“Telling Stories of the People Who Lived Them”: Teachers’ Classroom Implementation of Historic Site-Based PD

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Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on how teachers put into practice their learning from a historic site-based professional development institute focused on enslavement. Drawn from a larger study of teachers’ (N=10) racial literacy development at the George Washington Teacher Institute, data for this study include one interview soon after the institute and one interview six months later. Findings indicate that teachers discussed changes in their teaching that reflect increased criticality; teachers implemented program resources to varying extents; and teachers faced challenges in implementing their learning, including time constraints in their curriculum, lack of planning time, and concerns related to their racial identities. Implications for museum educators and social studies researchers are discussed.

Author

• Rachael E. Rudis, Michigan State University