Professional Development

Professional Development

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is committed to meeting the demands from schools for National Park Service-sponsored professional development workshops. We offer the following workshops throughout the year, subject to staff availability. To register for a workshop contact a park ranger at 501.396.3010 or email us for more information. All workshops correlate to the Arkansas' Social Studies Frameworks and /or the National Educational Technology Standards and have been approved by the Arkansas Department of Education for four hours of professional development. All workshops are on site at the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site from 9 am until 2 pm. Each workshop can accommodate up to 25 participants.

Click here to view the current 2011-2012 Professional Development Schedule of Workshops.

Integrate Technology: Using the Civil Rights Movement (Arkansas History)
Learn how to effectively integrate technology into the curriculum. In this workshop participants learn how technology can engage students and improve academic achievement. Participants will examine advanced PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, Microsoft Office Excel and Publisher, and webpage design using html and Weebly. Suggested for grades 3-12.

Bring History Alive with Hands-on History Labs
Learn how hands-on history labs can truly engage all students. In this workshop, teachers make peanut butter, a dragon kite, paper planes, and a barometer. In addition, teachers learn how to integrate the National Park Service in their classrooms. Free materials are distributed on other engaging labs such as model canoes and water wheels. Suggested for grades k-12.

Use the Socratic Method to Engage Students using the Civil Rights Movement
Have you tried a classroom debate? Now try the Socratic Method. In this workshop, participants learn how to augment student understanding of the content while students participate in a collaborative dialogue with one another. Suggested for grades 3-12.

Ten Best Practices to Organize and Engage Students using civil rights (Arkansas History)
In this workshop, participants learn how to use effective teaching strategies based on research that is highly student-centered such as effective daily openers, student self-regulation skills, peer editing, student-led conferences, and much more. Suggested for grades 4th-12th.

Enhancing your Visit to a National Historic Site (Arkansas History)
Interrogate. Engage. Explore. Before your students visit a new place, learn how to prepare them and enhance their experience by participating in a field trip-based workshop. Educators will have the opportunity to tour Little Rock Central High School, learn how to apply for our statewide Field Trip Reimbursement program, and learn how to incorporate the curriculum and strategies that enhance students' experiences at the site. Suggested for grades 5-12.

Integrating Windows Movie Maker Using the Civil Rights Movement (Arkansas History)

Have you used Photo Story 3 for Windows in your classroom? Now try Windows Movie Maker. In this session, participants learn how to meet the needs of struggling learners as well as gifted. Students learn the content was well as research skills. Suggested for grades 4-12.

Slave and Slave Resistance in Arkansas (Arkansas History)
The fight for Civil Rights for African Americans began with the fight against slavery. In this workshop, we will look at slavery, the efforts to fight and resist slavery by enslaved people, and what political role slavery played in Arkansas' eventual secession from the Union. Participants will receive a lesson plan and packets of primary source materials that are Arkansas specific. The materials and activities for this workshop were developed as part of the "Passages: Abolition and the Underground Railroad" Seminar at Yale University, July 2009, sponsored by the Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History. Suggested for grades 7-12.

Arkansas's Trail of Tears Legacy (Arkansas History)

This is a six hour workshop using online, mutli-media resources to explore the impact of the Trail of Tears on Arkansas and the rights of American Indians and African Americans (freedmen) who were relocated as part of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Indian Removal had a tremendous economic and social impact on Arkansas. This workshop includes Arkansas history and technology integration.

Theatre Arts and Social Justice using the Central High Story
Theatre is a powerful teaching tool. It has the ability to transform lives and it is a great way to unearth stories and create dialogue about social issues in a meaningful way. Teachers are invited to participate in a workshop to explore how to effectively interpret and teach social justice issues through the art of theatre. Teachers will read and discuss One Ninth. One Ninth is a powerful exploration of human dignity and racial conflict as seen through the eyes of teenagers. One Ninth, written by Park Ranger Spirit Trickey features the story of the playwright's mother, Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the students from The Little Rock Nine who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Ranger Trickey will facilitate dialogue, lead activities, and share best practices of how to use theatre as a tool to help youth build confidence and leadership skills and be empowered to create their own works in their own voices.

Teachers will be provided with a complimentary copy of One Ninth and a study guide prepared by the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. The study guide has a variety of activities and discussion questions related to the play and larger universal themes, such as courage, racism, family, love, and friendship. Suggested for grades 7-12.

Central High School NHS 3^rd Annual Civil Rights Teachers' Institute (Arkansas History)

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site welcomes teachers to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Civil Rights Teachers' Institute. This program will bring teachers together to Little Rock, Arkansas in July 2012 for a comprehensive study of the Civil Rights Movement as it relates to school desegregation across the south and the Central High School crisis in 1957.

Teaching Teacher about the Civil War (Arkansas History)

The Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site will commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of the Civil War by offering a two day in-service workshop to 25 Arkansas teachers that teach first through eighth grade entitled, "Teaching Teachers about the Civil War Era." The objective of the two day workshop is for teachers to take away the relevance of teaching the Civil War in a holistic manner by integrating literature, primary sources documents, artifacts, oral history, geography, storytelling, critical and analytical skills, and creative engagement.

Connecting Teachers to America's Best Idea: What Arkansas Parks Mean to Me! (Arkansas History)

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site will offer 25 Arkansas teachers the opportunity to travel to each of the seven national parks in Arkansas. This curriculum-based weeklong road trip will give teachers firsthand training on how to integrate national parks in the classroom.

Literature Circles: Integrate civil rights through the use of Literature

In this workshop, participants use award-winning Literature on the topic of civil rights and an instructional strategy (Jigsaw) to create interactive posters to learn content and vocabulary .

 

Angela Smith (Hall High School) and Helen Gaddy (Little Rock Central High School) create masks as part of the "Bring History Alive with Hands-On History Labs" workshop, November 21, 2009.