Institute Overview

American Memory Fellows Program

The American Memory Fellows Program is an exciting opportunity for outstanding teachers, librarians, and media specialists to work with the Library of Congress in better understanding how primary sources can enrich grades 4-12 curricula. This is a year-long professional development opportunity, the cornerstone of which is the summer institute, held each year in Washington, DC at the Library of Congress.

American Memory Fellows Institute

The American Memory Fellows Program sponsors 25 two-person teams of exemplary grade 4-12 educators to come to Washington, DC for a summer institute. At the 6-day institute, fellows will work with Library of Congress staff and consultants, examine both actual and virtual primary source artifacts - photographs, maps, prints, motion pictures, documents, and texts - and develop sample teaching materials that draw upon the Library of Congress on-line materials. In the course of the year that follows, these teacher-created materials are 'roadtested' in fellows' classrooms, then edited for presentation on the Library of Congress Learning Page at http://learning.loc.gov/learn/.

The Fellowship Year

After the institute, fellows continue to develop, refine, and test their teaching materials with other colleagues and students. Fellows participate in on-line discussion groups through the school year as this process evolves. American Memory Fellows, as mentors to their professions, are also asked to share their knowledge with other colleagues throughout the nation at workshops and seminars, or through the written word.

Selection Criteria

The Library is seeking applications from 2-member teams of humanities teachers, librarians, and media specialists who:

• Have reviewed the American Memory collections and have ideas about incorporating these materials into the curriculum;

• Have frequent access to and a high level of comfort using the World Wide Web, e-mail and other technologies;

• Have experience using primary sources to motivate students, promote critical thinking, and help students connect history to their own lives;

• Are active leaders in their fields, and/or have the ability to disseminate their expertise to teachers and/or librarians in their community and region;

• Work with student populations that are diverse (e.g. by region, income, race and ethnicity, language, disability, etc.).

In particular, the Library is seeking partnerships with educators who bring a wide range of perspectives to the American Memory collections based on their diverse regional, ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds and experiences.

The 2001 American Memory Institute Fellows have been chosen for the 2001 American Memory Institute. Check back this fall for more on this program.

last updated 05/25/01

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