Artifact 2

Context: I created a culture kit on Indonesia in a Social Studies in the Elementary School course at Appalachian State University, under the direction of Betty Dishman.

Impact: The Indonesian culture kit is useful to me as a teacher because it serves as a model for students as they create their own culture kits to study foreign places. As students select different countries for the culture kit activity, they must locate and read books on that country. Next, students would, either individually or in groups, build culture kits containing artifacts that are representative of that nation and/or culture. Students would be encouraged to share culture kits in a whole class setting, as well as share digital images of their culture kits, which can be displayed in the social studies center.

Alignment: The culture kit project meets goals IIB and VIC of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. By creating a culture kit to teach my classmates about Indonesia, I found value in learner-centered instructional strategies. For example, I was allowed to direct my own learning by choosing a country, selecting a book to read on that country, deciding upon artifacts to include in my kit, and taking digital images of my kit and its contents. Through the culture kit activity, I engaged in a constructivist learning approach by making decisions on how to represent Indonesia (IIB). Through the culture kit activity, I also demonstrated abilities to locate and use technology that supports diversity. By using the culture kit activity in my classroom, students will be able to become experts on one country, while learning about the countries of classmates. Thus, through the sharing of culture kits and digital images of culture kits, students will be exposed to a plethora of information on diverse peoples, places, and cultures (VIC).