Archaeology and Education – Learning Outdoors (pt 1): Before the Visit

The truth is that teachers are not normally trained to teach outside the regular confines of the indoor classroom.  Outdoor education is usually the realm of Physical Education teachers.  Teaching outdoors takes a little more effort.  However, the upside is that what students learn stick with them much longer (and sometimes for life) in this sort of teaching.  For that reason alone, it is more than worth the effort.  This post will be the first of three.  In this post we will explore what has to happen before visiting the archaeological site.  Some of these things are administrative and some are educational.  In part 2 we will explain what should happen at the site.  And in the third post we will explain what to do after visiting the site to prolong and maximize the lesson in order to leave an indelible imprint on the young minds.

It is not at all sufficient to just up and go to a site.  There must be considerable planning before the class actually does the visit.  The more planning that takes place, the better the results will be.  The first thing a teacher has to know is the purpose for the visit in order to maximize the time spent at the site as well as the integration of this visit in further learning.  To do this, answer these questions: Is the visit curriculum-based?  What do you expect to achieve?  And is the purpose clear to all other staff?  (This helps them to be prepared to help you achieve the overall purpose.)

A risk assessment needs to be made.  This is, of course, true for any outdoor trip.  The route needs to be mention (assessing risk), the site needs to be described along with the activities at the site.  This is not only useful for reducing accident rates but also for being purposeful in what you do.

The next thing to deal with is the practicalities.  All bookings need to be made (travel to site, entry to site, etc).  An adequate staff to student ration needs to be ensured.  Permission slips need to be returned from the parents/guardians.  Special provisions need to be made for any special-needs children.  Is the first-aid box replenished, medication for students prepared, emergency numbers and medical permissions for students obtained, and any other medical necessity prepared for?  Do the students have appropriate clothing and footwear?  Are lunches packed?  Are resources gathered (that the students need at the site – worksheets, pencils, etc)?  Are travel details and emergency numbers left with the administrative staff back at the school?  Does insurance cover this trip?  And do you have an accurate registration of all students, staff, and helpers (you don’t want to leave anyone behind – at school or at the site)?

In-school arrangements have to also be made.  This will probably change depending on schools but sometimes there is other staff that needs to know that you are leaving as their schedules and responsibilities might have to also be adjusted.  If you are a teacher that has other classes, they will have to be covered, etc.  Parents/guardians should not just be informed that you are going on a field trip but they should be educated as to the purpose of the visit.  This will help them to continue the education at home when the child(ren) return(s).  But most teachers will know about these sorts of things. 

How about the actual education that needs to happen before a visit?

Most people (adults and children alike) have trouble visualizing things that are not obvious, especially when they are disoriented.  What you are doing when you take students to a site is to take them from a 3-D situation (a classroom with walls, furniture, ceiling, fittings that they are familiar with) and thrusting them into a 2-D environment (most likely just a foundation floor-plan without any recognizable features) and asking them to imagine the 3-D (the way it was when it was
complete and in use centuries/millennia ago).  If you want them to do this you will have to teach them how.  One way might be to have them take the familiar 3-D classroom and transform it into a 2-D diagram or map.

Another way to do this might be to take them to a modern construction site (taking the proper precautions and obtaining permission) in its early phase and show them the foundation walls and ask them to tell you what they think it will look like, what the rooms might be used for, and then take a photo of it.  Return to the site periodically so the students can see the change for themselves.  Then, you can reveal the early photos and ask them to identify the “clues” in the foundation to what they eventually saw happen (like foundations for the front steps, widows, doors, halls, etc).  (A variation might be to take the photos yourself of the process and then show it to them in reverse so they can see the “process of time” that they will see the remains of at the archaeological site.)

Another way might be to have them compare architectural floor plans of a house and their school or church (buildings they are generally familiar with).  This way they get used to identifying classrooms, bathrooms, halls, assembly areas, etc, in the school and bedrooms, living rooms, etc, in the house and compare the difference from a “foundation” point of view.  Ancient buildings also had different functions – and you can show them this by doing the same thing with churches.  (A variation might be to have them compare a modern house floor plan with one from the Victorian era so they can see that there are differences in the ancient to what they are familiar with but also similarities.)

The last thing that you will certainly have to do is to play games with you students teaching them orientation (directions), memory recall (lay out objects on a tray, then take them away and ask them to remember what was there), and description (the aforementioned potato game – posted in an earlier blog - Cross-curricular Teaching).  These games are designed to be fun and to educate them on key skills they will need for the trip.

Now that all the preparations have been made, it is time for the fun!