Dear Histarchers,

Please share the following with anyone who may be interested and 
apologies for crossposting.

The Curriculum Committee of the Society for American Archaeology invites 
proposals to present for a poster session we are sponsoring at the SAA 
meeting in San Fransisco (April 15-19, 2015) entitled, "Teaching 
Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century: Activities for the College 
Classroom." We are looking for presenters who would like to share 
activities they have used in the college classroom- not just college 
professors, but anyone who has taught college-level students using 
activities (graduate students, guest lecturers, etc.). The intent of the 
session is more about having a place to share materials, imperfect as 
they may be, with others who would find them useful than it is to 
provide perfect, publishable (and therefore static) activities. In other 
words, we would like you to join us in sharing activities that you have 
both found useful and those that you hope will be useful, but are not 
completely happy with yet. We hope that, as part of the poster you would 
suggest modifications for different types of college courses (e.g., 
large lecture v. small discussion or introductory level v. advanced) or 
that you have considered but not yet implemented. We do ask that you 
bring handouts and any ancillary materials that you may use with your 
students. And, we also request that you connect your activity directly 
to the Principles for Curricular Reform (see abstract below).

Here's the abstract:
Hands-on activities are one of the best tools available to promote 
complex problem-solving in student-centered archaeology classrooms. Yet, 
original activities are difficult to devise, requiring a substantial 
time commitment and, frequently, multiple iterations before maturing 
into a productive learning tool. Frequently, activities originating 
within a limited circle of colleagues are adapted and revised to fit 
diverse academic situations and instructors, but are not widely 
distributed. This poster session is designed to share effective 
activities developed by the presenters over the years. Activity 
handouts, along with ancillary materials, are provided and each activity 
is explicitly connected to the Principles for Curricular Reform of the 
SAA Committee on Curriculum: Stewardship, Diverse Pasts, Social 
Relevance, Ethics and Values, Written and Oral Communication, 
Fundamental Archaeological Skills, and Real-World Problem Solving.

As a member of the curriculum committee, I am happy to be the organizer 
for the session, so please contact me if you are interested in 
presenting a poster-no abstract necessary yet, just let me know you are 
interested. Abstracts are due to me by Sept 4.

Cheers,
Ben

-- 
Benjamin Carter, PhD, RPA
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Sociology and Anthropology
Muhlenberg College
2400 Chew St
Allentown, PA 18104
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(484)-664-3961
Office # SA 9