Teacher Development Training
The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is committed to improving student achievement in history by helping teachers increase their effectiveness in the classroom. Whether you are planning an in-service training session for teachers in your district or developing a more in-depth teacher program, the Foundation has various professional development options to meet your needs.
Teacher Institute
Explore the story of colonial America firsthand during this weeklong teacher institute at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center living-history museums. Learn more about the 2013 Teacher Institute.
Teacher Study Tours
Interactive study tours, designed specifically for teachers, are available at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center for teacher groups of 10 or more. Teachers will take away enhanced knowledge of colonial history, as well as new ideas for teaching history in their classrooms. Choose one of the following themes:
• Government and Leadership
At Jamestown Settlement, explore government and leadership in the Jamestown colony, while investigating the motivations for colonization, economics, indentured servitude, and the lifeways and interactions of the Powhatan Indians, English and Africans in early Virginia. This two-and-a-half hour study tour includes hands-on experiential activities in the exhibition galleries and re-created living history areas: Powhatan Indian village, 1607 ships, James fort, and seasonal riverfront discovery area.
• Farmer to Soldier
At Yorktown Victory Center, follow the transition from life as a small Virginia farmer to that of a Continental Army soldier. On this two-hour tour, teachers will engage in highly interactive experiences in the re-created Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm and examine the lives of ordinary people during the American Revolution in the exhibition galleries. The roles of women and African Americans during the war will also be explored.
Each teacher participating in a study tour will receive related resources and lesson plans to use in the classroom.
Call Group Reservations at (757)253-4939 for more information or to schedule a tour.
Teacher Workshops
Teacher workshops taught by museum educators in your school or at our museums feature hands-on teaching methodology including historical analysis skills and the use of objects and primary sources. Correlated to the Virginia Standards of Learning for history and social studies, options also include 17th- and 18th-century history content related to the settlement of Jamestown and the American Revolution. Workshops are one to two hours in length and can be customized to the specific needs of the group. Each teacher will receive related resources and lesson plans to use in the classroom. Workshops are available for teacher groups of 10 or more. Contact Group Reservations at (757)253-4939 for more information or to schedule a workshop.
