Grantee: Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, Sturgis, SD
Project Name: Black Hills Teaching American History Project
Project Director: John Swanson (605) 394-1876
Number of Teachers Served: 75
Number of School Districts Served: 12
Number of Students Served: No information available
Technology and Innovations in Education (TIE) will partner with Mount Rushmore National Memorial (National Park Service), Crazy Horse Memorial, Black Hills State University, and Chiesman Foundation for Democracy to develop, document, evaluate and disseminate this professional development program for teachers of American history in grades 5, 8 and 11. During guided, on-site summer immersion experiences at the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorials, teachers will assume the role of historians. They also will receive off-site, content-focused training during the school year, including lectures by historians, guided reading/analysis of primary sources, in-depth Socratic method seminars, guidance for accessing technology-based resources, and networking opportunities. The program covers traditional American history, focusing on historical periods and primary source documents represented by the four presidents on Mount Rushmore (1750-1920). Participants also study historical chronology from this nation's beginnings, with a focus on Native cultures and perspectives on the period from pre-colonization/pre-reservation to the turn of the 20th century. Participants will develop a "toolkit" of effective strategies for weaving historical methods into pedagogy. Three 15-member cohorts of 5th-grade teachers will participate in a year-long program (for 4 graduate credit hours); one 15-member cohort of 8th-grade teachers and one 15-member cohort of 11th-grade teachers will participate in a more intensive, three-year program (for 10 graduate credit hours).