Cymru Wales Classics Hub INSET Day at Lampeter (December 2017)

by Matthew Cobb

On the penultimate Saturday (16^th) before Christmas, when many schools and sixth forms were finishing up for the (calendar) year, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David hosted a teacher training day for Classicists. This event was part of a series of INSET days organised by the Cymru Wales Classics Hub, the first of which was hosted by Swansea University, and the second by Cardiff University. This third INSET day, organised by Dr Matthew Adam Cobb, was held on Lampeter Campus.

A range of workshops were run by Classicists and Ancient Historians from the Faculty of Humanities, including Dr Cobb, Dr Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen, Dr Fiona Mitchell, Dr Ruth Parkes and Dr Kyle Erickson. Closely allied to the OCR Classical Studies syllabus, these workshops covered themes as diverse as ‘heroic masculinity in art’ to the ‘portrayal of the Julio-Claudian emperors’. The sessions were designed to explore creative and interactive ways of engaging with pupils/students – a particular focus of the sessions run by Dr Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen and Dr Kyle Erickson – as well as means of getting them to think in a more nuanced and critical way about the source material.

A number of teachers and aspirant teachers from across the UK attended the event. All present were keen, engaged and had very constructive experiences (as can be judged from the very positive feedback). Thanks to the kind support of the Classical Association, we were able to offer the attendees a free lunch, and teas and coffees, as well as a modest travel reimbursement. 

The fourth in the series of CWCH INSET days is expected to run later in 2018.  

Dr Matthew Cobb is a Lecturer in Classics at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, whose research interest lies in the cultural and economic interaction between the Mediterranean and Indian spheres.