Faculty Spotlight | Dr. David Meola
Role-Playing, Cultural Immersion, and Dragons in the History Classroom
Drawing inspiration from his own educational journey to shape his teaching philosophy, Dr. Meola vowed never to lead a classroom experience that leaves students feeling uninspired. “I want my students to be consistently active in producing history instead of vessels just absorbing historical information and being tested on it. I often think about how I can shape and change my courses to reflect my interests in the topic and invite students to be as excited as I am.”
He is intentional about the synthesis between his own academic interests and bringing those insights into the classroom. His pedagogy encourages students to develop agency in their intellectual development through close source reading, discussion, and negotiation. Such student engagement is evident in his Western Civ I and II courses through a pedagogy called “Reacting to the Past.” This instructional practice hones historical skills such as public speaking, primary source interrogation, and essay writing through role-playing games targeting historical flashpoints. Dr. Meola explains, “I want students to be engaged in their classroom learning. I'd also like students to have some fun and think differently about history courses--in fact, history can be both fun and educational. Ultimately, these games force students to think about past events through the lens of individuals who made consequential choices and the effects of those choices.”
As a cultural historian, Dr. Meola deeply believes in partaking in the cultural experience to better understand the positionality of historical subjects. For instance, one of the most iconic aspects of American Jewish culture is the delicatessen. Students have the opportunity to sample delicatessen food shipped in from Houston or New York while learning about this institution’s history. For students enrolled in his Central European history class, students learn how to waltz while learning about the Congress of Vienna. According to his students, Dr. Meola’s immersive approach to learning has allowed them to come “out of their shells” and has encouraged them to become more confident speaking out in front of others. In a recent thank you note, one student demonstrated an openness to learning through culturally immersive practices: When I signed up for your class I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, it was so interesting and I feel like I learned a lot. It was also a genuinely fun class that I always looked forward to going to. Thank you for all you did this semester to make that possible.
Currently, Dr. Meola is teaching a course on representation and history in board games, playing games such as Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Secret Hitler, Dungeons & Dragons, and Pandemic: Fall of Rome. Students learn to analyze board games for their possible historical representation and how they could be used as mediums for disseminating historical knowledge. Students are given an opportunity to do historical research and apply what they learned from readings and playing different styles of games to build a game on their own.
Fun Facts!
If you visit Dr. Meola’s office, you’ll find a picture of him in the University of North Carolina band at the 2000 Men’s Final Four NCAA basketball tournament. You may also find him listening to 80s Rock (hair bands), Ska, Latin, German punk, as he develops his next culturally immersive history course.
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