Teachers and site staff –
Ideas for collaborating
At THV’s 2009 institute more than 100 teachers
and staff from museums, historic sites, and parks
discussed working together in ways that go
beyond field trips. Here are some ideas they
had for making the most of their collaborations.
INFORMAL EDUCATORS TO
TEACHERS
Prepare students and create a context
for the visit. Use pre- and post-visit
materials including evaluations to extend
student learning.
Integrate site experiences across
disciplines.
Aim to make experiential learning an
ongoing feature of your classroom. We
can help.
Treat site visits as major learning
opportunities not treats or rewards.
Continue, repeat, and extend
experiences. For instance, use technology
or do site activities at school, e.g., test
water from a stream on school grounds,
bring site staff to school, do journaling in
the school yard instead of at desks.
TEACHERS TO INFORMAL
EDUCATORS
Develop consistency so we know what to
expect.
Be flexible so you can respond to teachers’
needs, e.g., grade, discipline, special needs.
Help students ask meaningful questions by
sharing what you and your staff ask about your
place and collections.
Tie programming to curriculum in creative
ways. Surprise us.
Consider sharing more than exhibits.
Physical place
Content and subject matter
Animals and plants
Artifacts
How you work
Equipment
Knowledge, expertise, and point-of-view of
your staff and volunteers
Extend the experience by sharing technology
resources, documents, oral histories, etc.
Visit schools -- bring or loan documents,
objects, artifacts, equipment, etc.
(Continues on back)
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THV is a program of
Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and Greenway Conservancy | Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, National Park Service | Hudson River
Estuary Program, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation | Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College
VALUE ADDED BY EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION
WAYS TO IMPROVE
COLLABORATION
Share your context and passion
and try to understand that of your
collaborator.
Communicate before and after
the visit.
 Discuss context, curriculum
connections, and standards.
 Agree on expectations, e.g.,
pre- and post-visit activities,
evaluations, and/or surveys.
 Encourage students to
communicate directly with
sites and informal educators.
 Exchange e-mail addresses and
phone numbers.
 Strive for multiple visits (both
directions) and ongoing
contact.
Respect each other and your
missions.
Identify and strive to meet
mutual goals.
Involve and inform others, e.g.,
students, parents, and
administrators. Help your
stakeholders understand the
importance of collaboration with
others.
Makes education more meaningful. When students
handle, measure, or experience actual objects and
phenomena, learning becomes experiential/handson/authentic/inquiry-based and rooted in real-world
understandings.
Expands students’ capacity to make cogent arguments,
connections, and observations; to ask questions and
experiment; to use the scientific method; to engage in
analytic thinking; and to experience awe and wonder.
Exposes students to a broader range of styles and can
make it easier to address different kinds of learners.
Introduces students to more types of expertise along
with a wider range of facilities, resources, and equipment.
Opens new career possibilities for students because they
see people doing other kinds of work.
Exposes students to new voices and points of view.
Introduces complex concepts – such as appreciation,
preservation, stewardship, community, environmental and
historical literacy, and scientific and political awareness –
and helps to make them concrete.
Connects place and community with learning.
Expands students’ boundaries.
Supports learning standards because experience builds
skills and knowledge.
Helps students recognize that learning happens
everywhere.
Encourages love of learning by showing that it can be fun
and engaging.
Changes the way students think about and experience
learning especially when teachers discover and learn too.
Provides vivid references and jumping off points.