The University of South Carolina’s Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students (CEEAAS) and the Museum of Education in the College of Education invite you to participate in a five-day, field-based experience emphasizing African American Freedom Movements in three regions of South Carolina: Midlands, Upstate, Low-Country.
Project CHAANGE (Counternarratives for the History of African Americans Needing and Getting Emancipated) is a multiple day professional development experience for P-12 teachers. The institute is framedusing the theme of Change—borrowing from Bob Dylan’s 1964 classic song, The times they are a-changin’ (which has been remade by numerous articles including Josephine Baker, Nina Simone, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, Joan Baez, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen). The song, released during the Civil Rights movement, focuses on addressing social injustices. Under the context of exploring African American national and global activism, institute instructors and guest lecturers will guide teachers in developing critical inquiry instructional plans that teach about freedom movements in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Institute Goals : Two major goals drive the institute curriculum: (1) To increase 5th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers content knowledge and preparation in teaching about African American Freedom movements. (2) To provide knowledge and experiences on selected historic sites in the upstate, midlands, and low- country regions of South Carolina. Thirty participants will be selected for this institute from P-12 teachers and coordinators (must teach/coordinate grades 5th, 7th, 8th) in the three regions of the state (10 from each region)
- By the conclusion of the institute, participating teachers will submit one of each of the following completed items (approved by organizers)
(1) Inquiry-based instructional plan on the African American Freedom Movement.
(2) Annotated list of 5 resources on African American culture
(3) An exam on African American Freedom Movements (addressed during the institute) with 80% accuracy.
(4) Lesson for a field trip related to institute content
(5) Instructional plan on a historic site in SC that was visited.
Institute Theoretical Foundation
The institute will focus on critical inquiry. Congruent with the study of freedom movements, critical inquiry allows for engaging in ongoing social critique to raise people’s consciousness and to stimulate social change (Crowley & King, 2018). Drawing from a Black Studies paradigm and African and African American emancipatory frameworks and theories (DuBois, 1903; Fanon, 1963; Hilliard, 2009; King, 1991, 1992, 2005; King & Swartz, 2014, 2016, 2018; Lynn, 1999; Lynn, Jennings, & Hughes, 2013; Woodson, 1933/1990), the week-long institute will teach about African American Freedom Movements in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Teachers will be provided with content, resources, strategies, and frameworks which will prepare them to create and implement inquiry instructional plans. Speakers, field trips, and resources will illustrate cultural strengths that have been well-documented in the academic literature and which should be integrated into standards as the basis of instruction. The institute’s approach will make history more engaging, accurate, and comprehensive for all students (Boutte, 2016). Finally, with a particular focus on two areas (Black Nationalism and African Americans in the Millennium), the institute will introduce educators to the ways in which historical freedom movements can be used as foundational learning to encourage critical inquiry-based instruction, discussion and debate-about contemporary protest and activist movements.
June 10-14 2019
9:00am-6:00pm Daily
University of South Carolina Columbia Campus
College of Education Wardlaw Building
Field Excursions throughout the Midlands, Upstate, and Low Country
Participant Eligibility
Ten 5th, 7th, and 8th grade SC teachers and social studies coordinators will be selected from each of the three regions in the state: (1) midlands; (2) upstate; (3) low-country. Selection will be based on a competitive application process.
Participant Stipend $250
Also included (free of charge to participants) will be 5 nights hotel stay in Columbia, SC; Travel to historic sites throughout the state, and most meals. Additionally, participants will receive free materials and selected texts.
Please read and follow the instructions carefully prior to submitting your application. All selected participants will be notified on or before May 15, 2019.
Questions? Contact Dr. Gloria Boutte or Dr. Toby Jenkins at Jenki279@mailbox.sc.edu