You can do better

01 April 2015 – Michelle Hamilton

methods, profession, employment, training, funding, NCPH, conference

Wikipedia 101 workshop at the 2014 NCPH Annual Meeting in Monterey, CA. Photo credit: Courtesy of NCPH.

Wikipedia 101 workshop at the 2014 NCPH Annual Meeting in Monterey, CA. Photo credit: NCPH

In 2011, the Professional Development Committee developed a set of guidelines for annual meeting workshops. We see workshops as providing hands-on and participatory experiences which impart practical information, rather than the typical conference presentation or “show and tell” case studies. With these guidelines in place, the committee has begun to think about a broader curriculum of professional development opportunities to serve the needs of National Council on Public History members. To do so, we are seeking your input though a brief survey.

As a firm believer in professional development at all stages of my career, I have participated in a number of NCPH workshops focusing on digital tools to bolster my nascent skills. In 2012, I registered for the Tenure and Promotion of the Publicly Engaged Historian session, which greatly assisted me in preparing my own tenure application that year. This year, I am looking forward to the sessions on documentary editing and gravestone studies, both of which I envision helping me conceptualize and plan future group projects for my graduate students and community partners. This year’s program also features new and diverse offerings on resume building, project management, and best practices for interpreting slavery at museums and historic sites.

Each year brings new proposals for workshops while old favourites, such as oral history, material culture, and THATCamp, return frequently. Should the committee create a multi-year rotating curriculum or embrace the serendipitous nature of the conference proposal system? Are there skills so central to our field that members want regular chances to learn or improve them? Our annual meetings are increasingly packed full of competing sessions, tours, working groups, and business meetings. Usually, workshops are scheduled the day before the conference to reduce conflicts as much as possible. Is it now time to offer opportunities outside of the annual meeting as well?

In this era of shrinking institutional budgets, we know that NCPH members have difficulty meeting the cost of attending the annual conference, let alone additional opportunities for professional development. The committee would like to hear your opinion about the timing and location of potential opportunities and cost-effective methods of delivery, such as webinars or Twitter chats.

The committee welcomes all other comments about improving NCPH professional development opportunities, as well as volunteers to join our committee.

~ Michelle Hamilton is chair of NCPH’s Professional Development Committee and Associate Professor & Director of Public History, The University of Western Ontario. You can email her at [email protected].