How a hands-on approach — and Murdoch Mysteries — got these kids excited to learn history
Teachers have long had a place among Murdoch Mysteries fans; now some of them are bringing the detective drama's mix of history, science and snappy whodunit into their classrooms, saying that combining the show with active, hands-on learning can help kick-start curiosity, facilitate connections and build valuable skills.
Important kids understand why what 'happened 150 years ago still matters,' education prof. says
Jessica Wong · CBC News
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A student eagerly looking forward to class? That's how Amara Patel felt after lessons that put her in the driver's seat to explore a figure from the past in a creative, hands-on way: pitching a historical character for an episode of Murdoch Mysteries.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, I have history next. Like, let's go! I can't wait for this.' And it was just fun," said Patel, a Grade 8 student in the Toronto District School Board.
In other classes, students usually just read and answer questions, added fellow Grade 8 student Kavira Manikandan Reddiagowder.
"We did do research and we did learn stuff, but then we stepped into the characters' shoes" for a skit, she said. "Activities like this … which are more interactive and involve more creativity would definitely be more engaging for students."
Teachers have long had a place in the devoted fanbase of the detective drama, which airs on CBC-TV and just debuted its 20th season. Some of those fans are bringing its blend of history, science and snappy whodunit into their classrooms, with educators saying that combining the show with active, hands-on learning can help kick-start curiosity, facilitate connections and build skills like critical thinking and collaboration.
Middle school teacher Grant discusses Murdoch in the Classroom with students in Etobicoke, Ont., on Friday. (Jessica Wong/CBC)
Teacher fans who grew up watching Murdoch Mysteries with their family have regularly approached executive producer Christina Jennings over the years, asking to tap the period drama for their classrooms, she said.
Starting out with just a handful of teachers a few years back, Murdoch in the Classroom has now grown to more than 350 participating classrooms via CBC's online educational platform Curio.ca. Featuring project-based lessons designed for Grade 5 through Grade 9, the multi-layered assignments range from students imagining fictional depictions of real-life figures to designing and crafting puzzle-filled escape rooms.
Jennings, who grew up with a father who nurtured her love of history, hopes to spark the same in students today.
Shaftesbury CEO and Murdoch Mysteries executive producer Christina Jennings says her father helped nurture her love of history when she was a child. (CBC)
"Sometimes kids find history boring, so my original impetus was to get Canadian kids excited about our country and our heritage," said Jennings, CEO of Canadian production company Shaftesbury.
Challenge to engage students
Making history, geography, civics and other social studies subjects engaging can indeed be challenging, because they can feel far from students' daily lives and experiences, according to Carla Peck, a history and social studies education professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Yet it's important students "make those connections and … understand why learning about somebody or something that happened 150 years ago still matters," said Peck, who's also director of the national research initiative Thinking Historically for Canada's Future.
Social studies is also often where students practice valuable skills, she added, like how to research, engage in critical thinking, communicate effectively and collaborate with others. She's a fan of active, experiential learning that encourages students to think deeply.
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Students learn about themselves, the society around them and how to relate to others in social studies classes, says education professor Carla Peck.For example, instead of having students simply memorize and restate information from history lectures or textbooks, she'd rather see them work as historians do: digging into archival materials to supplement research and analysis into people and events before moving on to exploring causes, consequences and perspectives (those present and those missing), as well as making connections to today.
"Artifacts, letters, diary entries, objects that they can touch and feel and look at and try to examine — that's what really ignites their interest," Peck said. She says it's like having students solve a puzzle or mystery.
"It puts the kids in charge of actually trying to figure out what happened in the past and using their thinking skills and the skills of the historian to do that deductive work."
Having learned a lot from the show over the years himself, Murdoch Mysteries star Yannick Bisson says, 'it's so neat to find out that this can be applied to education and in a very tangible, very effective way.' (CBC)
Actor Yannick Bisson says he's learned many interesting things after portraying Murdoch Mysteries' titular police detective William Murdoch over the years and is chuffed about schoolkids getting the opportunity to learn through the show, too.
"It's so neat to find out that this can be applied to education and in a very tangible, very effective way," Bisson said.
He says each episode offers historical references, cultures "our eyes are opened to, ways that people live, inventions, all sorts of different things."
"If there's intrigue and excitement and mystery, you know, you can certainly see how kids might be a little more engaged."
Middle school students Amara Patel, left, and Manikandan Reddiagowder enjoyed the hands-on and creative history assignments they had last school year. (CBC)
TDSB middle school teacher Bradley Grant, who incorporated Murdoch in the Classroom into his history teaching during the previous school year, plans to do it again this winter after seeing how it resonated for students, such as Amara and Kavira.
"When they are able to sink into things that they're interested in, that relate to them now, there's such a buy-in to it. They're so genuinely curious to learn more and to share more about what they learned," he said.
Along with seeing students improve a host of skills — from asking good questions to organizing a large project — Grant also says he's been impressed with how much last year's students have retained.
"They still have it in there. They are recalling it at a whim and I think it really speaks to the impact the lessons have on what they learn, what they take away," he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Based in Toronto, Jessica Wong covers stories about Canadian school systems and education for CBC News, with a particular interest in how technology impacts the lives and learning of students. Every so often, she revisits her previous life as a journalist covering the arts, entertainment and pop culture. You can email story tips and ideas to jessica.wong@cbc.ca.
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