The Martha Blakeney Special Collections and University Archives has been approved to continue its Building Partnerships for Student Success grant into year two for the 2020 – 2021 academic year. The grant, awarded for $68,882.94, is a partnership with the North Carolina State Library.
North Carolina educators have a documented need for professional development resources to effectively find and evaluate primary sources and incorporate the use of these primary sources in their classrooms. The North Carolina Government and Heritage Library and the UNC Greensboro University Libraries have partnered to address this need by implementing workshops designed in year one of the project. These workshops provided teachers with expert instruction on information literacy and primary sources, which were adapted to a virtual format and customized to the needs of school districts statewide.
Last year, the planning committee identified K-12 district partners (from regions of highest need, defined through the Hometown Strong Initiative and NC Department of Commerce County Distress Rankings), created workshop curriculum and assessment tools and developed application and selection criteria.
During year two, these identified K-12 partners will (by region/district) be invited to send teams of teachers (Media Specialist, English Language Arts, and Social Studies) to a regionally-tailored workshop that will take place virtually; this team format will help schools develop their own multi-disciplinary approach to implement the knowledge gained, once back in the classroom. As these six workshops progress, the planning committee will work with presenters to record online versions of the presentations and create a module-based virtual workshop in which all school districts across North Carolina can participate.
In continuing this grant Special Collections and University Archives will hire two interns of which one will be devoted to creating and publishing a website, including training modules and related resources based on workshop content and presentations, while the other intern’s responsibilities will focus on comprehensive grant and workshop administrative activities. Both positions are fully funded by the grant.