Newfoundland's first people : the Maritime Archaic Indians : a curriculum and instructional unit based on the theories of Mauritz Johnson, Jr.

Cowan, Florence Blundon. (1973) Newfoundland's first people : the Maritime Archaic Indians : a curriculum and instructional unit based on the theories of Mauritz Johnson, Jr. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a unit of curriculum and instruction based on the theories of Mauritz Johnson Jr. This unit is intended to supplement the existing elementary social studies program in Newfoundland schools. -- The content was derived from original scientific documents prepared by Dr. James A. Tuck, archaeologist in charge of the excavation at Port au Choix, Newfoundland which took place in 1968. This excavation led to the identification of Newfoundland's earliest inhabitants,the Maritime Archaic Indians, who lived in Newfoundland and surrounding areas four thousand years ago. -- When the unit was developed, specialists from social studies, archaeology-anthropology, and audio-visual education assessed it for content, validity, structure, presentation, and representation. Following this, the unit was submitted to the classroom for student-teacher assessment for its learnability, teachability, credability and potential. Three elementary school classes consisting of 115 students and their teachers, under the Avalon Consolidated School Board, participated in these classroom trials which took place between June 1 and June 22, 1973. Revision were made following both assessments. An overall evaluation was provided by "guiding questions" designed by Anderson and Aoki and based on Johnson's theories. These questions guided the development of the unit from its inception to the implementation in the classroom. -- The following conclusions were drawn from this study: -- 1. Substantive content of a highly cognitive nature can be studied by children in early grades if the content is properly selected, transposed, and structured. -- 2. The unit approach would seem to enable the insertion of new information--a continuous problem in the fields--into existing programs. -- 3. The theories of Mauritz Johnson, Jr. provide a viable rationale for developing units of curriculum and instruction. Johnson's theories enabled the researcher to adequately develop and implement the unit Newfoundland's First People: The Maritime Archaic Indians. -- 4. The assessment by the participating students and teachers convinced the developer that the unit could greatly supplement the existing social studies program in Newfoundland's elementary schools.

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