#  A ‘tangible dimension’: Learning by making, listening, and tasting 

 



   ![Gojko Barjamovic_resin_casts](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/vpl/files/Barjamovic.jpg?itok=VTJQrEl-) 

 

**Gojko Barjamovic, Lecturer on Assyriology,** increases student learning in [*ANE 103 Ancient Lives*](https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/13887) by designing activities to engage students’ full range of senses. “To convince people to commit a semester of study to ancient history, you have to make it meaningful.”

   ![Barjamovic course_resin_casts](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/vpl/files/032515_resin_casts_417_334580.jpg?itok=TYrz7Eou) 

 

### The benefits 

Barjamovic accomplishes this with experiences like [making plaster casts of ancient Mesopotamian reliefs](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/04/how-to-recast-antiquity/)in collaboration with the Semitic Museum, [playing replicas of the world’s oldest instruments](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/lasting-enchantments/), conducting [lab experiments testing the efficacy of ancient medical recipes](http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~ancientlives/index.html), brewing beer, and [cooking 4,000-year-old Babylonian recipes](http://hds.harvard.edu/news/2015/10/23/taste-past#). “Some students thrive with lectures, but others don’t, especially in something as initially abstract as history. First-hand experiences address the basic human condition over thousands of years and provide a tangible dimension to it.”

### The challenges 

Organizing a course around once-in-a-lifetime activities does not necessarily adhere to a traditional semester schedule; students produce only one project and a take home exam, but can expect to spend 25 hours outside of class on related activities. Barjamovic shares this expectation early and works closely with teaching fellows and collaborators to ensure that students stay on track within this structure.



 

##  Takeaways and best practices 

 



 ### The benefits extend beyond student learning. 

Working on the reliefs, students not only learn by doing, but also offer Harvard extra hands to produce exhibits used in the remodeled Semitic Museum.



 

 ### Flexible assignments make for meaningful connections. 

For the main assignment, students often select topics relevant to their personal interests, integrating the liberal arts experience: “Having the courage to allow them do their own thing and lose control for a while is hard, but they are very creative and their projects mostly come together organically.”



 

 ### Be open to serendipitous curricular opportunities. 

Barjamovic developed *Ancient Lives* with support from the Office of General Education, and financial aid from the Elson Family Arts Initiative and the Office of the Provost. Opportunities like the music and cooking classes came to fruition as a result of shared interest conversations and collaborations with colleagues. This year’s *Ancient Lives* students are producing a theatrical production of the Epic of Gilgamesh in collaboration with the A.R.T. and the Semitic Museum, integrating museum casts, music, and costume. “There are so many opportunities on this campus, you can’t avoid running into *some* of them.”



 

  

 

 

 

### Bottom line

Tangible activities promote focus and imagination, according to Barjamovic: “The key is to cater to individual interests—to create a personal window for learning.”



 

##  Related Research 

 



  [###  Engaging the Senses: Object-based Learning in Higher Education

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_openaire_primary_doi_d72836f6f3368aaa7632d0e42569c4b9) A series of case studies provide firm evidence of the value of museum-higher education relationships and, in some cases, ways to create or sustain such relationships. Over time educational thinking and practice has ranged from behaviorist to postmodernist... 

 

 

   [### Object-Based Learning: A Powerful Pedagogy for Higher Education

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_informaworld_taylorfrancisbooks_10_4324_9781315596471_15_version2) This chapter explores experiences of implementing Object-Based Learning (OBL) using university museum collections across a range of academic departments at University College London (UCL) 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) 

 

 

 

##  Related Resource 

 



  [### The Architectural Imagination (HarvardX)

 ](https://www.edx.org/course/architectural-imagination-harvardx-gsd1x) In K. Michael Hays’s HarvardX course, The Architectural Imagination, learners explore fundamental architectural concepts through various “making-as-learning” activities, like building a cardboard model of Aldo Rossi’s Cuneo Memorial and designing a pied-à... 

 

 

   [### Prototyping Lab (i-Lab)

 ](https://i-lab.harvard.edu/news/harvard-i-lab-expands-prototyping-lab-in-response-to-student-demand/) Harvard i-Lab renovates 'maker space' and prototyping lab 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Resources arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresources) 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ FAS ](/featured-faculty/fas)
- [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues)
- [ object learning ](/objectlearning)
- [ learning by making ](/topics/learning-making)
- [ group work ](/groupwork)