Teachers and site staff –
Ideas for collaborating
4097 Albany Post Rd | Hyde Park 12538 | 845-229-9116, ext. 2035 | |
THV is a program of
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and Greenway Conservancy | Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, National Park Service | Hudson River Estuary Program, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation | Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College
At THV’s 2009 institute more than 100 teachers and staff from museums, historic sites, and parks discussed working together in ways that go beyond field trips. Here are some ideas they had for making the most of their collaborations.
informal educators to teachers
Prepare students and create a context for the visit. Use pre- and post-visit materials including evaluations to extend student learning.
Integrate site experiences across disciplines.
Aim to make experiential learning an ongoing feature of your classroom. We can help.
Treat site visits as major learning opportunities not treats or rewards.
Continue, repeat, and extend experiences. For instance, use technology or do site activities at school, e.g., test water from a stream on school grounds, bring site staff to school, do journaling in the school yard instead of at desks.
teachers to informal educators
Developconsistencyso we know what to expect.
Be flexible so you can respond to teachers’ needs, e.g., grade, discipline, special needs.
Help students ask meaningful questions by sharing what you and your staff ask about your place and collections.
Tie programming to curriculum in creative ways. Surprise us.
Consider sharing more than exhibits.
Physical place
Content and subject matter
Animals and plants
Artifacts
How you work
Equipment
Knowledge, expertise, and point-of-view of your staff and volunteers
Extend the experience by sharing technology resources, documents, oral histories, etc.
Visit schools -- bring or loan documents, objects, artifacts, equipment, etc.
(Continues on back)
4097 Albany Post Rd | Hyde Park 12538 | 845-229-9116, ext. 2035 | |
THV is a program of
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and Greenway Conservancy | Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, National Park Service | Hudson River Estuary Program, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation | Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College
Ways to improve collaboration
Share your context and passion and try to understand that of your collaborator.
Communicate before and after the visit.
- Discuss context, curriculum connections, and standards.
- Agree on expectations, e.g., pre-and post-visit activities, evaluations, and/or surveys.
- Encourage students to communicate directly with sites and informal educators.
- Exchange e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
- Strive for multiple visits (both directions) and ongoing contact.
Respect each other and your missions.
Identify and strive to meet mutual goals.
Involve and inform others, e.g., students, parents, and administrators.Help your stakeholders understand the importance of collaboration with others.
Value Added by Effective Collaboration
Makes education more meaningful. When students handle, measure, or experience actual objects and phenomena, learning becomes experiential/hands-on/authentic/inquiry-based and rooted in real-world understandings.
Expands students’ capacity to make cogent arguments, connections, and observations; to ask questions and experiment; to use the scientific method; to engage in analytic thinking; and to experience awe and wonder.
Exposes students to a broader range of styles and can make it easier to address different kinds of learners.
Introduces students to more types of expertise along with a wider range of facilities, resources, and equipment.
Opens new career possibilities for students because they see people doing other kinds of work.
Exposes students to new voices and points of view.
Introduces complex concepts –such as appreciation, preservation, stewardship, community, environmental and historical literacy, and scientific and political awareness – and helps to make them concrete.
Connects place and community with learning.
Expands students’ boundaries.
Supports learning standards because experience builds skills and knowledge.
Helps students recognize that learning happens everywhere.
Encourages love of learning by showing that it can be fun and engaging.
Changes the way students think about and experience learning especiallywhen teachers discover and learn too.
Provides vivid referencesandjumping off points.
4097 Albany Post Rd | Hyde Park 12538 | 845-229-9116, ext. 2035 | |
THV is a program of
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and Greenway Conservancy | Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, National Park Service | Hudson River Estuary Program, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation | Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College