For Jenny Soro, teacher at Boone Elementary School, Changing Worlds’ Summer Institute for teachers will have far-reaching impact beyond her classroom. Soro, who had recently enrolled in a master’s program at National-Louis University, was searching for the focus of her graduate studies. After participating in the institute, she had come to a decision. “Then it all clicked for me; the oral history fit so easily, right away. After the Summer Institute, I knew what I was going to do in my master’s work. The institute provided me with so many resources for my work and to use in my classroom,” recounts Jenny. Soro had decided to research the use of oral history in the classroom as a tool to strengthen student learning and build community. She was so enthused after her participation in the institute that she also conducted a presentation on what she learned to other students in her graduate program and encouraged two of her colleagues to sign up for the week-long program.
"The institute connected me to my Assyrian culture and the cultures of my students; I knew if I could do it my students could, too." As an English as a second language teacher, Jenny Soro looks for ways to engage her fifth grade students in learning activities that are hands-on and fun at the same time. In a classroom with few American-born students and with seven different native languages spoken, ranging from Urdu to Korean, the Changing Worlds project her class undertook allowed her students to embrace their own cultures and learn about others.
Our professional development opportunities for teachers include workshops, seminar series and week-long summer institutes. Training sessions are also provided for student teachers in partnership with universities. A hands-on, experiential, workshop-style approach actively engages participants in activities and sessions where they can learn new strategies that can be directly applied in their classrooms.
