The University of Central Florida (UCF) is one of the most dynamic universities in the country. Located in Orlando, Florida, UCF is the nation’s second-largest university. UCF is called a “Top Up-and-Coming” national university by U.S. News & World Report, a best-value university by The Princeton Review and Kiplinger’s, and one of the nation’s most affordable colleges by Forbes. Offering 225 degree programs, it has become an academic and research leader in numerous fields, including education and digital media. UCF’s 1,415-acre main campus provides modern facilities, most of which have wireless abilities, with 600 acres set aside for lakes, woods and an arboretum. The University of Central Florida and its 12 colleges provide opportunities to 60,000 students from all 50 states and 140 countries. UCF has granted more than 250,000 degrees in its 45 years of offering classes. Study abroad programs allow UCF students to study and conduct research in 37 programs in 18 countries. What is most important about UCF, however, is its pioneering spirit, its commitment to making life better in the classroom and the community, and its student-centered approach to all aspects of university life.
The Teaching with Primary Sources program at the University of Central Florida (TPS-UCF) focuses on the training of Florida K-12 teachers, curriculum specialists, and school library media specialists, as district and regional resources or trainers for their own schools and counties. TPS-UCF aims to have each participant conduct workshops for 30 teachers, who will learn how to use primary sources available to them through the Library of Congress for effective classroom instruction. The TPS-UCF program goal is to invigorate the entire teaching and learning process by helping teachers connect K-12 students to history through teaching with photographs, sound recordings, newspapers, letters, and other digitized primary sources available from the Library of Congress.
In addition to the regular “TPS coach” workshops offered each semester, the TPS program at UCF is provides bi-monthly professional development opportunities for pre-service teachers on the educational resources available from the Library of Congress website with a focus on the Teachers Page. Each 90-minute workshop provides participants with strategies for teaching with primary sources and developing classroom activities using Library of Congress digital collections with students.
