COURSE TITLE:

DISCOVERING WESTERN OREGON’S BRIDGES

NO. OF CREDITS:

5 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 3.33 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:  
OREGON PDUs:  
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:  
50
50
50

INSTRUCTOR:

Peter Chausse
walkportland@msn.com

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this diversified driving tour, you will make your way to Portland, the Columbia Gorge, the Willamette Valley and along the Oregon Coast. You will discover more than 50 magnificent bridges. You will learn the history behind each bridge, and you will have the opportunity to travel over many bridges on foot.

Along the way, you’ll examine highway bridges, footbridges, sky-bridges, and covered bridges. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to bring this information to students, through hands-on classroom lessons, and innovative field trips.

The Co-Instructor for this course is Jake Gordon, M.S. Ed.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

  1. The history of Oregon’s highway and foot bridges, through bridge visits and through readings.
  2. How to identify a variety of bridge styles including arch, suspension, vertical lift, bascule and fixed span bridges, and covered bridges.
  3. How to identify a variety of bridge building materials, with visits to wooden, concrete, and steel bridges.
  4. How to access bridges that are appropriate for field trips and field study.
  5. How to develop classroom lessons that focus on bridge study and bridge design.
  6. How to tie bridge study into the overall human and architectural history of Oregon.
  7. How to integrate bridge study with math, literature, writing, art, social studies and other curriculum areas. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit.  The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit. 

 

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participant’s their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

 

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

  1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
  2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
  3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

 

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

A comprehensive Course Workbook that includes the required reading, field journal, and Driving Tour directions, is available from the instructor after registration.

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

A comprehensive workbook that includes the required reading, field journal, and Driving Tour is available from the instructor. See Order Form provided by The Heritage Institute after registration.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Peter Chausse, B.S. is a former elementary school teacher, who has specialized in teaching his students about trees, plants, urban parks and natural areas.

Before beginning his teaching career, Peter earned a degree in Forestry from the University of Maine. His training included coursework in Dendrology (tree identification), Forest Management and wood product usage.

In the early 1980's, Peter worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the state of Washington, where he focused on tree identification and scientific observations. Since 1994, Peter has taught a course through The Heritage Institute titled, ‘Studying Portland’s Trees’ During the course, participants learn how to recognize several dozen tree species as they explore Portland’s parks and historic neighborhoods on foot. Ideas for the integration of tree study with math, art, science, literature, writing and social studies activities are presented and discussed.

Peter has had a lifelong love of trees, and is eager to help you acquire more tree knowledge. He is also dedicated to helping you bring this information to your students in fun and meaningful ways.  

Co-Instructor:

Jake Gordon, M.S. Ed., graduated from Western Oregon University.  He became a teacher due to his desire to share the world with his students and give them the skills needed to explore and understand the world around them. 

In 2017 Jake took an academic sabbatical to pursue his graduate studies. He moved to Germany and completed a year of graduate studies at the world-renowned American Studies Leipzig Institute at the University Leipzig. With an expanded worldview and knowledge base, Jake returned to Oregon, where he earned an M.S. in Social Studies Education from Western Oregon University in June 2019.

He currently teaches social studies and geography at Adam Stephens Middle School in Salem, Oregon. In addition to teaching, Jake is an elected member of the Center for Geography Education in Oregon. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DISCOVERING WESTERN OREGON’S BRIDGES

Bottenberg, Ray. Images of America. Bridges of the Oregon Coast. 2006. Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco.

This book chronicles the creation of six significant highway bridges along the Oregon Coast. Historical photographs and anecdotes bring the bridges to life and their significance is explained. The book also focuses on the life of Conde McCullough, Oregon’s master bridge builder.

 

Smith, Dwight.  Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon.  1989. Oregon Historical Society Press. Portland, OR

More than 100 historic highway bridges in Oregon are highlighted in this book, along with historic photos. An introductory section explains the different types of engineering designs. Factual information and map locations are listed making this a great resource book.

 

Webber, Bert & Margie. 1999. Oregon’s Covered Bridges. Webb Group Research Publishers, Medford, Oregon.

This is a complete guide to the 50 plus covered bridges in Oregon. All bridges have been photographed, and locations are given. Reasons behind the building of the bridges are outlined. Engineering and bridge building information is also discussed.

 

Wood-Wortman, Sharon and Ed Wortman. The Portland Bridge Book. 2006 3rd Edition, Urban Adventure Press. Portland, Oregon

This thorough exploration of Portland’s bridges contains historic photos, and pertinent bridge information for all Willamette and Columbia River bridges. In addition, the text ties each bridge with historical events. A section titled, “Bridges 101” is a great resource in explaining different types of bridges and engineering designs.

 

Wood Wortman and Kirsten Rian. Walking Bridges Using Poetry as a Compass. 2008.Urban Adventure Press, Portland, OR

This book focuses on bridge walking adventures in Portland, and includes student anecdotes and poetry relating to bridges.  Five self guided Portland bridge explorations are outlined.