• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

July 3, 2017 High School

Project Archaeology Leadership Academy

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Bailey Cavender

Bailey Cavender is a high school English teacher in the wonderful state of Idaho.
  • How to Think Like Shakespeare: A Fun Educational Tool - October 29, 2020
  • Teaching In A Mask: Preparing for Fall 2020 - August 9, 2020
  • Preparing to Teach in an Upside-down World - July 2, 2020
  • Support in Schools is a Circle - June 18, 2020
  • Opinion: Right Now Things Are Hard, But It's Going to Be Fine - May 13, 2020
  • The Case for Graphic Novels in the Classroom - April 4, 2020
  • In Defense of Classic Literature - February 13, 2020
  • Shaking Up the Literary Canon - February 10, 2020
  • Is School Boring? A Closer Look Into A Problem That Plagues Most Schools - December 10, 2019
  • Getting Children to Understand The Value of Teaching Shakespeare - November 12, 2019

Summer is not only a time for reading and gardening. It’s a time for professional development. This week, I have been attending a program called Project Archaeology Leadership Academy (PALA). Project Archaeology is a national educational organization that is run in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Montana State University. Educators, museum professionals, and archaeologists from all over the country came together to take this training. While pretending to be 4th graders, we looked at the lessons and materials which are or will soon aligned to Common Core State Standards.

During this training, we talked about learning in formal and informal settings, and had many adventures. These adventures led us to the Museum of the Rockies and Madison Buffalo Jump State Park. We also traveled to a Shotgun House in Kentucky in our readings. And of course, we had daily homework. Each field trip had assignments or readings before and after we visited the site. This helped put us all in field-trip mode. It also helped me think, how could I use this field trip in my own classroom? If I can’t take my class to the Museum of the Rockies, what are some things I can do instead?

For four days, a room full of adults pretended to be 4th graders. We did the worksheets, learned the activities, and played the games. This gave us the full experience. It also allowed us to mentally put the program in our hometowns. We were able to think of the things that would or wouldn't work in our hometowns, and talk to other educators about how we could change things.

For four days, a room full of adults pretended to be 4th graders Click To Tweet

This training had a specific goal, to create master teachers.  The graduates can now teach other educators how to use the resources that Project Archaeology provides. We can also use it ourselves. Project Archaeology offers a wide variety of lessons, which focus on archaeological sites all over America. Although we pretended to be 4th graders, the lessons can be easily changed to work for middle and high school classes.  The programs use writing, critical thinking, math, the sciences, and reading to help make history come alive in an interactive way.

I have always loved interdisciplinary studies-my educational background is varied. It offers a way to show students that yes, these different subjects all relate. By using science and history together, students can get an even better idea about what happened in the past. Adding other disciplines can help round out that picture even more. In English, I love to be able to share the history that influenced a specific novel or short story. These lessons did just that.

This program uses STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and the arts, and reminded me of the importance of collaboration. I could justify using it in an English classroom after checking in with other departments. It talks about many different parts of academic work, and I loved the way it fit everything together. Not only should I work with the other teachers in my building, but there are many wonderful groups, who are all happy to work with me to give my students the best education possible.

Another thing that I found very interesting were our discussions on how to best tell people what archaeologists do. No one wants to crush the dreams of a six-year-old who is going through her dinosaur phase. At the same time, since archaeologists do not dig up dinosaur bones and the lessons are dinosaur-free, what are we to do? We talked about the best way to explain to our students exactly what they should expect. Until you’re three, you can confuse archaeology and paleontology. When you're three, you get credit just for being able to use those words in a sentence. After that, I will hold those four-year-olds to a higher standard.

There is always so much to learn at a conference or a training event. Now I want to change my plans to include one of these lessons. I'm excited to share what I learned with the other teachers in my district. Looking back, I suppose this is the definition of professional development. I am leaving my training tomorrow fired up and excited about all the possibilities that are ahead of me and my students next year. A fun and interactive archaeological-based curriculum that has ties to four other different subjects? This is going to be so much fun! Thank goodness I have the rest of the summer to prepare for it.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Tracking is a Dirty Word The STEM Revolution in Higher Education The New Teacher Chronicles: The Benefits of Cross-Curricular Education Default ThumbnailCelebrating the Genres in Anne Frank's Diary
« Four Strategies to Help Struggling Math Students
Fitting in Fitness as a Teacher..Can It Be Done? »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeanne Moe says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Thanks for your wonderful post, Bailey. It was great to have you here in Bozeman for the Project Archaeology Leadership Academy in June. Welcome to Project Archaeology and we look forward to working with you! Jeanne Moe, BLM Project Archaeology Lead

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • We Crowdsourced What Teachers Said Can Stop Gun Violence in Schools
  • You Showed Up: Reflections On Another School Shooting
  • No, Teaching Cannot Be Your Only Passion
  • Weird News: Why Are People Asking Quinta Brunson To Do a 'School Shooting' Episode?

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.