Introduction
Symbols of Hierarchy:Things of Bling in the Pre-Columbian Americas is written mostly in reflection to my experience at the 2006 Yale National Initiative. While I completed readings and research outside the seminar meetings, I found the most beneficial and unique aspects of the YNI experience to be the seminar meetings, collaborative time with fellows and the individual feedback meetings with the seminar leader. Subsequently, my attempts to write this unit felt more productive when I finally decided to include reflections on observations and interactions that occurred in sessions, rather than exclusively to focus on presenting conventional research. Actually, I could not replicate the benefits of the YNI seminar experience if I were writing an individual research paper or unit. There simply would not be enough time to teach oneself about the subject matter, strategies, and resources, in order to gain the same wealth of information to prepare for instruction. Additionally, there would be no benefit of feedback from colleagues or a seminar leader.
The power of the institute model is in its collaborative group setting. After all, our teaching is done in a group setting. I found my most meaningful work from May through July to have been at the two week intensive. The seminar leaders presented the subject matter, we drafted our curriculums, and we modeled lessons in front of our peers. It only seems fair to exclaim the value of the experience throughout this unit.
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