Library of Congress (LOC) Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS)
Welcome to California University of Pennsylvania's Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources teacher professional development program! This premier program trains pre-service and in-service teachers to use the Library's vast collection of digitized primary sources to enrich their classroom instruction. Click here for direct access to the Library of Congress.
California University of Pennsylvania's Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program is an Act 48 approved teacher professional development program serving pre-service and in-service teachers in southwestern Pennsylvania. It is attached to the College of Education and Human Services and fulfills the College's responsibility of providing ongoing services to graduating alumni and providing teachers in the field with the most current instructional strategies, curricula, and resources.
California University is one of only 28 institutions in 17 states across the nation to offer this prestigious teacher professional development program. Participating teachers gain access to nationally developed teacher resources and peer educators from across the country.
There is no charge for participating teachers as costs are underwritten by the Library of Congress.
Browse our site:
Calendar of Events
Oral Histories with Monessen Veterans - Greater Monessen Historial Society - ongoing
TPS Alumni Workshop - April 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21, 29 - Registration closed
Professional Development - Pittsburgh Public Schools - June 4 & 5
California University and Intermediate Unit 1 - Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator
July 10 through August 14
This one-credit CPE course is designed to help educators (teachers, librarians, media specialist, and instructional coaches) understand the value of using primary sources, from the Library of Congress’ online digital collections, for teaching and learning. This six-week online course begins with a virtual class session on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 and ends on August 14, 2012 and includes a final project due no later than August 24, 2012.
For more information and to register, please click here (registration opens May 8, 2012). Registration is open to educators outside Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
Summer Institute - Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator - Blended (online and face to face) - July 9, 10, 11, 12
This one-credit CPE course is designed to help educators (teachers, librarians, media specialist, and instructional coaches) understand the value of using primary sources, from the Library of Congress’ online digital collections, for teaching and learning.
For more information and to register, please click here (registration opens May 8, 2012). Registration is open to all educators.
Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources - National Program and TPS Consortium Partners
About the Program
Mission
The Teaching with Primary Sources Program builds a consortium that fosters collaborations between the Library of Congress and the educational community to increase instructional use of the Library's digitized primary sources. The Teaching with Primary Sources Program contributes to the quality of education by deepening content understanding and improving student literacy in our nation's schools.
Goals
The goals of the Teaching with Primary Sources Program are to work with an educational consortium to:
- Provide online and in-person primary source-based professional development programs nationwide.
- Increase the ability of educators to design student-centered primary source-based learning experiences that use effective instructional practices.
- Implement standards-based learning experiences that improve student ability to critically examine primary sources.
- Build patronage of the Library's digitized resources that expand the community of educators dedicated to the improvement of education through the use of primary sources.
Overview
The aim of the Teaching with Primary Sources Program is to embed the use of digitized primary sources in curricula and the classroom to deepen content understanding and student literacy. Teaching with Primary Sources consortium members and their partners will follow a process of planning and development, implementation, and dissemination of procedures and products that meet member and Teaching with Primary Sources Program goals. External and internal evaluation will be integrated into all phases of the program.
Teaching with Primary Sources consortium members and their partners will create professional development strategies and curricular resources on using the Library's digitized primary sources to improve learning. These strategies should be ongoing and progressive to allow for college/university and K-12 educators to improve their competencies to: design primary source-based inquiry-oriented learning experiences, implement these experiences in the classroom, evaluate these experiences and learning outcomes, and share their expertise.
The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources at California University of PA is a southwestern Pennsylvania teacher professional development provider funded by the national Teaching with Primary Sources program at the Library of Congress.
Campus staff include:
Dr. Michael J. Brna, Director
Lynne Berdar, Clerk Typist II
Linda Muller, Training Specialist
To see a list of past and present Cal U TPS faculty affiliates, click here.
Teaching with Primary Sources Journal
About TPS Journal (formerly TPS Quarterly)
The TPS Journal is an online publication created by the Library of Congress Educational Outreach Division in collaboration with the TPS Educational Consortium.
