An exciting aspect of the Heritage Education program at NCPTT is the emergence of a heritage education model. A pattern in the teacher-developed heritage education lesson plans has been detected.
These three aspects separate the projects from traditional library research papers, while two of the components (primary research and service learning) separate them from traditional social studies fair projects.
- Do original, authentic, primary research.
- Participate in service learning to gain academic skills and contribute to larger community.
- Create place-specific presentations that students share with audiences such as public library patrons, and community newspaper.
Due to the isolated manner in which each teacher developed each lesson plan, it is of particular interest that so many of these plans bear such a strong resemblance to one another in structure, if not in content. Two other programs in the United States have been identified as sharing some or all of the aspects of the heritage education model identified by NCPTT. It is striking that each of these groups developed their models in isolation from any other group, with similar results.
This Heritage Education Model was developed by Nancy Hawkins, Archaeologist Manager, Louisiana Divisions of Archaeology.