September 8 and 9, 2012 (Saturday and Sunday)
Roger Williams University, School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation
Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
Deadline for submissions: March 31, 2012
Accepted applicants will be notified in mid-April, 2012

In the twenty-first century, there is an increasing call for higher education to be held accountable for outcomes-based education.

What should these outcomes be? How can they be assessed? What are promises and pitfalls of assessment methods and metrics? What should they be measuring? What is the relationship between these outcomes, curricula, and employable skills? To date, there are no clear answers because little attention has been paid as to how historic environment programs (e.g., historic preservation/heritage conservation) have answered and should answer these questions.

This conference is designed to bring higher education leaders in historic environment programs together from across the globe to present their research, discuss these questions, and begin to offer answers that will produce better historic environment specialists and further define educators’ roles and responsibilities in the greater professional and public arena.

The goal of the conference is to share best practices, current research, and the metrics of academic and professional activities in the field that can help to inform higher education institutions and organizations that provide curriculum guidance and pedagogical practices to historic environment programs.

Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers for peer review and possible inclusion in a conference proceedings to be published in print form. (Submission of a full paper is not required for presentation at the conference.)

Abstracts are invited for paper presentations and discussion panel proposals from international higher education leaders.

While the conference will be hosted in the United States, educators from historic environment programs from other countries are encouraged to submit proposals and attend. Proposals from advanced graduate students conducting thesis/dissertation research on historic preservation/heritage conservation pedagogy will also be considered. Topics can address any pedagogical aspects of historic environment degree/certificate programs in higher (tertiary) education, including:

• What are the best practices in experiential and active learning; which techniques are demonstrated to be more effective?
• What are essential learning objectives in undergraduate and graduate programs and how can these objectives be matched to course requirements?
• How can historic environment programs benefit liberal arts colleges and their curricula?
• How can learning outcomes be measured/assessed?
• What should be the essential differences between undergraduate and graduate HP programs?
• What should be the essential differences between associates/certificate programs in community colleges and bachelor’s programs?
• What should be the learning outcomes of certificate programs and how should they be different from degree programs?
• What is the most effective way to differentiate undergraduate and graduate level historic environment courses and curricula in the same institution?
• What do employers expect from graduates of each type of degree or certificate program?
• What kinds of materials/tests should programs consider in students’ application materials? Which materials are better predictors of high achieving students?
• To what extent should curricula be driven by employer needs while balancing the role that universities have in advancing the field?
• What should students be taught in regard to research methods? Is there a role for the social sciences? What other allied disciplines are relevant and what metrics and methods do they demand?
• Should programs have a thesis or a project as the cumulative end goal? What is the role of a thesis in a master’s program vs. a project? What are the desirable outcomes of the process?
• How can the pedagogical methods, professional content and applied practices be made more relevant to meeting the needs and demands of other programs and fields in academic institutions?
• What is the role of graduates (now practicing as professionals in the fields) in establishing and formatively assessing outcomes?
• What models exist in other fields/professions and how might they help advance our efforts?
• What case studies exemplify best practices of engaged scholarship and service learning?
• With respect to “action research,” what learning and research skills need to be developed and demonstrated?
• Is there an untapped potential in collaboration/crossover with “hands-on” vocational training programs in conservation with bachelor’s/master’s programs?

Types of abstract submissions:

All presentations and panels should be in English.

1. Paper presentation: individual presentations will be grouped into sessions based on similar topics with 5 to 6 presenters per session. Individual presentations should be 15 minutes in length.
2. Discussion panel: panels should consist of two to three individuals presenting on a single topic in a format that encourages audience participation; a variety of formats are encouraged that will help facilitate discussion. One individual in the panel should be identified as a moderator. Panel sessions will be one hour and forty-five minutes in length.

What to submit:

All submissions should be in English.

1. Abstract for paper presentation: include a paper title; presenter name, title, affiliation, and contact info (including email address); and a 500-word (max) abstract of the paper presentation.
2. Abstract for panel discussion: include a panel title; the submitter’s name, affiliation, and contact info (including email address); all presenter names, titles, and affiliations, and an indication of which presenter will also serve as a moderator; and a 500-word (max) description of what the panel will present and discuss. Include a description of how the audience will be involved in the discussion.

Where to submit:

E-mail your abstract as a PDF, MS Word, or RTF file to: jwells@rwu.edu. Include “PEC submission” in the subject line.

Questions?

E-mail Jeremy Wells, conference chair, at jwells@rwu.edu.

Editors: Wolfgang F.E. Preiser, Editor-in Chief, Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Cincinnati, USA, and Korydon H. Smith, Senior Editor, Associate Professor, Fay Jones School of Architecture, University of Arkansas, USA.

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