Past Institutes

Teaching with Documents from the National Archives (2021 Online Institute)

From June 28–July 2 and July 19–23, 2021, Humanities Texas partnered with the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration to hold two online professional development institutes for Texas teachers focused on using primary documents in the U.S. history classroom.

Curriculum

This interactive institute featured five webinars that immersed participants in using primary source-based educational resources designed to engage students in active, hands-on learning about important topics in civics and history. The webinars covered the following topics:

• Active-learning techniques for teaching about the legislative process and the role of Congress
• Teaching the history of U.S. foreign policy with political cartoons
• Teaching about the New Deal and the Great Society with primary sources
• Teaching the history of women’s engagement in politics with petitions to
  Congress, 1830–1971
• Teaching about the history of racial discrimination and civil rights from Reconstruction to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with primary sources

Like all Humanities Texas programs, the institute was content-based and teacher-centered, with an emphasis on teaching with primary sources and developing effective pedagogical strategies. Each session modeled best practices in pedagogy. Participants engaged in small-group problem-solving activities for each of the topics and discussions about using resources in the classroom.

Faculty

Charles Flanagan from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration, a long-time presenter at Humanities Texas teacher institutes, served as faculty director for the institute. He was joined by a team of facilitators from the staff of the National Archives and the Foundation for the National Archives.

Schedule

The schedule for the "Teaching with Documents from the National Archives" online institute can be viewed here.

Sponsors

The institute was made possible with major funding from the State of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.