Russellville teacher leads Bicentennial Professional Development Institute
Last week Russellville Elementary School’s Carol Fretwell saw months of preparation come to fruition as she held her first workshop as a master teacher with the Alabama Bicentennial Commission last week.
Over the next three summers, Fretwell and her 11 fellow master teachers will lead Bicentennial Professional Development Institutes for 3rd-5th grade teachers from across the state. Designed to support the teaching of social studies and civics, the institutes will focus on teaching teachers to draw on their local history and to integrate primary sources in their classrooms.
Fretwell’s workshop, titled “Our Music tells a Story,” was held June 19-22 in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. About 20 teachers from across Northwest Alabama met daily to hear from guest speakers, learn about resources available and take “field trips” to places like FAME Studios, the WC Handy home and the Indian Mounds museum for personal tours.
Greg Winstead, who teaches history at Phil Campbell High School, was one teacher participant. He said he tries to take on some kind of workshop or professional development opportunity every summer. “Any time you can learn more about Alabama … I enjoy learning new things,” he said. He said he particularly enjoyed the “field trip” aspects of the bicentennial institute.
Russellville Elementary’s Nancy Foster said she “wanted to find ways to incorporate some of the bicentennial into my science curriculum.” “It’s been really interesting for me to learn more about the history here,” she said. “I think the more that I can integrate some of the social studies into science, I think it’s just going to help the students.”
Fretwell said she prized the opportunity to interact with the teachers involved in the workshop. “I just enjoyed seeing their excitement and newfound interest in social studies and how to apply it in all areas of curriculum, even if they don’t teach social studies as their regular, core subject.”
Teachers can find out more by visiting the bicentennial website at www.alabama200.org.
