Barat Education Foundation is a consortium member of the national, congressionally funded Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) initiative. The mission of the Library of Congress TPS initiative is to help teachers use the Library’s vast collection of digitized primary sources to enrich classroom instruction.
Learning @ the Source
The TPS-Barat Program offers no-cost blended learning programs to educators in the Chicagoland area. Hover over dates in the TPS Professional Development calendar to the right for more information or contact us online or by phone at 847.574.2465.
The TPS-Barat Learning @ the Source programs combine online learning with in-person training to help teachers discover how to identify and use engaging primary sources from the Library of Congress to promote inquiry learning and critical thinking skills. Chicago-area educators may participate in one or more levels of this free training.
Level I: Understanding
- Goals: accessing Library digital resources and practicing methods for inquiry-based instruction using primary sources
- Format: blended instruction - 2-4 hours of online prework and 6 hours (one day) of in-person training
- Outcomes: Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs), USB with ready-made teaching resources, Level II eligibility
Level II: Application
- Goals: developing and integrating inquiry-based instruction using Library primary sources into classroom practice
- Format: online learning (4-12 hours, dependent upon strand) and support as participants develop, implement, and reflect on a subject-specific or cross-curricular unit of instruction
- Outcomes: Masters credit and/or Level III eligibility
Level III: Continuation
- Goals: preparing to train and support area educators in the use of Library digital resources and inquiry-based instruction using primary sources
- Format: in-person training and online support from the Barat Primary Source Nexus
- Outcomes: induction into the TPS-Barat Teacher Corps, opportunities to deliver stipend-subsidized training, opportunities to publish on the Barat Primary Source Nexus
National TPS Initiative
This congressionally funded initiative’s mission is to help teachers use the Library’s vast collection of digitized primary sources to enrich classroom instruction. TPS Consortium members assist in the design of the TPS program and offer TPS professional development year round. There are currently 28 consortium members serving educators across 18 states. These organizations offer workshops, online courses, graduate courses, and mentoring programs that meet the same goals as the professional development offered in person at the nation’s Library in Washington, DC.
If your state is not listed, contact your congressperson! You may also access the Library’s self-serve professional development programs, which include online learning modules as well as materials for in-person training.
