Image
Teacher Professional Development
Discover new teaching practices and broaden your knowledge through MNHS teacher professional development. Educator workshops are offered by the History Day and Teacher Education teams.
Cultural Relevance & LGBTQIA History
Cost: Free; teacher participants paid $100 stipend through Library of Congress grant
Date: Saturday, September 30, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
Location: Mill City Museum (Minneapolis, MN)
Audience: grades 6-12 teachers
Click here to add your name to the waiting list
Visit the Mill City Museum with MNHS teacher educators for a full-day workshop digging into LGBTQIA history across Minnesota. Draw connections between important historic and modern issues, such as marriage, civil rights, and community spaces, and practice strategies to provide all students windows and mirrors into the experiences of queer Minnesotans past and present.
Participants will receive:
- Resources for classroom application
- Light breakfast
- Lunch
- Parking
- Admission to Mill City Museum exhibits
- $100 stipend paid to teacher participant
This workshop is paid for with a generous grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium. Contact Meghan Davisson with questions.
Image source: Library of Congress
The Role of Education in Society, Past and Present
Cost: Free
Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Location: Zoom Video Conferencing
Audience: K-12 teachers
Join the Minnesota Historical Society and the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute for a critical look at the role of education in society, both in the 18th century and today. Meet Nicole Brown, who portrays Ann Wager, the teacher at the Williamsburg Bray School, the first school for Black children in the United States and learn how research and interpretation around the Williamsburg Bray School can serve as a conduit to understand the complex and fraught relationship between education, slavery, and Christianity in American history. Gain strategies to approach charged topics in the classroom and connect past to present in a meaningful and culturally responsive manner.
This two hour virtual session will take place on Zoom and registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Teachers of all grade levels are welcome.
Please contact Heidi Kloempken with questions.
Northern Lights Academy
Cost: $100 ($80 for MNHS members)
Date: Monday, November 13, 2023 8:30 am-2:30 pm (in-person)
Location: Minnesota History Center (St. Paul, MN)
Audience: Teachers using the Northern Lights curriculum
Join 6th grade colleagues from across the state at Northern Lights Academy, the premier professional conference for Minnesota Studies! Sessions will feature Minnesota Studies experts and master Northern Lights teachers from across Minnesota, as well as opportunities to explore MNHS collections items and tour select History Center exhibits. This year, as we look forward to standards adoption and a forthcoming new edition of Northern Lights, we will be packing our agenda with ideas, curriculum resources, and time to tap into the potential of the current edition as a stopgap while the Third Edition is being developed.
View the tentative agenda here (subject to change).
Reimbursement subsidies are available to support in-person workshop participation. Apply for funding to reimburse substitute, mileage, and hotel costs. Due to low asynchronous participation last year, we are not offering a remote option, so we want to ensure that Northern Lights teachers have the resources to attend in-person regardless of how far they live from the History Center. Learn more about subsidies and apply for this first-come, first-served resource.
Sessions align with current state social studies standards, as well as with content and resources in the Revised Second Edition of Northern Lights (print book, 2013; Interactive eBook, 2014+); those with earlier editions of Northern Lights may also find this conference useful.
Your in-person registration includes:
✔ Light breakfast ✔ Lunch ✔ Exhibits Access ✔ History Center Store Voucher ✔ CEUs ✔ Parking
Contact Kara Knight with program or subsidy questions. Contact Jessica McMahon with registration questions.
History Day Teacher Workshops
History Day 101
Cost: $70
Location: Minnesota History Center (St. Paul, MN)
Dates:
Tuesday, October 3, 8:30 am - 3 pm
Tuesday, October 31, 8:30 am - 3 pm
History Day 101 will address the fundamentals of the History Day program. Staff, along with former students and a master teacher, will discuss the program framework and implementation strategies. See samples of projects, learn about support resources, and discuss standards, program benefits, and next steps to bring History Day into your classroom. Participants will leave with a variety of classroom-ready tools to begin implementing History Day in their own schools. Workshop fee includes breakfast, lunch, parking, and materials. As an added bonus - for each workshop seat paid for, bring a colleague for free! Discount taken automatically at checkout with purchase of two tickets.
Your in-person registration includes:
✔ Light breakfast ✔ Lunch ✔ History Day Materials ✔ CEUs ✔ Parking
Contact Cathy Richter with questions.
History Day Theme Exploration and Curriculum Collaboration
Cost: $70
Location: Minnesota History Center (St. Paul, MN)
Dates:
Wednesday, October 4, 8:30 am - 3 pm
Wednesday, November 1, 8:30 am - 3 pm
Be prepared to not only listen to the History Day staff talk about the theme, but to share your own ideas through collaborative activities in the morning. In the afternoon, we will shift gears to curriculum planning. Open discussion time will give you the opportunity to collaborate with other attendees. Bring your calendars, rubrics, and other History Day lessons. As an added bonus - for each workshop seat paid for, bring a colleague for free! Discount taken automatically at checkout with purchase of two tickets.
Your in-person registration includes:
✔ Light breakfast ✔ Lunch ✔ History Day Materials ✔ CEUs ✔ Parking
Contact Cathy Richter with questions.
History Day Advanced Educator Workshop: Historical Argumentation
Cost: $70
Location: Minnesota History Center (St. Paul, MN)
Date: Tuesday, December 5, 8:30 am - 3 pm
Join us for this hands-on workshop that dives into the world of Historical Argumentation. Learn about how to analyze primary sources, turn it into evidence, and creating the roadmap for the rest of a project. Workshop time will include learning about the development of an argument, work time to finding your own sources, and leaving with an understanding of what tools you'll need in your classroom. Presented in collaboration with Lynne O’Hara, Director of Programs at National History Day.
Your in-person registration includes:
✔ Light breakfast ✔ Lunch ✔ History Day Materials ✔ CEUs ✔ Parking
Contact Cathy Richter with questions.
Cancellation policy
- Registrants canceling 24 hours before the workshop are eligible for a refund or credit. (This includes weather related cancellations.)
- Registrants unable to attend a workshop may send someone in their place; substitutions will be made at the registration desk the day of the event.
- No refunds or credits will be granted for nonattendance.