A Ten Day Summer Institute for Teachers

New Bedford is a city that has seen the rise and fall of commercial activity of global proportions with the whaling industry of the 19th century and textiles into the 20th century. It is an old industrial city with high unemployment and environmental issues today. The process of examining the underlying causality naturally starts in the early grades through exploration of "what's in our own back yard" to subsequent understanding of processes and systems, i.e. a sense of relationships and finally, in the higher grades to informed decision making and proaction for a better quality of life. Participants will have many options for connecting the Content Institute to their lives whether through their own maritime heritage, family stories of immigration, or commerce during the design phase of the Institute. During the Institute, participants will step back into a specific time period and research the perceptions of people at that time. PDP's and Graduate Credit from UMASS Dartmouth available. Call Laura Periera at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, 508-997-0046 x14 for application materials.

Portraits of a Port will be offered to school-based teams of participants concurrently addressing the history, geography and economics strands and learning standards of the Curriculum Frameworks. Teams will look at regional, statewide and world history through the portal of New Bedford while incorporating geography and economics of the day.  The Institute will use the world class archival resources in the City of New Bedford including the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Rotch Jones Duff House, New Bedford Historical Society and New Bedford Public Library as well as the hands on experience aboard the century-old Grand Banks fisherman, Arctic explorer and Cape Verdean immigration packet, Ernestina ex-Effie M. Morrissey. The teams will develop content areas and "tool kits" of resources while implementing the new statewide curriculum frameworks ashore and then come aboard Schooner Ernestina to sail together for three days while continuing research and curriculum development as well as to work on the interdisciplinary connections and grade transitions.

Resources available to participants will include photographs, logs, texts, press articles, and world class archive at the Whaling Museum and Public Library, etc. as well as historic homes and the historic Schooner Ernestina. In addition, participants will experience by doing when aboard the Schooner Ernestina sailing as our forebears at the turn of the century and before. Art, music and the arts offered through the partnership for the Institute as well as the math and science and technology to be experienced on Ernestina provide numerous opportunities for examination of connections. Expertise of the curatorial staff of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford Historical Society, Waterfront Historic Area League and New Bedford Public Library as well as Ernestina staff experts on the Cape Verdean packet trade will offer support and guidance as necessary as participants design and implement a research project during the Institute.

The Institute is divided into five interconnected segments:

• Pre-institute assessment, orientation and planning session
• Development of inquiry based learning and content knowledge about the historical resources in New Bedford, historic sailing vessels as a cultural, social and historical setting for immigration and adapting that experience to the classroom
• The experience of the immigrant and examination of maritime commerce on Ernestina (3 days)
• Curriculum development and assessment
• Follow-up and implementation including support for teachers in program and curriculum development, instruction and assessment.

Evaluations will be based on journals, individual and/or group presentations and pre- and post-evaluation instruments for teachers. Throughout the Summer Content Institute, assessment measures will be modeled by the teacher-participants. Participants will develop an assessment model for the classroom based on institute experience utilizing similar instruments to those listed above.