This pilot project
integrates elements of humanities, science, art, and technology into an
innovative multidisciplinary approach to meeting the school’s mission. The program fits well with the HSCS sixth
grade program of study that emphasizes the relationship between humans and
their environment.
As a pilot
project during the 2005‐2006 school year, the greatest benefit to future
development of a multidisciplinary curriculum along the KG‐9 continuum can be
derived from the experiences of the students, faculty, and parents at the sixth
grade level. All assets obtained through the funding of the various facets of
this project will be available in subsequent years for use by other classes,
regardless of grade.
Groups of four to five
students work in teams supervised by an adult volunteer. Teams present a capstone that uses elements
learned in the humanities‐science‐art‐technology curriculum. Projects will vary depending on student
interest. We anticipate PowerPoint presentations and Publisher brochures as the
most common project types; however, students and encouraged to be creative.
Some students will choose a community service project (e.g., adopting a tree in
the orchard, planting or weeding the organic farm, clearing trails in the
wetlands, compiling an oral history of the homesteader’s of the land on which
HSCS was built, etc.) to demonstrate that they, too, are stewards of the land
much like others who have lived in the valley over thousands of years. In
addition, we hope to culminate the year with an art exhibit displayed at a
public location on the school campus.
Humanities
The project
teaches students about these first residents and settlers through speakers and
books. Members of the Shoshone‐Bannock
tribe connect millennia of history to the children’s knowledge of contemporary
Idaho by way of oral histories and presentations. Books about the Shoshone‐Bannock nation and
culture in the class library provide students with resources to supplement
their research.
The link to more recent
settlers of the Dry Creek Valley is through the eyes, voice, and writing of one
of its long‐time residents, Dorothy Still Wyman. A class set of her book about the history of
the Dry Creek Valley, Light Upon the
Mountain, imbues the children with a sense that history is not so far away,
but follows a timeline that they equally share and can influence. A videoed oral history taken of Ms. Wyman in
November 2005 will likewise be shown to the class.
Environmental Science and
Geography
The HSCS
charter calls for a science curriculum that is a multi‐year sequence
emphasizing hands‐on experimentation and functional knowledge of scientific
phenomena. This pilot project proposes a
formal inclusion of environmental education as part of that educational
process. Technology will be used to
support a child’s natural way of learning through individual and group
discovery and seeking solutions to real life challenges.
All students participate in
walking field trips of the valley’s environmental resources which will be lead
by wildlife, naturalist, organic farming, and other specialists. Universal access issues will be discussed to
raise awareness of the natural and constructed barriers preventing people with
disabilities from equal access, and students will help troubleshoot those
barriers so all class members can participate in the field trip.
Sixth graders will learn the
basic elements of the scientific method: 1) select a problem; 2) research the
literature; 3) develop a hypothesis(ses) or research questions; 4) determine an
appropriate method to
measure the hypothesis(ses)
or research questions; 5) collect relevant data; 6) analyze and interpret the
results; 7) present the results; and, 8) recommend areas for further study or
replicating the results.
Future areas of development
include the following: 1) Use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic
Information System (GIS) software to study patterns in or elements of the
environment; 2) Use water testing kits to track water quality in water sources
within the Dry Creek Valley; and, 3) Study of wildlife preservation, organic
farming, native and non‐native vegetation, and conservation in the valley.
Art and Technology
The traditional sixth grade
art curriculum focuses on the Western Hemisphere. This fits well with the other disciplines
represented in this pilot project. The
seven elements of art – texture, value, color, space, form, shape, line – will
be taught through a variety of activities.
Evaluation
Evaluation of the pilot
project involves a variety of methods:
• Students
will undergo a pre/post test that measures the learning goals and objectives
over time.
• Each
group’s final project is graded against criteria developed from the humanities,
science, arts, and technology curriculum.
• An
open‐ended questionnaire for students, parents, and project contributors
assesses what aspects of the program worked and which ones need enhancement to
make the multidisciplinary program better for subsequent sixth grades.
