Past Institutes

The U.S. Constitution

In October 2010, more than two hundred teachers attended a series of one-day teacher workshops held by Humanities Texas throughout the state focusing on the U.S. Constitution.

Curriculum

The institutes covered topics central to courses in U.S. history and government, such as teaching the Constitution, the Civil War and the Constitution, the Constitution and judicial adaptations, and teaching the Bill of Rights. Content was aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), with particular emphasis on newly added or revised standards.

The workshops emphasized close interaction with scholars, the examination of primary sources, and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. The programs were designed ultimately to enhance teachers' mastery of the subjects they teach and to improve students' performance on state assessments. Teachers received books and other instructional materials.

Faculty

Faculty included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack N. Rakove (Stanford University), Steven R. Boyd (The University of Texas at San Antonio), Keith Erekson (The University of Texas at El Paso), Charles Flanagan (National Archives and Records Administration), Lorri Glover (St. Louis University), Monica Perales (University of Houston), Linda K. Salvucci (Trinity University), and Mary L. Volcansek (Texas Christian University).

Educational specialists from the National Archives and Records Administration also served on the workshops’ faculty, providing participants with facsimiles of historic documents that support the teaching of U.S. history.

Locations and Schedules

The workshop overviews detail each program's schedule and participants.

Sponsors

These workshops were made possible with major funding from the state of Texas and a We the People grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.