T e a c h e r s as S c h o l a r s
Teachers as Scholars represents both a new vision of professional
development and a vital collaboration between college and university faculty and
public school teachers. Through
this program, K-12 teachers participate in small seminars led by leading
professors in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences, and are, thus,
connected to the world of scholarship- the reason many of them became teachers
in the first place.
–Woodrow Wilson Foundation
History
and Purpose
Teachers as Scholars was founded at Harvard University in 1996. The originators of the TAS movement hoped that they could provide public educators with a resource to increase knowledge in their field of scholarship. Since its inception, TAS has grown to include universities and public schools across the country.
Teachers as Scholars allows teachers the time to reflect and become students again and converse on academic topics and issues. TAS seeks to encompass educators from every grade level and every area of content expertise. The purpose of TAS is not to engage teachers in meta-educational thought and discussion, but rather to allow the teachers to return to the classroom and learn new scholarly information from leading academic professors.
As the standards for primary and secondary public school students are constantly being raised, Teachers as Scholars seminars share state-of-the-art knowledge with public school teachers. This learning atmosphere has proven to be successful, and most teachers leave each seminar with renewed interest in scholarship and fresh ideas for innovative curriculum.
Local
Impact
Trinity University introduced the Teachers as Scholars program to San Antonio area school districts in 2003 school year. Thirteen seminars were offered in the spring semester of 2005, based on topics in academic content areas that have been identified through needs expressed by school teachers and administrators. In 2006, the Teachers as Scholars program plans to offer 22 new seminars.
Seminars and Registration
Click here to access the 2006 Teachers as Scholars brochure and application.
Links
The Woodrow Wilson Foundation www.woodrow.org (click on programs, then click on Teachers as Scholars)
University of Texas TAS program www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/huminst/tas
University of Notre Dame TAS program www.nd.edu/~tas
Contact Stephanie Wilson at (210) 999-7583 for more information.