Classes for Teachers

Offered by PHLF through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Since 1983, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation has offered inservice courses for teachers through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Courses are offered for Act 48 credit on a rotating basis. Interested teachers may call Landmarks at (412) 471-5808 for a schedule of current classes; please call the Allegheny Intermediate Unit at (412) 394-5761 for registration information.

Building Pride/Building Character: June 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, and July 2, 2010

“Building Pride/Building Character” is a 3-credit teacher inservice created by PHLF.  A grant from The Fine Foundation enabled PHLF to create the “Building Pride/Building Character” professional development course and offer the pilot program in 2009.

“Building Pride/Building Character” gives teachers the skills and confidence they need to connect a curriculum unit to their community in a way that builds student achievement and pride.
Click here to read more and see photos from the 2009 class.

Teacher Induction Program: Getting Real: Connecting Classroom Curricula to your Community and City: March 27, 2010

Learn about Landmarks’ educational resources and teaching strategies in this half-day class. Hear how PHLF capitalizes on the interdisciplinary nature of architecture to organize Main Street tours, architectural design competitions and other hand-on projects for their school students.  Through these educational activities, students gain experience in conceptualizing, analyzing, and implementing.  They use math, language, reading, writing, and research skills and wrestle with – and solve – many problems associated with group dynamics.  Instructor: Louise Sturgess, PHLF Executive Director.

Exploring Your City: Dates to Be Announced

Gain firsthand knowledge about Pittsburgh’s architectural and historical development through a downtown walking tour, historical slide shows, and instruction in research techniques and architectural styles. Instructors: Karen B. Cahall, Ed.M., PHLF Education Coordinator, and Georgia Petropoulos, Executive Director, Oakland Business Improvement District.

Exploring Architecture: Dates to Be Announced

Through readings, lectures, slide shows, construction experiments, exercises in problem-solving, and walking tours of downtown Pittsburgh, South Side, Allegheny West, and Allegheny Cemetery, participants experience architecture as a creative discipline with practical classroom applications.

Exploring Your Neighborhood: Dates to Be Announced

Learn how to use artifacts, architecture, historic photographs, newspapers, city directories, and the landscape itself to investigate the history of your community. The course includes walking tours of Mt. Washington, Dormont, Manchester, and Friendship.

Pittsburgh Heritage: Dates to Be Announced

Teachers learn about Pittsburgh’s heritage by participating in art activities, incline and boat rides, and walking tours of Station Square, the Central North Side, Golden Triangle, and McKees Rocks.

Pittsburgh Heritage II: Dates to Be Announced

Course prerequisite: Pittsburgh Heritage

Through lectures, art projects, and walking tours of Troy Hill, the Hill District, Squirrel Hill, and the Strip District, teachers explore the built environment and learn how to use it as a resource for enriching traditional classroom activities


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