A one-day professional learning workshop for educators about teaching with audio recordings from folklife collections. 

Vermont farmer Gert Lepine on a tractor

Vermont’s agricultural identity is one of its most enduring narratives. It is also a complex story as told through the people who shape local food systems. How can oral history and folklife collections invite deeper exploration of these life experiences and different perspectives?  Join Vermont Folklife to discover ways to learn from folklife and ethnographic materials and feature them as key primary sources about local culture, memory and meaning.  

This workshop will present the benefits of audio-visual learning modalities and communication styles. Oral history and other ethnographic records include a wide range of documentation of people and traditions, from historic photographs, memorabilia and art, recipes and song books. These unique primary sources complement inquiry-based pedagogy that encourages curiosity about community life through topics such as occupational folklife of farmers–narratives that communicate the traditions, values and dilemmas of work life. The primary source sets and learning activities offer a dynamic entry point into folklife and ethnography as an approach for elevating multiple, diverse perspectives and expressions of Vermont life and culture. 

We will:

• Gain access and engage with Vermont Folklife Archive collections and primary source sets focused on Vermont farming and foodways 

• Hear about learning activities and strategies that present how to teach with oral history interviews  

• Build connections and share knowledge with educators and community learning partners

This program is designed for middle and high school social studies and humanities teachers and educators who engage with project-based, community-based, place-based learning, and sustainability topics.

This workshop is part of Teaching with Folk Sources led by Local Learning: National Network for Folk Arts in Education and supported by the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. Funding for this program is provided in part by a grant from the Library of Congress. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of LOC. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.

Tuition and Graduate Credit:

Thanks to generous funding through the Library of Congress Teaching With Primary Sources program this workshop is being offered free of charge.

There is the option to take this course for 1-graduate credit for an additional $125. Please pay when you register for the course.