“Show and Tell”: The Risks and Rewards of Personal-Object-Based Learning

Abstract

At age five, my favorite school activity was “show and tell.” The activity necessitated something to show (an object of some importance) and something to tell (an explanation of said importance). I combed through precious items of my young life—toys, books, trinkets, seashells collected with my grandma. Which items held a story? What was curious, bright, brimming with adventure ... and might appeal to my peers? “Show and tell” was a first stone in my future path to storytelling. When I started teaching objects and documents as forms of life narrative to undergraduates, the idea of “show and tell” emerged once more. As a practice-led researcher—led to research via, and viewing research through, creative production—I encourage my students to engage with object-based learning by diving into their personal archives and “sharing” their findings. In this essay, I will consider “show and tell” as an object-driven pedagogical approach in an undergraduate life-writing course at an Australian university. I will discuss a course unit of “personal-object-based learning” as a case study to examine some of the triumphs, risks, and possibilities of this approach. In particular, I will ruminate on the potential for “classroom intimacy”—a sense of community, collaboration, and reciprocity between students and their peers, and students and their educators. Intimacy is, of course, not without its perils, risks, and limitations. Overarchingly, I argue that educators should approach object-based classroom intimacy intentionally and with a student-focused approach.