Instructor:
Nina Gibans
Cleveland State University
Course Rationale:
The course "Beyond the Classroom: Integrating Community Resources into the Curriculum" is geared to helping teachers see community resources as important aids to education. Traditionally, books formed the core of educational materials. Today, there is an awareness that learning takes place in a variety of ways -- media, video, daily experience. This is to focus on the use of community resources and their potential for significant learning.
A. Goals and Objectives
Overall Goal:
- To assist teachers in developing awareness and confidence in using community resources as a planned and significant aspect of the curriculum plan.
Objectives:
- To familiarize teachers with the resources for the classroom that exist in the Cleveland community.
- To engage in serious discussion about the use of community resources.
- To familiarize the teacher with the strategies for using community resources. These will range from gaining support within the school system and individual school to collaboration with outside institutions.
- To cause the teacher to examine learning styles, learning contexts and teaching methods.
B. Course Description
- Introduction to community opportunities
- The traditional field trip and some new thinking about how partnerships can be forged between classrooms and community resources, between curriculum-driven subject matter and real objects, between written and experiential resources.
- Introduction of articles and short bibliography
- Introduction to the Community Resources
- Assignment to develop a set of curriculum-outside resource lesson plans
- Development of parent assignments
The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Introduction to the Teacher Resource Center and galleries with emphasis on ways the art museum materials and exhibits can be useful for teaching.
Cleveland Botanical Garden
- Emphasis on naturalistic or science education
Health Museum of Cleveland
- Emphasis on how the science subject matter can be integrated into existing curriculum formats and how institutions and resource people can enhance curriculum requirements.
Western Reserve Historical Society
- Emphasis on integrating regional social and cultural resources into the curriculum.
Natural History Museum
- Emphasis on natural history from dinosaurs to gems.
- Introduction to the Teacher Resource Center.
WCPN-Public Radio
- Tour of facility
Discussion of units
- Discussion of methodology and learning methods. Problem-solving in the exhibits.
- Presentations: Reports from the participating students.
- Wrap-Up-Discussion
C. Selected Bibliography
- Ansbacher, T. (1998) John Dewey's Experience and Education: Lessons for Museums Curator, 41 (1).
- Beach, B.K., and Gibans, N. F. (1992). Family Affair. Museum News, 71(1), 57-59.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity. New York: HarperCollins.
- Dewey, John, (1938/1997) Experience and Education. Simon and Schuster.
- Davis, J. and Gardner, H. (1993). Open Windows Open Doors Museum News.
- Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach. New York: Basic Books.
- Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds. New York: Basic Books.
- Sternberg, R. (Ed.). (1988). The nature of creativity. New York.
- Sternberg, R. (1997). Thinking styles. New York: University Press.
D. Resources
- Staff within museums and community institutions
- Specialists in subject areas with a track record in working with the schools and classroom teacher.
E. Evaluation
Evaluation will be carried out on several levels.
- Institution staff will evaluate commitment of group to the course.
- Participants will evaluate sessions in terms of effectiveness in assisting them in gaining hold of the subject matter and in accomplishing the goals and objectives.
- Faculty will evaluate student curriculum related products (80%) and the quality of class discussion. (20%)
F. Required Assignment:
ALL students:
- a unit of curriculum using two or more of the community sites visited in the course. Others may be included for use in your classroom and to instruct museum educators
- an assignment for parents
The Presentations should include:
- Rationale
- Goals (Broad)-
- Objectives-
- Program Implementation Plan
- Duration (week, month, semester)
- Definitions
- Resources
- books
- people
- organizations
In addition, for those taking this course for GRADUATE credit:
- review of a book on the methodology you use or on the materials distributed on the first day of class.
- the description of how you might set up a "museum in your classroom" related to your methodology and unit of curriculum.
Form
- This unit should be in a form presentable to supervisors, principals, teachers (preferably typed.) It should be usable by another teacher with clear definitions of terms, directions and suggestions. It should be understandable to parents.