In Search of Meaning and Relevance: Applying Participant-Centered Learning at Holocaust Sites

Educational visits to historical sites related to the Holocaust face significant constraints: Groups have limited time to see the site; guides are meeting students for the first time; they do not know them or what preparation (if any) students have had. Teachers and students expect guides to share their expertise, show them the most important parts of the site, and relate the historical narrative. Guides, similarly, often feel a tremendous responsibility to share their knowledge and impart meaning, perhaps even more so in the case of the Holocaust. All of these factors can lead to highly guide-centered tours and very passive participants. We, the authors, argue that this approach disempowers the learner and may miss opportunities for deeper engagement. Therefore, we propose a more participant-centered approach based on social constructivist pedagogy that encourages deep conversations about ethical issues and in which students are more actively involved in their own meaning-making.