Educational Benefits of Collaborative Youth Archaeological Programs 

Summary

This paper examines the benefits of using archaeology to enhance children’s education. I use the children’s  programs run by the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project as a case study to explore the relationship between archaeology and the development of critical thinking skills. In the United States education Standards and the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act have been widely criticized by educators who argue that it has led to shallow coverage of topics, one size fits all education, and teaching to the test methods which emphasize memorization of facts rather than true understanding and critical assessment of course material. I use an ethnographic archaeological approach by employing methods from cultural anthropology and collaborative archaeology to work with educators and argue that by teaching through, and incorporating archaeology in the classroom, teachers can meet mandated educational standards while developing questioning, inference, and critical thinking skills in children. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Remember a Day: Community and Public Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 474