Professional development activities under Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) progress along three program levels. K-12 educators have the option of taking workshops and courses, offered by TPS Consortium members, under all or some of these levels, depending on their interests.

Level I - Participants gain strategies for using primary sources to help students engage in learning, develop critical thinking skills and build content knowledge.

Participants learn:

• What are primary sources;
• Why teach with primary sources; and
• How to teach with primary sources.

Level II - Participants evaluate, create and teach topic-specific, content-informed lessons that integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress and exemplify effective instructional practices.

Participants:

• Gain a thorough understanding of effective instructional practices with emphases on inquiry-based and student-centered learning using primary sources
• Learn to identify exemplary learning experiences
• Create standards-based, content-informed learning experiences integrating primary sources from the Library of Congress that exemplify effective instructional practice>
• Teach, assess and reflect on their experiences using primary sources in instruction
• Evaluate primary source-based learning experiences
• Investigate the effects of primary source-based instruction on student learning

Level III - Experienced educators advocate the use of primary sources and help disseminate the ideas, methods and products of the TPS program.

Participants:

• Mentor colleagues on the effective instructional uses of primary sources
• Evaluate learning experiences for widespread dissemination and use
• Interact and collaborate with other teachers who are using Library of Congress primary sources
• Conduct research into the effective use of primary sources in education
• Contribute to the use of effective practices
  
  

Courses

TPS 29	Jumpstart Your Classroom with Teaching Resources from the Library of Congress
TPSNVA 100	General Level I Materials
TPSNVA 11	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Classroom
tpsnva 12	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Classroom, 12/1/2011
TPSNVA 13 Academy Ja	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Classroom
TPSNVA 14	You Only Thought You Knew the Library of Congress! (TPSNVA)
TPSNVA 15	Deep Thinking and Big Questions - ESOL
TPSNVA 18 Fall 2012	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Classroom (Fall 2012 Academy Course)
TPSNVA 19	Exploring Biography with Primary Sources from the Library of Congress
TPSNVA 20	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Advanced Academic Social Studies Classroom
TPSNVA 22	Bring the Library of Congress to Your Advanced Academic Language Arts Classroom