Abstract

1. Experiential Learning Catalyzed by Memorial Creative Research Awards Rob McEntarffer, Instructional Media, Lincoln Public Schools, Charles Francis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Barbara Francis, Montessori School for Young Children, Lincoln ManyNoteworthy Projects Emerged over 20 Years: Rights ofHomosexuals in the U.S. Armed Forces (Jennifer Carney, Heidi Wall, KatieWreed, 1991) Gettysburg: theBattle for a Nation (RamneekBhogal & Jessica Kennedy, 1992) Construction of a Telescope (David Milligan, 1992) EnvironmentalDocumentary (Melissa Jacobs, 1993) The InfluenceofAdvertising (Aaron Kupcinski, 1993) How Lives and Geographyof Native Americans have Changed (Porter Chollet, Jack McHenry, BridgetMcMullen, Aaron Rea, Beth Sherry, 1994) The ScopesTrial: a Study in Compromise (Aaron Hames, Tim Beard, Thomas Burns, C.J. Brown, 1995) SoutheastLincoln Water Quality (Aaron Schepers, 1995) The Tale of Two Cultures (Teresa Hoa Vuong, 1997) DevelopmentalImpactonWilderness Park (Erin Cox, 1999) Women in World War I (Ashelyn Kent, CodyChristline, 2000) RezDogs: theRoleofFeralDogsontheSantee Sioux Reservation (MaddieMcCollister, 2011; seephotobelow) The ForcedPonca Migration and itsEffects: AlexiBurns, Charlotte Jensen, Amanda Cue, and Amanda Murphy researchedthefederallymandatedmarchofthePoncatribe from South Dakota to Oklahome, the tragedies alongtheway, and the lasting implicationsofthisact. [History Day, 1998] Abstract Experiential learning by high school students in the Lincoln Public Schools (Nebraska) has been stimulated by small grant support in the areas of physical and natural sciences, humanities, languages, and other fields. Initiated in 1991, the Todd Francis Memorial Creative Research Awards have been provided to students who apply each fall for grants from $100-200 to pay for research-related expenses such as materials, information resources, and travel. These awards have funded 98 projects and involved 188 students as individuals or research teams, plus three class projects. There have been 27 high school faculty mentors involved. Often the projects are presented at the local, state, and national science fair and history day competitions. Among the noteworthy projects have been: Constructing a Working Copy of the Gutenberg Press (a full scale copy of the 1450 press that could be disassembled and transported to history competitions); The Forced Ponca Migration (implications of the May 1877 federally mandated march of the Ponca from South Dakota to Oklahoma); Women in World War I (chronicle of women’s roles in the First World War); Construction of a Telescope (working telescope constructed from locally-available materials); Meeting at the Newport Parish Church (two women in Civil War period costumes, one from the North and one from the South, meet on the church steps while seeking news of their husbands, and discuss the meaning of war); Ecological Fiction (purchase of books and publishing student reviews of each for school library); and Rights of Homosexuals in the U.S. Air Force (interviews of active duty service men and women at SAC Headquarters near Omaha). These socially-relevant projects have impacted the future studies and lives of many students in Lincoln. The awards were established in memory of Todd Erik Francis (1967-1990). EcologyFictionReview: Lisa Belden used grant funds to purchase a smallcollectionofcurrentbooksonecology and environment, recruitedclassmates to read and writereviews, thenplacedboththebooks and thereviews in a specialplace in theschoollibrary. [A joint project for her science and literatureclasses, 1991] AlluminumCanCollection: Two specialneedslifescienceclassesset up a recyclingprogram ontheSoutheastHighSchool campus, and used thefunds for conservationprojects [1991] Comments from Students Wendy Leuenberger graduated in 2010, and completed a project on the early housing subdivisions in the U.S. “The most lasting and rewarding aspects of my projects are their continued use. My Levittown documentary is being shown at the Historical Society in Levittown, New York for visitors. Another promo video I made is being used across the state to get students and teachers involved in History Day.” Karis Overton completed a project on William Randolph Hearst: defining the Modern Media, an experience which helped her greatly in her university in her current research job. She says, “It fostered growth and development of skills in writing, reading comprehension, technology, and public speaking, all of which I have put to use in college. This research project also allowed me to develop responsibility, integrity, and academic ambition.” Gutenberg Printing Press: Jameson Dager worked from original drawings to figureoutdimensions and materials, thenconstructed a workingmodelofthe Gutenberg press. It wasbuilt to be disassembled for transport to theHistory Day contest in Washington DC, and he placedhigh in thecompetition. He printedsmallbrochuresonthe press thatdescribeditshistory and his methodsofconstruction [2004]. Conclusions: Weareconvincedafterseeingtheresultsoftheseprojects, talkingwith students, and readingtheirreportsthat modest financial support from theTodd Francis awards has provided remarkable stimulus for creativeexperientiallearning by highschool students in Lincoln, Nebraska. We plan to continuethe program. Todd Eric Francis, 1967-1990 Todd Francis was born in Ithaca, New York, and spent most of his early years in Colombia. He later attended public schools in Lincoln, Nebraska, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College in Iowa. He was fluent in Spanish and conversant in French, and worked on a farm in rural Spain and translated computer software in Madrid. At the time of his death, he was an intern studying prairie ecosystems at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. Meeting at the Newport ParishChurch: TashaFarrar and KatieRichstatterwrote and playedtherolesoftwoyoungwives, one from the North and one from the South, who met onthechurchstepswhileseekingnewsoftheir husbands in theCivilWar. Dressed in periodcostumestheysewedthemselves, thetwowomendiscussedthefutillityofwar and theirlikelyfutureas widowsafterthismassive conflict. [History Day Project, 1992] Students for ChoiceWebsite: ErinRoth and Emily Green created a web site for students to communicateaboutlocalevents and keyreference materials related to women’schoices in family planning. [Project in literature and computer science]