Region VIII
Insights Through Exploration
Experiential education programs developed at Corvallis High School integrate
research, writing, and literature while examining issues surrounding Montana’s
heritage and public lands.
Founded in 1991, Insights Through Exploration courses offer students in this rural district the chance to work with community members, local organizations, and national and state agencies.
Insights Through Exploration comprises the following programs, each of which actively involves students in the preservation and documentation of Montana’s physical and historical heritage.
The Beaverhead/Ravalli Anthropological Co-op focuses study in the field on abandoned mining and Native American sites in southwestern Montana. Students from three regional high schools engage in cross-curricular examination of these sites. Activities combine anthropology, English, art, history, science, photography, and math. Data from this five-year study will be used to place these sites on the National Historic Register.
Classroom Without Walls challenges sophomores and juniors to use their academic skills to examine issues associated with the use
of the nation’s public lands. Through rigorous outdoor pursuits in remote wilderness areas, the program integrates language arts, science, and social studies content.
The Corvallis Community History Project engages students in the collection of oral histories, old photographs, and anecdotal stories. Their research is used to identify changes in local demographics and is made available
to the public via the Internet. The project is open to ninth-grade English and geography students.
In partnership with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, students in the Calf Creek Project study the impact of public recreation on a wintering elk range. Their findings are published in that agency’s yearly management plan.
Offered as an option to sophomores who wish to pursue research in cross-curricular areas, the Research and Literature course gives students the resources needed to produce a professional product for an outside audience. Students’ theme-based explorations culminate in a public presentation. Literary offerings draw from the fiction, non-fiction, and mythology of the American West.
Students involved in the Bannack State Park Visitor Center Project analyze historical and demographic data. During the park’s annual celebration, students create interpretive displays and provide an electronic kiosk that features historic photos, documents, taped interviews, and period music. This project involves students from Research and Literature, Composition, and sophomore English.
In the Montana Heritage Project, ninth-grade students explore historical and geographical change in the local area. Using primary sources (journals, photographs, first-hand testimonials, and maps), students compare past and present Corvallis. During their study, they are introduced to the tools of the map maker, film maker, researcher, writer, and public speaker.
The Riparian Monitoring Program educates students in ecology through evaluating local stream quality and sharing data with environmental agencies. During a five-week period, data are collected and shared with environmental agencies for management purposes. Students can participate during all four years of high school, monitoring different factors each year.
"We are creating an interest in our communal heritage and an understanding of the need to preserve this heritage. We are discussing how to archive collected material like this photo and how to further share those materials with members of our community. We will be building an addition to our school in the near future and hope that one of our old classrooms can be set aside as a community gathering place where information can be gathered and shared."
—Phil Leonardi, teacher and Director, Montana Heritage Project, Corvallis High School
Students involved in Insights Through Exploration projects establish mentor relationships with professionals. Students perform services for their community, complete authentic tasks for local organizations, and acquire career-related skills. Because course offerings are optional, students are able to explore how humanities coursework can lead to careers in their chosen field of interest.
School restructuring efforts at Corvallis High School stem from
a core belief in interdisciplinary learning measured by authentic outcomes. This model links learning in the humanities to projects that benefit the whole community. Students regularly work with professionals from the following agencies: soil biologists from federal fisheries, museum preservationists from the Montana Historical Society, anthropologists from the Bureau of Land Management, researchers from the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and staff from the University of Montana.
CONTACT: Steve Fisk and Art Rzasa,
Corvallis High School, P.O. Box 700,
1045 Main, Corvallis, Montana
59828; (406) 961-4894.
