Vermont Rural Partnership LEARNING IN PLACE UNIT Student-Generated Geography Projects of Thetford Hands-on, Community-Based, Service-Learning Geography Projects for High School Students: –An Eight Week Unit by Steve Niederhauser, Social Studies Department Thetford Academy – steve.niederhauser@thet.net OUR STORY Thetford, like all Vermont towns, is a vast collection of stories that take place in the unique landscape within its borders. Those stories affect the everyday lives of its residents who may very well have never heard them. For instance, Thetford is neatly bisected by the Ompompanoosic River; yet, in the southern two thirds and most populated part of town the river is spanned by only two bridges, and both are historic covered bridges, well over a hundred years old! Large fire trucks and construction vehicles are too big and too heavy to use them. Should the town of Thetford replace them with modern bridges? Are residents aware of the story behind the bridges? What exactly are the problems surrounding the bridges? Can their historic value be preserved while, at the same time, modern needs are met? These questions could be answered by a Local Geography Project created by a small group of students. Their task would not be complete until the story is told to the people of Thetford. There are many other stories waiting to be be told. So far, Human Geography students at Thetford Academy have worked on the following Local Geography Projects: –Movement of Houses in Thetford Caused by Construction of I-91 –Changes in Youth Camps on Lake Fairlee 1890 - 2000 –Analysis of the Locations of Motor Vehicle Accidents in Thetford• –Analysis of Cemetery Locations in Thetford –Changes in General Stores in Thetford –Water Mills in the History of Thetford Development –Changes in Town Origin of Thetford Academy Students, 1960 - 2000• –Changes to Lake Morey Golf Course –Business Changes in East Thetford, 1800 - 1990 –Analysis of Bike Trails in Thetford –Analysis of Solar Powered Houses in Strafford, VT –What Happens to Your Soda Can? - Current Recycling Realities in Thetford• –Social Analysis of Homes on the Cross Road: Why Do Residents Live There?• –Social Changes to North Thetford After the Demolition of the North Thetford Bridge• –Changes to Thetford Schools, 1880 - Present [Digital Video Documentary] Nearly all of the above Local Geography Project exhibits have been displayed at annual Thetford Town Meetings. A selected few have also been displayed elsewhere. All of the exhibits have included either a base map with overlays or a progression of maps. Public response to the exhibits has overwhelmingly been positive; special interest in some projects has been expressed by the town police department, the historical society, the planning commission, and a local mountain biking club. OVERVIEW AND EXPECTATIONS In order to extend our study of human geography to the local level, students in this course are expected to complete a Local Geography Project. Each project is researched and created by a small team of students who investigate a particular geographic aspect of our community. The principal result of a Local Geography Project is a well-researched and well-prepared, self-explanatory, professional-looking, student-generated exhibit or short video documentary that purposefully informs or advises the local community. Project exhibits will be examined by the public at town meetings, school functions, or in the lobby of the town office or library. Local Geography Projects use data collected in the community and present a spatial analysis of that data. Projects will be conducted in groups of two or three students and will comprise 20% of each student’s final grade in Human Geography. In addition to time spent on the project outside of class, two class periods during each of eight weeks will be available to students to conduct research in the community, update journals, analyze data, prepare their exhibits, written reports, and presentations, and consult with the instructor. Each project group will 1) keep a project journal, 2) make a oral presentation of findings and analysis to the class, administrators, other teachers and guests from the community, 3) create an attractive standing exhibit of results, and 4) submit a written report that includes detailed findings, analysis and a summary of the process. PROJECT TOPICS Project topics should be in the interest of all team members and the community at large. For instance, a project that maps and analyzes the relationship between house break-ins and house locations or road types would be of interest to local police. A project that maps and analyzes the historical relationship between water mills and town growth would be of interest to the local historical society. Examples of possible topics include local traditional house types, beaver dams, location of businesses, truck or tourist traffic, human migration patterns to local towns, railroads, summer camps, hunting camps, ski trails, conversion from dairy to beef farms, dog density, distribution of people over the age of sixty-five, diversity of race or religion, possible location for a garbage dump, cemeteries, water quality, mines, old roads, covered bridges, or sugar houses. SPATIAL ANALYSIS Local Geography Projects are not merely exercises in making maps. These projects are intended to analyze geographic features of the community in terms of their human significance. Spatial analysis is the comparison of at least two mappable characteristics that help explain why something is where it is or help clarify