Course Name: Learning from the Lake: Using Primary Sources at LCMM to Teach Key Proficiencies.
Instructors: Dr. Harry Yeo Chaucer, Castleton University professor
Course Contact: Matthew Witten – 802-475-2022 x106
Locations: LCMM campus, Lake Champlain and Dead Creek
Dates:
Course: June 24-27, 2019
Presentations: Aug. 19, 2019 (Date may be changed to accommodate participants)
Credit: 3 Credits through Castleton University (optional)
Tuition: $950 ($1400 with 3 credits)
Maximum Enrollment: 15
View a live-stream tour of a shipwreck through the camera lens of an underwater robot. Explore every nook and cranny of a creaky, tarry replica of a Revolutionary War gunboat or a steamboat wreck as weather allows. Paddle to the shores of an archaeological site that was frequented by indigenous people for thousands of years. Browse (very carefully!) through boxes of fascinating museum artifacts yet to be displayed. Closely examine many life forms in the lake, from microscopic plants to flopping fish and microplastics that effect lake quality.
This course immerses teachers in the experience of using Expanded Learning Providers (ELPs) such as the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum to make learning more empirical, inductive and personal for their students. Students will learn from a number of specialists from the Maritime Museum.
Our sessions in the morning will immerse participants in sensory-rich experiences on or near the lake. During afternoon sessions, the group will work with ideas such as inductive thinking, brain-based learning, progressive education, and project-based learning. We will also explore literature on human motivation. After establishing this pedagogy, we will dive into the museum’s collection and create curricula based on artifacts, specimens, and experiences.
All of these concepts will then be incorporated into two culminating projects that participants will collaborate on and ultimately present.