Published quarterly, each issue focuses on pedagogical approaches to teaching with Library of Congress digitized primary sources in K-12 classrooms. The TPS Journal Editorial Board and Library staff peer review all content submitted by TPS Consortium members and their partners. Please email questions, suggestions or comments about The TPS Journal to Stacie Moats, Educational Resources Specialist, at smoa@loc.gov.
TPS Quarterly Editorial Board
Michael Brna, California University of Pennsylvania
Elaine Larson, The Center on Congress at Indiana University
Mark Newman, Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
Cindy Rich, Eastern Illinois University
Sherry Levitt, Northern Virginia Partnership (school districts of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Falls Church)
Courtney Kisat, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
The Civil War Across Disciplines, Vol. 1, No. 1, Winter 2012
This issue explores how teachers can use Civil War-era primary sources in various subject areas to help students better understand the scope of this conflict’s lasting impact.
Teaching about the Civil War with primary sources—original documents and objects which were created at the time under study—provides opportunities for expanding this familiar topic in history into subject areas as varied as geography, language arts and science. War knows no boundaries, then or now. Civil War era-primary sources reflect this reality, giving students unique opportunities to discover how this epic struggle bled into nearly every aspect of American life.
Previous issues of the Teaching With Primary Sources Journal (formerly TPS Quarterly) are available through this archive.
Teacher Professional Development Opportunities
We offer a range of professional development opportunities, not limited to in-class and community presentations, in-service workshops, and professional and academic conferences. Upcoming opportunities for professional development are listed below.
Upcoming Workshop Information
TPS Alumni Online Workshop Series
April 23, April 30, May 7, May 14, May 21, May 29
Instructor – Linda Muller
Registration closed
Summer Institute - Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator - Blended (online and face to face) - July 9, 10, 11, 12
This one-credit CPE course is designed to help educators (teachers, librarians, media specialist, and instructional coaches) understand the value of using primary sources, from the Library of Congress’ online digital collections, for teaching and learning.
For more information and to register, please click here. Registration is open to all educators.
California University and Intermediate Unit 1 - Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator
July 10 through August 14
This one-credit CPE course is designed to help educators (teachers, librarians, media specialist, and instructional coaches) understand the value of using primary sources, from the Library of Congress’ online digital collections, for teaching and learning. This six-week online course begins with a virtual class session on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 and ends on August 14, 2012 and includes a final project due no later than August 24, 2012.
For more information and to register, please click here. Registration is open to educators outside Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
To request additional information and for a list of upcoming workshops please call 724-938-6025 or email Lynne Berdar at berdar@calu.edu
Professional Development Program Level
Professional Development
Professional development activities under TPS progress along three program levels. Teachers have the option of taking workshops and courses, offered by TPS Consortium Members, under all or some of these levels, depending on their interests.
Under the TPS Regional Program, interested organizations can incorporate parts of the TPS curriculum that meet their professional development goals for teachers with support from Regional Coordinators and online resources for professional development.
Level I-Teachers become familiar with the breadth and organization of the Library of Congress' digital primary sources, understand their value in instruction and create basic inquiry-based learning experiences.
Participants:
- Learn what primary sources are and understand their value in teaching
- How to locate and navigate the Library of Congress Web site
- How to access, save and present primary sources from the Library of Congress' Web site
- Gain a foundational understanding of effective instructional practices for teaching with primary sources
- Create instructionally sound learning experiences that integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress
Level II- Teachers 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 using primary sources and can identify exemplary learning experiences
- Learn to identify exemplary learning experiences
- Create standards-based learning experiences integrating primary sources from the Library of Congress that exemplify effective 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 teachers advocate the use of primary sources and help disseminate the ideas, methods and products of the Teaching with Primary Sources 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 for using primary sources in instruction by speaking at gatherings of educators and/or leading professional development activities.
The Library's partners offer professional development free of charge, with the exception of for-credit undergraduate and graduate courses. Most award continuing education credit.
For more information please contact Dr. Brna at brna@calu.edu
TPS Center for Oral History
Cal U TPS has recently established the TPS Center for Oral History, which focuses on the preservation, educational use, and creation of oral history primary source materials. To read the Mission & Vision Statement of the Center, please click here.
Listed below are the Oral Histories collected from our Nation's conflicts. Please click here for all Oral Histories from the TPS Center for Oral History Project.
