Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio ISD team for teacher development

By James M. Benavides
Public Affairs Specialist

(July 9, 2010)--San Antonio social studies teachers will have an opportunity to search through historic documents, photos and educational resources during the Texas History Detectives professional development workshop July 12-15 at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

Educators can earn 32 continuing professional education hours over four days. They will learn how to use the museum and its primary sources to develop and enhance course materials for classroom and electronic delivery methods for lessons about Texas history.

The workshop allows educators a chance to explore the institute's historic photo archive, oral history program, artifact room, library and exhibit floor. They will use these resources to develop a curriculum on one of three topics: life on a South Texas ranch, the impact of World War II on Texas or the civil rights movement in Texas. They will receive additional resources from the institute including video files, handouts and worksheets for use in classrooms.

"This type of program helps the institute meet its mandate of preparing Texas teachers for social studies and Texas history classes," said Tim Gette, executive director of the Institute of Texan Cultures. "We are committed to making the knowledge and resources of the institute available to Texas teachers and students."

After their morning research at the institute, the teachers will go to the San Antonio Independent School District Burnet Learning Center, where they will input their research materials into Moodle, an electronic course delivery system. The system allows teachers to better deliver information to a generation of "digital natives," young students who are familiar with digital content and technology.

The Texas History Detectives workshop is a pilot program presented by the Institute of Texan Cultures and the San Antonio Independent School District's instructional technology and social studies departments. The institute and the district hope to continue the program annually. The institute's education staff continues to seek opportunities to partner with schools and educators to enrich learning opportunities and experiences for Texas teachers and students. For more information, visit TexanCultures.com.

The Institute of Texan Cultures, through its research, collections, exhibits and programs, serves as the forum for the understanding and appreciation of Texas and Texans. The institute strives to become the nation's premier institution of contemporary cultural and ethnic studies focusing on Texans and the diverse cultural communities that make Texas what it is. As an agency of the UTSA Office of the Vice President for Community Services and a Smithsonian Affiliate, the 182,000-square-foot complex, featuring 45,000 square feet of exhibit space and five recreation Texas frontier period structures, is on the UTSA HemisFair Park Campus in downtown San Antonio. Resources for multiple audiences are available at TexanCultures.com.