the visit, the three groups were brought together to report back on what they had found and this was followed by a general discussion, the purpose of which was to throw some preliminary light on the 'big question'. Back in school, the children would study additional sources relating to the fourth aspect (The Castle and the Community). In the final exercise, the children were able to extend their investigation by comparing Oystermouth with other castles both locally and in other parts of Wales. The crucial decision in any fieldwork activity is how to handle contextual material. There are at least three kinds of context to be considered:
Alternatively, the children work from the general to the particular. This begins with an introduction to the wider historical context, so that their interpretations of the site are informed by this wider knowledge. Following the visit, they use the additional sources to assist their interpretations of particular features and then comparative data, as before, to determine matters of typicality. In this study, the second approach was adopted, since we wanted the children to form some provisional conclusions about the castle by the end of the site visit. Both approaches are equally valid and can be equally effective, as the investigations of Trafle Mill in Gowerton and White Rock Copper Works (see In the Classroom) can demonstrate. The study began with a talk and slide show given by Gerald Gabb, Education Officer of the Maritime and Industrial Museum in Swansea. This covered the main events of the Norman invasion of South Wales and brief visual descriptions of the Gower castles - including Oystermouth - providing a useful historical context within which to place the building of the castle, its subsequent use and eventual demise.
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his
is a description of a fieldwork investigation of Oystermouth castle
undertaken by Y6 and Y7 pupils and their teachers from local primary
and secondary schools in Swansea. The aims were to provide an
understanding of the status and role of the castle within the context
of the Norman invasion and conquest of South Wales, and to develop
pupils' ability to interpret various aspects of the site using the
visible remains and other source material.
Sometimes
it is better to allow children to visit the site first without any
detailed information about its historical context. In this situation,
the children may lack information but they do not necessarily lack
knowledge. Research has shown that they bring with them sufficient
ideas (in this case about what castles looked like and were used for)
to enable them to identify obvious features, and to pose questions
about features that are not so obvious or easily understood. The main
work will take place after the visit. Working gradually from
the particular/the known to the general/the unknown, the children
first use additional material to help them interpret what they have
seen and recorded on the site visit. They then use comparative
material to help them establish what kind of castle this was, and
finally, they use a wider historical context to confirm the role the
castle played in the history of this part of South Wales.
