Welcome to "Bob and Steve’s History Mystery Trip: The Frontier," a for-credit OUSC class bound for an historical destination and designed to teach along the way.

Saturday, October 02, 1999

Welcome to "Bob and Steve’s History Mystery Trip: The Frontier," a for-credit OUSC class bound for an historical destination and designed to teach along the way.

Students age 18 to 80 have already filled the college’s 55-passenger bus, taking only about a month to sign up and pay their $29 fee.

The professors are donating their time, free of charge, to explore a new method of teaching.

"We’ve talked about combining disciplines in the past – English, history and travel," said Call, who organized the idea, got travel classes involved with the itinerary and swore everyone to secrecy.

"This became a novel idea to incorporate history with a trip, so the motorcoach is actually going to become like our mobile classroom," he said. "The mystery just adds something to it, because we’ve been hearing some interesting guesses of where we’re going."

The destination will center on the frontier theme and will be filled with museums and historic sites, Call said.

There is even a reading assignment, a 600-page book entitled "The Frontiersman," which will give background so students can interact with Leith, the bus trip’s lecturer.

The class will cover Ohio history, specifically in the 1700 to 1800 era.

"We’ll go to our destination, with class along the way, do a city tour, see museums and attractions," Call said. "And we’ll add more spice to learning by putting them on a scavenger hunt worksheet where they go out and try to find the answers."

It’s applied learning that, hopefully, will turn fun and take a look back at the past, Call said.

Tourism students also benefit from the class, as a few will act as travel escorts, he added. Tourism classes also developed most of the itinerary.

The bus will leave the morning of Nov. 11, and return by 8 p.m. that day. Completion of the course, reading and writing assignments will result in three college credits.

Although it’s the first OUSC "bus class," Call would like to see others.

Such hands-on classes can add realism to lessons and boost learning for everyone, including the professor, he said.