Non-formal Learning: Cemeteries as Sites of Learning
Location
Inservice Teachers: Professional Development and Research - Morgan
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
A field trip to a setting that is out of school is a common strategy used by teachers to bridge student’s knowledge with real-world experience (Wang & Carlson, 2011). The focus of this research was to analyze guided tours delivered to middle and high school groups at a large, urban cemetery in the southeast of the United States. In particular, this study sought to identify the content communicated by tour guides to school groups, determine students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the educational field trip to a large public cemetery, and explore how cemeteries occupy sites of learning for school groups. Three research questions guided the inquiry of this study: (i) How do cemeteries occupy sites of learning for school groups? (ii) What are public school students' and teachers' understanding and perceptions of a guided tour of a public cemetery? (iii) What content is delivered by tour guides at a cemetery? This study adopted Berstein’s classification and framing to analyze content communicated by tour guides to school groups. Findings revealed boundaries between the historical information and content communicated by the guides were not blurred or weakened with connections to students’ personal experiences or school content.
Keywords
non-formal learning, school field trips, museums, Bernstein
Professional Bio
James Badger he is a professor in the College of Education and Director of the Center for Language Education at the University of North Georgia. Previously he taught in Boston, England, Canada, and Japan. His research interests include values in education, museum education, global citizenship, creativity and critical thinking, leadership, and English language instruction and learning. He has post-secondary degrees from Canada and England.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
badger, james, "Non-formal Learning: Cemeteries as Sites of Learning" (2019). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 33.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2019/2019/33
Non-formal Learning: Cemeteries as Sites of Learning
Inservice Teachers: Professional Development and Research - Morgan
A field trip to a setting that is out of school is a common strategy used by teachers to bridge student’s knowledge with real-world experience (Wang & Carlson, 2011). The focus of this research was to analyze guided tours delivered to middle and high school groups at a large, urban cemetery in the southeast of the United States. In particular, this study sought to identify the content communicated by tour guides to school groups, determine students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the educational field trip to a large public cemetery, and explore how cemeteries occupy sites of learning for school groups. Three research questions guided the inquiry of this study: (i) How do cemeteries occupy sites of learning for school groups? (ii) What are public school students' and teachers' understanding and perceptions of a guided tour of a public cemetery? (iii) What content is delivered by tour guides at a cemetery? This study adopted Berstein’s classification and framing to analyze content communicated by tour guides to school groups. Findings revealed boundaries between the historical information and content communicated by the guides were not blurred or weakened with connections to students’ personal experiences or school content.
