EDUO 9680: Washington D.C. – Cultural Heritage

Course Overview

Our cultural heritage has shaped our communities. Customs, practices, rituals, experiences, and values among others are passed down through generations to form who we are as a nation. This class gives the teacher the opportunity to experience this formation through a very effective teaching process while visiting and studying galleries and museums in the nation’s capitol.

Course Objectives

In this course participants will have opportunity:

• Visit three Washington D.C. cultural museum/galleries.
• Conduct web exploration on museum/galleries prior to visit to help narrow focus.
• Ask questions of employees of museum/galleries about the exhibits.
• After the visit, relate the investigations and the visit to the teaching act
• Communicate the experience and explain how the visit and research impacts students’ perceptions and understanding of new ideas.

Course Assignments:

1) Explore- Utilize resources to preview sites and generate a list of questions about the figures and content portrayed in the exhibit. Engage in additional research to determine historical significance and reflect on experiences and benefits of research.

2) Visit- Make contact with a museum representative to identify additional relevant information related to the questions developed prior to the visit and through investigation. Document visit through images in designated areas. Reflect on the significance of the inquiry process of the task.

3) Follow up- Identify areas that piqued curiosity, the elements that interested you and the additional research you made as a result. Record the resources utilized and determine how planning for additional research enriched the experience.

4) Relate- Construct a detailed presentation to a prospective parent/teacher community which includes an activator or summarizer to engage presentation participants and details the importance of lifelong learning and the effectiveness of actively questioning and researching.

5) Reflect- Record thoughts and considerations after the research experience. It’s relevance and influence within the classroom and as a person.

 

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