The Arch Street Project in the Classroom: The Multifaceted Benefits to the Student

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Arch Street Project: Multidisciplinary Research of a Philadelphia Cemetery" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

It has become clear that current students thrive with a hands-on approach to learning. This type of engagement leads to an increase in achievement and interest among students (Erickson et al. 2020), as well as an increase of knowledge. The human remains that were unearthed as part of the Arch Street Project provided students with an invaluable resource to study and learn about the human skeleton, human variation, and human history; none of which can be examined completely independently of the others. Examining historic remains from a nearby region enriched the students' experience by creating a connection to the skeletal material. The idea that skeletons are the way they are due to their individualized histories helps students to identify the idea of skeletal holism- everything that occurs over an individual’s lifetime will help to transform their skeleton. This can also help them to understand human variation. Knowing the rich history of this site also helped students to recognize the ethical issues of studying human remains and the importance of incorporating respect and professionalism when examining them. Having access to the Arch Street material proved invaluable for students.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Arch Street Project: Multidisciplinary Research of a Philadelphia Cemetery   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37822.0