The architecture program at Dalton is an example of the confluence of education, technology, and creativity. Its roots were first established in 1979 as an experimental elective in the art curriculum. In the early days, students were introduced to the study of architecture using traditional methods of mechanical drawing and model making. Over twenty years, the curriculum has remained true to its fundamental origins, but the methodology and materials have radically evolved. Students construct and manipulate their work on the computer, rendering detail with photorealistic representation. Since 1993, Dalton has been one of a handful of high schools in the country participating in a Joint University Study Program with the software manufacturer auto•des•sys, the creators of the professional CAD program Form•Z. This exciting partnership has enabled Dalton to introduce teenage students to the computer as a true design tool in architecture. Assignments range from the creation of modular systems to portraying an understanding of the Japanese concept of MA, the relationship between space and time. With virtual walk-through presentations and large format printers and plotters, the students can harness an extensive array of technology to realize their own individual creative ends.
The excavation metaphor actively and purposefully engages the students in a collaborative effort that mirrors the work of the professional archaeologist as closely as classroom and didactic constraints allow. Small groups of students unearth artifacts in four distinct quadrants. Using a set of on-line tools, the "archaeologists" measure, weigh and record each artifact. Graphical depictions of the artifact may be rotated and magnified permitting in-depth visual analysis. To aid them in their research, students have at their disposal a series of online libraries developed by Dalton faculty on topics such as architecture, pottery, warfare, and transportation.
As the students plays the role of novice archaeologists, they engage in the following tasks: excavation, observation, inference, hypothesis, research, and revision. The learning process evolves through a cyclic revision of three phrases: 1) The student plays the role of the novice excavator, 2) The student shares information among team members and between teams, and 3) The student develops, evaluates, and revises hypotheses about the significance of the excavated material. Each time a new artifact is excavated, the cycle repeats itself and a cognitive change ensues in the student's construing of history. In the final analysis, the student learns that History is a constantly evolving intellectual construct based upon "what the evidence probably obliges us to believe."