Pedagogy and Professional Development

Enhancing Student Learning by Modeling Historic Costume Replicas

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Abstract

The purpose of this project was to examine student perceptions of learning regarding costume replicas. The author created videos of herself and her family members modeling replica costumes and performed two in-class dressing demonstrations to help students identify the design characteristics of historical styles and who wore the styles, when, and why. Data were collected from 12 students using a qualitative survey and were coded via thematic analysis using predetermined codes relating to literature. The data revealed two themes: using costume replicas was engaging and enhanced student learning. This research revealed that costume replicas, regardless of how authentic they are, might be useful in teaching costume history and yielded a potential implication for educators. As authentic replica costumes are expensive, educators may not need to spend valuable resources producing or acquiring authentic costume replicas.

Keywords: Costume replicas, Object-based learning, Artifacts, Dress History

How to Cite:

Smith, D. C., (2022) “Enhancing Student Learning by Modeling Historic Costume Replicas”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15864