Traveling Trunk:“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”-Confucius

Erica Van Keuren

What is a traveling trunk?

• A teaching method and tool brining parts of a history museum into the classroom.

• Atlanta History Center’s Outreach Education Program– “Content, context, comprehension”– Experiential education– Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

How does it work?

Atlanta History Center• Concept: pick a standard to

be taught via the trunk• Context: how the standard

will be taught• Comprehension:

measurement of student’s learning and connection with prior knowledge

Experiential Education & Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

• Experiential education: learning and doing with hands. Direct experience and focused reflection.

• Gardner’s MI: linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal

Is this significant?

• Student’s think history is boring and has no relation to his/her daily life

• Student engagement in Georgia History– Can a travel trunk successfully teach Georgia

eighth-graders the history content in SS8H7?– SS8H7

Research Methods

• Survey Monkey• Atlanta History Center

Overall, did you like the trunk?

yes no undecided0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

Response Count Response Percent

Teachers liked…

How well were students engaged?

8.80%

23.50%

67.60%

Not at all Somewhat

Adequately Extremely Well

Should the trunk teach one strand of a standard?

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

18.20%

30.30%

3.00%

9.10%

45.50% No, I did not like this ap-proach and trunks should address several GPS.

Yes, I liked this approach and trunks should address one GPS.

Yes, trunks should only be used to teach history.

Yes, trunks should only be used to teach one discipline at a time.

No, trunks should be used to teach several disciplines concurrently.

Other areas the trunk could address

45.50%

69.70%

54.50%

57.60%

27.30%

33.30%

15.20%

Economics

English Language Arts, Reading and Writing

Georgraphy

Government

Mathematics

Science

Other

Do teachers want to use it?

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

14.30%

4.80%

28.60%

52.40%

I would not use a trunk for this standard.I'd use the trunk if it was required by my curricu-lum director.If the trunk was available I would consider using it.I would be eager to use a trunk for this standard.

Student engagement

Possible trunk composition

Proposed Solution

• Create an educational travel trunk that includes primary artifacts:– Aspects from Leo Frank and Race Riots– Maps of Atlanta from 1870 to 1919– Poems and other writings

Special thanks to:

• Dr. Stephanie McClure• Dr. Doug Oetter• Ms. Cara Meade• Mrs. Beth Woodward• Atlanta History Center, teachers• Special Education Cohort ‘07-’09