Elementary School Students and STEM: Creating an Archaeology Lesson Plan for Get With the Program

Location

King Building 227

Document Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-27-2018 1:00 PM

End Date

4-27-2018 2:20 PM

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to address the lack of STEM education in elementary schools and to create lesson plans to introduce students to the discipline of archaeology at a young age. The project was completed in cooperation with a local organization called Get with the Program, a group dedicated to improving STEM education for elementary aged students. Using my background as an Archaeological Studies major and Education Studies concentrator, I devised and implemented a lesson plan covering the basic aspects of archaeology, with particular focus on the hands-on aspects of the discipline. Archaeology lends itself to STEM education, particularly for young students, because it encompasses skills such as observation, analysis, and making hypotheses. Moreover, a student does not need extensive prior background in order to practice these skills. Some of the activities that Oberlin-area students participated in included: a mock dig, and a “trash bag excavation” where they sorted through a prepared trash bag and worked in groups to make inferences about the owners of the trash. The students also learned to record their findings by drawing and describing “artifacts” or pictures of artifacts. In this presentation, I will go through the process of planning and facilitating this lesson, as well as reflect upon the efficacy of introducing archaeological concepts to students at a young age.

Keywords:

education, archaeology, STEM

Notes

Session III, Panel 8 - Archaeological | Studies
Moderator: Drew Wilburn, Associate Professor and Chair of Classics, Chair of Archaeological Studies, Irvin E. Houck Associate Professor in the Humanities

Major

Archaeology; Anthropology

Advisor(s)

Amy Margaris, Anthropology

Project Mentor(s)

Amy Margaris, Anthropology

April 2018

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Apr 27th, 1:00 PM Apr 27th, 2:20 PM

Elementary School Students and STEM: Creating an Archaeology Lesson Plan for Get With the Program

King Building 227

The purpose of this project is to address the lack of STEM education in elementary schools and to create lesson plans to introduce students to the discipline of archaeology at a young age. The project was completed in cooperation with a local organization called Get with the Program, a group dedicated to improving STEM education for elementary aged students. Using my background as an Archaeological Studies major and Education Studies concentrator, I devised and implemented a lesson plan covering the basic aspects of archaeology, with particular focus on the hands-on aspects of the discipline. Archaeology lends itself to STEM education, particularly for young students, because it encompasses skills such as observation, analysis, and making hypotheses. Moreover, a student does not need extensive prior background in order to practice these skills. Some of the activities that Oberlin-area students participated in included: a mock dig, and a “trash bag excavation” where they sorted through a prepared trash bag and worked in groups to make inferences about the owners of the trash. The students also learned to record their findings by drawing and describing “artifacts” or pictures of artifacts. In this presentation, I will go through the process of planning and facilitating this lesson, as well as reflect upon the efficacy of introducing archaeological concepts to students at a young age.