UW’s Wallop Program Hosts Teachers from Around Wyoming

The Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program at the University of Wyoming recently hosted 14 social studies and English language arts teachers for the third annual summer professional development workshop sponsored by a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

“Integrating the Humanities Across Civics Education in Wyoming” also involved UW’s School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies, and the Wyoming School-University Partnership.

Hosted in-person for the first time, teachers from 12 Wyoming schools, NEH project partners and UW faculty came together on the UW campus to discuss social studies and English language arts state standards; Wyoming civics education; and educational resources available for students and educators at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in northwest Wyoming and UW’s American Heritage Center.

Over the summer, workshop participants will work to create lesson plans using content in the Wallop social studies and English language arts catalogs that will support their work in the upcoming school year. NEH project co-directors Jean Garrison and Jason McConnell (School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies), Colby Gull (Wyoming School-University Partnership) and Curtis Biggs (UW Research and Economic Development Division) will continue to expand this project with UW and community college faculty from the humanities, social sciences and education along with Wyoming teachers.

The catalog is free to all teachers and the public in UW’s WyoLearn catalog at https://civic.catalog.instructure.com/.

Through this spring, 116 middle and high school educators have accessed Wallop catalog content, with 58 schools located in 19 counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation using the catalog to supplement their classes with these online learning resources.

The project is inspired by former Wyoming U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop who, in his distinguished career serving in the U.S. Senate for three terms and in the Wyoming Legislature, is remembered for his commitment to civil discourse, public education and public service. For more information about the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/wallop or find the program on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, NEH supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals throughout the nation. For more information about NEH and its grant programs, visit www.neh.gov.