Archaeology and Experiential Learning: The Unique Impact of Learning Experientially for the Field Sciences

Summary

This paper is an education and curriculum development perspective on hands-on research, including the process of evaluation of learning outcomes. Field Schools are an integral part of education in the field sciences, and particularly in archaeology where field identification of artifacts and features is not reproducible in other contexts. Field schools in general are targeted toward advanced undergraduate students,those already in graduate school, and students able to pay thousands of dollars to attend. This paper will discuss the need for research about the long term educational effects of field participation as a venue for training and assessment. The goal is to better understand the impact of the experiential learning process to help provide incentives and data for educators, both in and outside of archaeology, to begin getting students involved in hands-on research at earlier career stages.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Assessing Outcomes in Public Archaeology: Imperatives, Perils, and Frameworks

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