2011
2011
In 2011 the LAW Steering Committee initiated a collaborative project to programmatically evaluate and assess student learning that takes place at LAW, something that had never been done before. LAW Steering Committee member Dr. Gwynn Henderson partnered with Dr. Linda Levstik, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Kentucky and an expert on history education, and Mr. Youngdo Lee, a veteran LAW attendee and fifth-grade teacher at Glendover Elementary School in Lexington, to conduct a formal educational research project.
Working with fifth-grade students in the classroom and through interviews, the project sought to determine if student learning is meeting the educational goals we set for the event, and, in particular, if students are mistakenly equating simple technology with simple mindedness on the part of the Red River Gorge’s prehistoric native peoples. We are thrilled to report that students demonstrated the level of understanding we hoped and that they appreciate the complex behaviors underlying native technologies.
LAW has broader pedagogical impacts as a result of this important study. As part of the research project, teacher education students in Dr. Levstik’s Fall 2011 class in social studies methods attended the LAW event on Friday to observe and evaluate student participation, and they enjoyed the event as much as the elementary school children did. Dr. Levstik presented the preliminary results of the research at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) 2011 meeting in Washington, DC.
2012
In early 2012 Levstik, Henderson, and Lee submitted a paper for publication in the NCSS journal, Social Studies and the Young Learner. "Teaching the Past in Place: Material Culture as Evidence of Human Ingenuity" examines how Living Archaeology Weekend promotes student understanding of the deep past, human ingenuity and innovation, and human agency in the process of material culture production by Native Americans. The students' engaged understanding of LAW demonstrations promotes an appreciation for the complex chaîne opératoire of native peoples and combats erroneous stereotypes and misconceptions of Native Americans. This article is one of several publications that Levstik, Henderson, and Lee plan to prepare discussing the educational effectiveness of Living Archaeology Weekend and follow-up in-class activities.
In October 2012, Levstik gave the keynote presentation at the Histoire Colloque at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. Levstik's presentation was entitled “No One Will See the Beauty of It: Students’ Conceptions of Human Ingenuity, Innovation, Intelligence and Agency." Henderson was the co-author of the paper.
2013
In addition to social studies educators, the team is sharing the research project with archaeologists. In October 2013, Henderson presented the results of the research at the Midwest Archaeological Conference annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Henderson and Levstik's co-authored paper was entitled "Applying the Chaîne Opératoire ... with Kids." Here is a description of their paper: Most commonly employed in lithic technology studies, the concept of chaîne opératoire embraces all aspects of the manufacture of material things -- not just the technical processes, but the mental operations and social relationships involved as well. Our recent research in four fifth-‐grade classrooms shows that this concept is equally robust when used to structure student learning about past peoples. This effective tool can guide student thinking about the production and use of ancient tools and technology, providing a context within which to counter stereotypes of (simple-‐minded) prehistoric peoples. Students learn that past technologies may seem simpler than ours, but upon deeper consideration, they are not, and neither are the people who used them.

2014
Levstik and Henderson co-authored another publication that appeared in print in 2014. Their work is included in an edited volume that will be published in both English and French, allowing the research to reach an even wider audience of educators. Their chapter is entitled "A Human Dependence on Things: Fifth-Graders’ Conceptions of Human Intelligence, Innovation, and Agency" and it will appear in New Avenues for Research and Practice in History, Geography, and Civics, edited by M.-A. Ethier and E. Mottet (De Boeck Publishing, Brussels). In French, the work is "Une Dépendance de L'homme Sur les Activités: Les Conceptions de L'intelligence Humaine, de L'Innovation et de L'Agence Elèves de Cinquième Année de l'" in the volume De Nouvelles Voies Pour la Recherche et la Pratique en Histoire, Géographie et Éducation à la Citoyenneté edited by M.-A. Éthier and E. Mottet.
Background checks are especially important for employment and apartment leasing, but even so, mistakes occur. Common errors arise from criminal records with incorrect information, old job histories, and misstated education credentials. These inaccuracies could be because of some data entry or identity mix-up and could be very damaging to job seekers or tenants. One can understand one's rights under the FCRA and also dispute such errors effectively to keep the damage as minimal as possible to protect their opportunities. More information: https://consumerattorneys.com/article/what-are-common-background-check-errors.