Afghanistan/Enduring Freedom
Community Outreach
Cal U TPS is involved in a number of community outreach initiatives. Here is a partial listing:
Brownsville Historical Society Guest speaker at their 50th Anniversary Celebration
Chartiers-Houston Library Summer Reading Program - Civil War
Brownsville Library Summer Reading Program - Civil War
Marianna Library Summer Reading Program - Civil War
Scottdale Library Summer Reading Program - Civil War
Mt. Lebanon Library Reading Program - Civil War
Veterans Oral History Project (VOHP)
Donora Smog Museum Project
Social Media and Other Links
Social Media Links
Cal U TPS Blog
National TPS Blog
LOC on YouTube
LOC on Facebook
LibraryThing
Summer Institute blog
Our Del.icio.us bookmarks
TPS on Twitter
TPS on Flickr
LOC Webcasts
LOC on iTunes (requires iTunes)
Social Media and the Library of Congress" (.ppt slideshow)
Other Library of Congress Links
Library of Congress
LOC Digital Collections
myLOC
World Digital Library
LOC Exhibitions
Other related links
Congressman Mark Critz
National History Day
Heinz History Center
Monthly Art Exhibit
The TPS @ CALU Art Exhibits are a collection of artwork available from the Library of Congress online resources that have been selected and compiled by the TPS staff at California University. Visitors can click on the images to: obtain larger views of them or, occasionally, to view the bibliographic information of the images.
If you have any questions, contact Lynne Berdar at berdar@calu.edu.
Public Relations
Cal U TPS related press releases and other public relation publications are listed here.
TPS, Students Compete at History Day Contest
California University Journal, Volume 14, #6, February 27, 2012, Page 3
TPS, IU1 Continue Collaboration
California University Journal, Volume 13, #23, Sept 26, 2011, Page 3
Cal U History Day Competition 2010
Herald Standard, Thursday, July 21,2011
Conference Celebrates Music, Literature of Appalachia, Appalachian Culture Focus on Conference
California University Journal, Volume 13, #12, April 11, 2011, Page 3
Cooperative Projects with California University of Pennsylvania
The California Crier, Volume 18, No. 1, March 2011, Page 4
Contest Preps Students for History Day
California University Journal, Volume 13, #7, February 28, 2011, Page 2
Students Ready for History Day
California University Journal, Volume 13, #4, February 7, 2011, Page 3
Summer Institute a Success
California University Journal, Volume 12, #21, Sept, 20, 2010, Page 2
Cal U Primary Source History Day
California University Academic Affairs News, September 2010, Page 4
Recent Grant Awards
California University Academic Affairs News, Summer 2010, Page 3
Cal U Review, Summer 2010, Page 7
Groundbreaker Recalls ROTC Training
California University Journal, Volume 12, (12), Page 1
April 19, 2010
Library of Congress Designates Cal U a Founding Partner
California University Journal, Volume 12 (10), Page 2
April 5, 2010
Young Historians Square Off
California University Journal, Volume 12, (8), Page 2
March 22, 2010
Local Students Brush Up For History Day
California University Journal, Volume 12 (4), Page 2
February 8, 2010
'Million Dollar Achievers' Honored
California University Journal, Volume 11 (33), Page 1
December 7, 2009
Campus Briefs - Brna Speaks at Conferences
California University Journal, Volume 11 (22), Page 4
September 21, 2009
Should any questions arise, please contact us at 724-938-6025 or email Lynne at Berdar@calu.edu
21st Century Learning Matters
Calendar of Events
TPS Alumni Online Workshop April 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21, 29
Registration Closed
Professional Development - Pittsburgh Public Schools - June 4 & 5
Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator Six week online course
July 10 through August 14
Registration open to educators outside of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
Summer Institute - Teaching with Primary Sources and Common Core Standards for Every Educator
Registration through Intermediate Unit I - July 9, 10, 11, 12
Monthly Art Exhibit
National History Day Competition - Pennsylvania
National History Day Pennsylvania competition is May 4th & 5th, Cumberland Valley High School, Mechanicsburg, PA
Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader is required to view and print PDF files. Click on the image below for free download.
