Alyson+Cockerham+NC+Museum+of+History

Field Trip to Museum of NC History Alyson Cockerham ECI 435

The NC Museum of History currently has an exhibit which documents the history of our state from the early inhabitants of Native Americans to modern day life. In place of class this week I would like for you to visit the exhibit. Actively engage in the exhibits as a visitor and a teacher. I also encourage you to visit the other exhibits throughout the museum. Your assignment for this activity is as follows:

Part I. (a paragraph will suffice) As a visitor of the museum what part of the exhibit was your favorite and why? Did you find anything surprising in terms of our state's history?

This was my first time visiting the Museum of North Carolina History and I was pleasantly surprised. I have never been much of a museum girl, but it was so cool getting to use all of the knowledge I have gained about history in college after walking through the exhibits. I really enjoyed the civil rights portion of the museum as I just took a Civil Rights Movement course this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it! I was also surprised at how interactive the museum was. As I said earlier, I am not much of a museum girl but I think that’s because I haven’t been to one in a long time. I enjoyed being able to actively participate in simulations and be hands-on with a lot of artifacts. I felt like that kept my attention much more than just reading and not really playing a part in my own learning. I think this will be very valuable if I took my students to a museum of this type. I really enjoyed the experience and definitely had a new-found appreciation for museums!

Part II. (answer the following questions) I think a lot of the prep for this trip will be determined by the time in the year in which we choose to take this field trip. As this trip will be the used when teaching 8th grade, I think it could definitely be use at multiple times in the years as there are so many useful exhibits that contain artifacts and information that pertain to events throughout the course. In my opinion, I think the students would gain the most out of the trip at the end of the school year after we have gone over much of what they will see. Before the field trip, I will figure out how many chaperones will be needed and make sure students are well-supervised. Next, while visiting the museum they will be put into their project groups beforehand so they can discuss the roles of each person in their group and how they will go about accomplishing what they need to do. Finally, we will go over behavioral measures and how their behavior will factor into their grade. If students do not have all work turned in prior to the field trip, they will not be allowed to go.
 * 1) 1. How would you prep your students prior to their visit to the museum?

Before going to the museum, I will let students know that they will be having a project assignment in order to assess their learning during the exhibit. I will pass out an instructions sheet about their project which will be completed in groups. I will assign each of the groups and students will be informed that a portion of the trip will be allotted to walking around with their individual group in a designated exhibit. After assigning students to each group, they will receive an instructions sheet which will have 5 roles and the groups have to designate students to each of their roles. Also on the instructions sheet each group will have their exhibit that they are focusing on and certain questions that will help to prompt their questions and ideas for their group presentation. I would like to personally walk my students through the exhibit in the beginning as an entire class, but as small groups break away I would like for each of them to have an adult supervisor that will be there to watch over them.
 * 1) 2. As a teacher how would you guide your students through the exhibits? (would you provide them with worksheets, scavenger hunt, what would they be looking for?)

I would definitely want to put the main focus on the events we have thoroughly gone over so that students will be able to make connections between what we have gone over in the classroom and what they are seeing in the museum. My favorite exhibits for students to research in more detail would be about the Lost Colony, Agriculture, Civil Rights Movement, Slavery, etc. Each of these exhibits will be assigned to the small groups so they can individually focus on one exhibit then teach the rest of the class more in depth information through their presentation. I think these exhibits are the most important because students will have prior knowledge about them from class activities which will enable them to make connections and appreciate what they are looking at because they understand it.
 * 1) 3. Which sections of the exhibits would you focus on the most? Why?