relationships. In other words, each project will analyze, with the use of maps, the spatial importance of local geographic features. Maps, however, will be the principal means of presentation of each project’s data. Most typically, presentations and exhibits will include a sequence of maps or a base map and various transparent overlays. Computer-generated digital maps (GIS) can also be used. EXHIBIT Exhibits will be as attractive and professional looking as possible. They may include a succession of maps or maps with overlays and photographs. Text will be word processed. Exhibits must be constructed with permanence and durability in mind. MATERIALS Funding necessary to produce a Local Geography Project is about $25 on average. Occasional projects have cost more. So far, discretionary funds at Thetford Academy have been able to cover these expenses which include maps, foam board, and photography lab and reproduction costs. JOURNAL Each project group is expected to keep a detailed journal of their work. Journals will be updated on a weekly basis. They will be periodically checked by the instructor and handed in with the written report. WRITTEN REPORT A well-prepared written report will be submitted to the instructor at the time of the presentation. The report will include: 1. the purpose and rationale of the project 2. maps and an explanation of project’s spatial analysis 3. all research data, interviews, and a bibliography of resources 4. the findings of the project 5. recommendations for the community or predictions about the community based on the project’s findings 6. a discussion of the project’s findings from a global geographic perspective 7. an assessment of project’s success and suggestions for further study. PRESENTATION [See Culminating Activity] GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS Local Geography Projects are an opportunity for students to explore the analytical powers of geographic information software programs such as ArcExplorer or ArcView. Thetford Academy has the necessary ArcView software and a dedicated Windows computer should computer-oriented students wish to employ them. DIGITAL VIDEO The recent acquisition of a digital camcorder and a computer with iMovie capability at Thetford Academy has resulted in the first Local Geography Project video documentary (“Schoolhouses of Thetford”). This medium’s potential to provide greater accessibility to content was clearly demonstrated by the more than usual community interest in a Local Geography Project. There were a number of requests for copies, and the Thetford Historical Society showed it at a quarterly meeting. Resources Used with this Unit • Choosing a Topic • Interview Lesson • Interview Guide • Interview Assessment • Journal Checklist ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS 1. Each project group creates its own Essential Questions that relate to their particular topic. (See Unit Outline, Week 1) 2. Why are you personally interested in this project topic? 3. Why will community members be interested in your project results? 4. How will you provide a spatial analysis of your topic? 5. How will data be collected? 6. What will be mapped? FOCUSING QUESTIONS 1. What exactly will your exhibit look like? –How will it clearly present a spatial analysis? –How will it be “professional” looking? –What maps will you use and how will they be arranged? –How will the text be easy to read, concise, and still give a full overview of your project? –What recommendations or predictions will your exhibit make to the community? 2. What will you talk about in your presentation? [See Oral Presentation Assessment Guide] 3. How do the findings of your project fit into a global geographic perspective? 4. What have you learned about working as a member of a team with a common goal? GOALS/ RATIONALE The goals of Local Geography Projects are to: 1. serve the informational needs of local communities by providing valuable analyses of a wide variety of local geographic features, 2. enhance students’ connectedness with the community (and reap all other various benefits of service learning), 3. reinforce and enhance student understanding of the geography (or other social studies) curriculum through fieldwork - observation, investigation, and inquiry (see Fieldwork in the Geography Curriculum: Filling The Rhetoric-Reality Gap; Gwenda A. Rice and Teresa L Bulman; National Council for Geographic Education, 2001). STANDARDS Students will meet Vermont Framework Standards: Vital Result 4.1 Service: Students take an active role in their community. This is evident when students a) plan, implement, and reflect on activities that respond to community needs, and b) use academic skills and knowledge in real-life community situations. Vital Result 4.6 Understanding Place: Students demonstrate understanding of the relationship between their local environment and community heritage and how each shapes their lives. This is evident when students evaluate and predict how current trends will affect the future of their local community and environment. Field of Knowledge 6.7 Geographical Knowledge: Students use geographical knowledge and images of various places to understand the present, communicate historical interpretations, develop solutions for problems, and plan for the future. This is evident when students...d) identify, research, and interpret how geography influences historical and contemporary events. Learning Opportunity D.2 Relevance: Students will have access to learning experiences that have personal, community, and/or global