Virtual classroom: Titanic - travelling in time

This virtual classroom is perfectly suited to groups exploring the infamous story of RMS Titanic and her links to Liverpool. It offers the opportunity for pupils to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the many different personal experiences linked to this famous disaster that forms our impressions of the era.

Workshop details

Titanic: travelling in time begins with a warm welcome and introduction by one of our Learning staff followed by a short, pre-recorded film of the Titanic gallery at the museum, including highlights of key objects to set the scene and provide context.

We then focus on the main narrative of the story, showcasing a variety of museum handling objects and on-screen images to inspire curiosity and encourage interactive participation through simple tasks, opinion sharing and collaborative discussion.

In teams, and in character, children will be ‘hot seated’ in the role of their chosen passenger to elicit both factual and imagined emotional information about them. This will help pupils build a better understanding of the wide variety of people brought together in this unique situation.

Pupils will be invited to think about the multiple perspectives historical events present to us. Was anyone to blame for what happened or was it a series of unforeseen events? They will be challenged about perpetuated myths and misconceptions surrounding the ship, exploring the wider context of Edwardian society - including class, age, and gender and how this affected individuals' chances of survival in the early hours of 15 April 1912.

Important note to teachers

We want the virtual classroom to be interactive and engaging for pupils, to achieve this it is essential that teachers complete a short activity with their class prior to attending the live workshop. We will provide a straightforward lesson plan and all necessary resources to do this as downloadable pdfs. If the activity is not completed before the live workshop the virtual classroom will be delivered as a talk instead. We appreciate your support in this to help maximise pupils' learning and enjoyment.

We also offer teachers a selection of optional post-workshop follow-up activities to consolidate pupils learning on the subject matter covered. As with the pre-workshop activity, a straightforward lesson plan and resources will be provided via downloadable pdfs.

Curriculum links

History

  • Statutory: Local history study.

  • Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.

  • Non statutory: A study of an aspect of history or a site dating from a period beyond 1066 that is significant in the locality.

English Spoken Language

  • Listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers.

  • Ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge.

  • Use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary.

  • Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions.

  • Give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing feelings.

  • Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising and exploring ideas.

  • Speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English.

  • Select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.

Fundamental British Values

Rule of law

  • Pupils have the opportunity to explore and discuss the actions of key figures on the night of the sinking in light of differences in rule of law in 1912 as compared to today - for example, lifeboat provision.

Democracy

  • Pupils take a role in group discussion and debate. Understand the value of working together.

Individual liberty

  • Pupils are encouraged to voice opinions appropriately, as well as listen to and respect the opinions of others

Mutual respect and tolerance

  • Develop understanding and empathy through immersive role play experiences, based on real events. The groups are invited to think more closely about real life characters on board the ship, they are encouraged to identify with their hopes, beliefs, fears and motivations in a bid to better understand those actions, in context of the received wisdoms and cultural conventions surrounding gender, and class of the time. Time is allotted to respectfully reflect on the feelings and opinions of others.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

Pupils will:

  • Know the key dates and places in the story of the Titanic.

  • Understand that crew and passengers had different experiences on board the ship and during the disaster.

  • Gain knowledge and understanding that historical events have multiple perspectives

  • Gain knowledge and understanding of the characteristic features of periods and societies of the past.

  • Understand how the Titanic disaster affected changes in safety rules and Maritime law.

Skills

Pupils will:

  • Improve their speaking and listening skills in a group discussion context.

  • Learn to give reasoned answers backed up by evidence.

  • Improve their confidence by individual participation in dramatic sections of the presentation.

Concepts

Pupils will:

  • Be introduced to the concept of changing attitudes towards class and gender and age at different time periods.

  • Discover the work of curators and the reasons why the museum has a collection of objects from the past.

  • Understand emigration in the early part of the 20th century.

  • Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Attitudes

Pupils will:

  • Enjoy a focused visit to the museum.

  • Be confident in interpreting information from different sources.

  • See the the Maritime Museum as an enjoyable and stimulating place to visit

Practical information

To maximise opportunities for pupils to engage interactively during our live workshop, we ask teachers to conduct a straightforward activity with their class prior to the workshop. We will provide an appropriate ready-made lesson plan for this, with a variety of support resources such as art and crafts templates, images, subject information sheets and fact sheets about key museum artefacts. In addition, we will provide a self-led, post-workshop follow up activity. Across our pre, live and post activities, we have incorporated elements that will promote team work between pupils, encourage use of imagination and good wellbeing, for example; quizzes, role play, crafting, drawing, discussions and decoding puzzles.

