West Side Teachers Institute
The West Side neighborhood, rich with history and cultural traditions and “community” faculty offers a learning laboratory, yet largely untapped by neighborhood schools. The broad goal of the Teachers’ Institute is to improve learning of children by strengthening the connections between the informal learning resources on the West Side and school curricula. Up to ten K-12 teachers participate annually in the week-long, experienced based, summer workshop. This is followed by three seminars throughout the school year. Each teacher designs and implements a community-based curriculum project and assesses the learning outcomes.

The Summer Workshop
The format is simple. We explore teaching as vocation through daily learning circle discussions, followed by neighborhood “field learning” and conclude each session with a critical reflection of the experience.
The learning circle method surfaces often poignant, energized discussion about why people love to teach, their frustrations at the multiple barriers to what they know is “good teaching,” and how they reclaim their initial passion for teaching.

Throughout the workshop, teachers interact with new immigrant parents, with student apprentices working at local businesses and organizations, and they meet adults who run after school programs for children and teens. All of this provides the backdrop for teachers’ design of projects that take students out of the classroom and into the neighborhood.

Graduate Credit
Teachers may opt to register for a three credit graduate course at the University of Minnesota, “Teaching for the Commonwealth.” (download a PDF file of the syllabus here). All teachers receive a stipend for their year-long participation. Funds are available to cover costs of related curriculum expenses.

For more information contact Nan Kari nkari@mn.rr.com