As we are going through the exhibit as a whole class, I will prompt students with questions as we visit each exhibit. I do not want to bombard my students will countless worksheets because I want them to focus on what they are learning rather than constantly being worried about rushing through the exhibit because they have to complete a worksheet. Students will already be well aware of their small groups and what they are asked to do. Each small group will have already delegated roles to each member. There will be a group leader, note taker, picture taker, artifact recorder, and connection developer. Each student will have a notebook in which they will record their findings as they are walking through the exhibit with their group. Each student will be held accountable for their part in the project through peer evaluations and their presentation as each member has to contribute to what the group presents. Students will also have to turn in what they recorded while they are in the museum.
 * 1) 4. What types of activities would you create while the students are visiting the museum? (be specific and provide concrete examples when possible)

These activities will easily be extended into the classroom through their final presentations in their small groups. After we have concluded our field trip to the museum, in class students will get into their groups where they will work to upload pictures, record notes, and make connections to activities/readings/information we have previously gone over during the year that makes this exhibit significant to previous knowledge. Students will have the freedom to create whatever type of presentation they choose, but it has to be approved by me in advance. Students will receive a rubric that models everything that needs to be present in their presentation, but one thing that has to be done is a notes sheet for all students to receive to write down important facts during their presentation so they will have concrete notes on different exhibits other than the ones they individually researched. Each of these notes sheets will be compiled and all students will have to turn them in for a participation grade in the entire activity, and their presentation grade will count as a major test grade.
 * 1) 5. How would you extend the activities into the classroom?

I think the biggest problem that surrounds field trips is behavioral issues. I know when I was in school I always felt like a field trip was a chance to get out a school and goof off. While I want my students to have fun, I want field trips to build on their learning and help them to gain even more insight into the material. I think the small group work will aid them in working together to really research the exhibit and help them to hold each other accountable for what they need to accomplish. Also, I know I always hated it when my teachers bombarded me with countless worksheets because I felt like I was always focused on completing the worksheet and not delving into what the field trip had to offer. I don’t want to hold my students back with busy work, I want them to enjoy themselves and have fun. It’s hard to find a happy medium in holding students accountable for their participation and allowing them to research and spend time where they are most interested.
 * 1) 6. What questions or concerns might you have as a teacher taking a group of students to a museum with vast exhibits?

Part III. Develop a field trip guide Create an activity and/ or a question guide for your students to #|complete if they were to visit the exhibit.(Be creative!!!)

- Group Leader: Keep all members of the group on task and oversee what each group member is doing. Keep an eye on the clock so you will be able to examine the entire exhibit before we reconvene as a whole class. Make sure each group member knows what they are to complete. Oversee the entire presentation and make sure all components are included. - Artifact Capturer: One student will be responsible for taking pictures of many of the artifacts that the group deems necessary for their presentation. I will have all cameras until we split off into small groups where I will pass out the cameras. Students will sign a permission slip where they vow to keep good care of the camera. - Artifact Recorder: One student will write down all information about the artifacts they choose to take pictures of. Who, what, when, where, why, how are all necessary questions about the artifact that need to be recorded. - Note taker: On the instructions sheet, there will be questions that prompt the group and help to guide them through their exhibit and hopefully guide them to capture the most important information. The note taker will jot down notes that help to answer the prompting questions on the instructions. - Connection creator: This person will help to create connections between what was seen in the exhibit and what we learned in class. They will use previous activities, readings, assignments, videos, etc to help connect the artifacts to why they are important to use and what they mean.
 * [The day before the field trip, in class] I split students into groups of 5 people. They will get into their groups where they will be given a group instructions sheet. On this sheet there will be roles for each member, as a group they will decide which person will be in each role.
 * Group Roles:
 * Also on the instructions sheet will be an individual exhibit that students will be asked to focus on. There will be questions at the bottom of the instructions sheet that will help to prompt their search through the exhibit and hopefully help them focus on the most important parts of the exhibit.
 * After students explore the exhibit, they will then create a presentation in class which will show the class all about their exhibit in depth. They will have the freedom to create any format of presentation they choose, but they will get a rubric with everything that is required for their presentation. They will also have to create a notes sheet for the rest of the class to fill out during their presentation which the whole class will turn in at the end for a participation grade. The presentation grade for individual groups will count as a major test grade.
 * Lastly, students will each fill out a peer evaluation of all of their group members where they will be able to communicate with the teacher if any group member slacked off and their grade will reflect their participation. I will meet with students who received poor peer evaluations and students will suffer major consequences and possibly an alternative assignment in which they will complete on their own time.