We will be using Microsoft Teams as our delivery platform as it offers a secure and simple way for teachers to connect with us virtually. It works well on a variety of hardware, so all you will need is a laptop or computer with a built-in camera and microphone, a large display screen or projector, and access to a reliable internet connection. When you sign up you will be sent web links to enable you to join in our secure sessions. .  It is usually advisable to use the Microsoft Teams app rather than the web version for a more stable connection.

Further information about how to access a workshop using Teams, and our safeguarding policy for the virtual classroom, can be found below. There will be help and support available online or over the phone for troubleshooting.

How virtual classrooms work on Microsoft Teams 

  • Once booked details of your chosen workshop will be sent to your school in advance of the scheduled date.

  • An Office 365 calendar invite will be emailed to the teacher who was named at the time of the school booking as present during the workshop.

  • It is not essential that your school is using Office 365 or Teams as functionality will be managed by National Museums Liverpool.

  • The core requirements the school needs for the workshop are network/Wi-Fi access and laptop with camera and microphone. The teacher will also need to set up a projector or Smartboard in the classroom so that the whole class can see the presentation.

  • For the workshop to succeed and be an interactive experience, your class needs to have completed the pre-workshop activity which we will send to you two weeks before the workshop.

  • To ensure the smooth running of the workshop on the scheduled date, a mutually convenient time to test the link / URL for the Teams meeting will be arranged with the named representative at your school - please be available for this brief call.

  • On the scheduled day of the workshop we ask that you access the Teams calendar link for the workshop 15 minutes before the starting time. This is to ensure that any unexpected connectivity issues can be addressed.

  • In the unlikely event of the workshop needing to be rescheduled due to unexpected technical difficulties at National Museums Liverpool, the workshop will be rescheduled for the earliest possible alternative date by our Box Office contacting the school.

  • During the workshop, our museum and gallery staff will lead the workshops, facilitate the activity, and interact with the class. The teacher needs to be present with the class in school.

  • An optional survey will be made available at the end of the workshop for the named school representative to complete. This information will assist us with meeting schools’ needs and your feedback will be kept confidential and can be completed anonymously if preferred.

  • The Teams Chat facility will be available for teachers to message a member of staff from the museums or gallery. However, we will request that Chat isn’t used unless for an urgent message, to avoid causing distraction while the workshop is in progress

We hope that you will enjoy your virtual classroom at National Museums Liverpool. 

Safeguarding and code of conduct

National Museums Liverpool’s Safeguarding Policy remains in place and these guidelines have added detail to protect both our staff and participating schools during online engagement. We ask teachers to read them to help us provide a safe and optimal digital learning environment for pupils. 

When running a live workshop via an online platform our staff will: 

  • Only use laptops or technology that belong to National Museums Liverpool

  • Connect using secure, private network connections, not public Wi-Fi or other lines that could be compromised

  • Provide a safe platform which only the booked group can access

  • Log in using one of the special accounts created by National Museums Liverpool for school workshops and never using a personal account

  • Have a waiting room/lobby to monitor who is joining.

  • Only run a workshop if at least one teacher from the school is present with pupils

  • Ensure that workshops are streamed from a museum or gallery classroom or delivery space that has good lighting, using a suitable background that does not show personal items belonging to the facilitator

  • Dress professionally and act as suitable role models to young children

  • Have enhanced DBS checks

  • Ensure all our delivery teams are professionally trained and have extensive experience of delivering education programmes to the relevant key stages

  • End the meeting for all at the end of the session

Our staff will not:

  • Take into the workshop or use any personal mobile phones or devices

  • Record any live workshops, nor consent to being recorded by schools

  • Take or share any videos or photos of the workshops without prior agreed consent and the completion of parent consent forms

  • Engage in inappropriate conversations with children or young people or share inappropriate personal information about themselves or others

  • Discriminate favourably or unfavourably towards a child or young person

  • Undermine fundamental British values including democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect

  • Show disrespect towards pupils or teachers with different faiths, beliefs or from different cultures to our own

  • Ask for or use full names

  • Give personal contact details to children or young people or communicate outside of National Museums Liverpool using social media networks, email, or text

Managing behaviour: 

  • Set clear expectations of behaviour at the start of the workshop and establish an agreed means for pupils to engage directly with the facilitator

  • It remains the responsibility of the teacher to manage pupils’ conduct throughout the workshop

  • All participants, including pupils, school and museum staff, will treat one another with respect, speaking with courtesy and abstaining from foul, abusive, racist or homophobic language or any inappropriate or suggestive comments

  • If a student is misbehaving the facilitator will pause delivery until the situation is settled by the teacher

  • If the group’s behaviour becomes disruptive, impeding delivery of content, the facilitator has the right to end the workshop

Terms and conditions

> Download the terms and conditions for virtual classrooms (pdf)

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