relevance. Embedded Standards: 1.18 Information Technology 1.19 Research 2.2 Problem Solving 3.9 Sustainability 3.10 Teamwork 4.5 Continuity and Change 6.6 Being a Historian 7.2 Investigation National Geography Standards: Although any of the 18 National Geography Standards may apply to individual Local Geography Projects, the Projects as a whole clearly satisfy Essential Element VI - The Uses of Geography: Standard 17 - How to apply geography to interpret the past; and Standard 18 - How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future. COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PLAN How well a student has met the criteria of all three Vermont Framework standards highlighted in this unit is most clearly assessed at the end of the eight weeks by his or her team’s exhibit and written report (student product), and presentation (student performance). Evidence for final unit assessment include: • Exhibit Rubric • Written Report Rubric • Presentation Rubric • Service-Learning Rubric Evidence for assessment of individual students: • Anecdotal Observation • Teamwork: Peer Assessment Rubric • Journals Evidence for continuous assessment: • Assessment of prior knowledge and what students want to learn - Journal • Choosing Your Project Topic • Project Plan • Essential Questions • Journal Checklist • Teamwork: Peer Assessment Rubric • Interview Assessment • Focusing Questions • Service-Learning Rubric • Journals • Anecdotal Observation UNIT OUTLINE WEEK 1: 1. Students understand the purpose and rationale of the unit. 2. Students read and discuss Vermont Framework Standards 4.1 (Service). 4.6 (Understanding Place) and 6.7 (Geographical Knowledge) 3. Students fully understand all student unit expectations. Students view exhibits from previous years’ projects. Lesson Plan: Spatial Analysis Lesson Plan: Choosing Your Project Topic: What is the Essential Question? Lesson Plan: Keeping Your Project’s Journal Students self-select into teams and choose project topics. Teams answer Essential Questions. Teams make initial Journal entry: an assessment of prior knowledge about their project topic: what do they already about their topic? And what do they want to find out? Finding an appropriate and exciting project topic is perhaps the most important part of this process. The right topic for each particular team will motivate students to produce good results. Students may choose to brainstorm topics in the full class. The instructor will offer guidance and perhaps make topic suggestions. Some initial research in the community may be necessary to determine if a particular project is, in fact, feasible. Once project topics are chosen and approved by the instructor, teams frame their topics into one or perhaps two questions that will shape the spatial analysis of their projects. For example, Why do tourists come to Lake Fairlee in the summer? or, How has the current draught affected living conditions in Thetford? or, Why is Houghton Hill Road located where it is? Although this first of the Essential Questions will not likely be answerable at this point, students will make predictions of possible answers. WEEK 2: Lesson Plan: Interviewing the Community Member •Interview Guide •Assessing The Interview Teams submit plans for the research, data collection, spatial analysis and mapping of their projects. Teams complete a Project Plan.888 Teams update journals. Instructor inspects journals. WEEK 3: Teams continue to research their projects, consult with the instructor and update journals. WEEK 4: Teams continue to research their projects, consult with the instructor and update journals. Instructor inspects journals. WEEK 5: 1. Teams continue to research their projects, consult with the instructor and update journals. 2. Students submit responses to Teamwork: Peer Assessment Rubric 3. Students submit responses to Focusing Questions. WEEK 6: 1. Teams continue to research their projects, consult with the instructor and update journals. Instructor inspects journals. 2. Students begin Written Reports [Written Report Rubric] WEEK 7: 1. Teams complete data gathering, consult with the instructor and update journals. 2. Teams turn in rough drafts of the written report which are returned by instructor with comments and suggestions. 3. Teams begin building exhibits. [Exhibit Rubric] 4. Teams begin preparing Presentation. [Presentation Rubric] WEEK 8: 1. Teams, in consultation with instructor, complete exhibit and written report and prepare for the Presentation (Culminating Activity). 2. Students submit responses to Teamwork: Peer Assessment Rubric CULMINATING ACTIVITY Each project group will formally unveil their exhibits and make a formal presentation of their findings at the end of the eight-week period. Members of the community, school administrators and teachers, as well as other interested students will be invited. Each presentation will be about twenty minutes long. Presenters will then answer questions from the audience. Presentations will include: 1. a clear explanation of the purpose and rationale of the project 2. a clear explanation of the project’s spatial analysis 3. the project’s findings and supporting data 4. an acknowledgement of resources 5. recommendations for the community or predictions about the community based on the project’s findings 6. an assessment of the project and suggestions for further research or study. Presentations will also be evaluated for language, graphics, organization and delivery. [See Presentation Rubric] Teams will submit journals and final written reports at this time.