The College of Education will host the 2019 Student Research Symposium on Saturday, May 4, 2019 from 8:30 a.m.-1:00
Culture, education merge at Vermilionville
Wed, 11/25/2015 - 9:03am
Vermilionville turned into a classroom Monday for more than 100 eighth-grade students from Judice Middle School.
The students and their teachers took part in the Vermilionville Education Enrichment Partnership, a collaboration among Vermilionville, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Lafayette Parish School System.
During the sessions, 14 UL education majors conducted lessons on Acadian, Creole and Native American history and culture. The Judice Middle students participated in dance lessons, hands-on activities and more. And it all took place among the mossy oaks and historic wooden buildings of the Vermilionville attraction.
The educational program first launched in late 2012 as a pilot program with 20 Judice Middle students. Since then, it’s become an educational model that has been presented at state and national education conferences, as well as the UL System Academic Summit.
“The impetus for the collaboration was to fulfill the museum’s mission to increase educational service to a wider audience, and to enrich the museum’s collection of research-based materials that they could offer teachers and students as part of their community outreach,” said Toby Daspit, an associate professor in UL’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, via email.
On Monday morning, UL education majors Kyle Haberer and Joel Thornton were two of the students who led hands-on activities. Judice Middle students worked with a homemade version of the Acadian flag, while Haberer and Thornton explained what each of the three symbols on the flag represent. They also described the culture shock that Acadians experienced when they moved to Louisiana, with its new political and religious freedoms.
Daspit said all of the lesson plans for the day are created by UL students, faculty and Vermilionville personnel. Those lessons will be available on the museum’s website for use by current and future educators, he said.
“Through this project, pre-service teachers are able to hone their classroom-management skills, immerse themselves in social studies content and explore how to be stewards of cultural responsibility,” Daspit wrote.