History teachers today are pressed to teach more in less time, making it difficult to cover even the most important subjects, including the American Revolution, in the ways they deserve. The professional development programs of the American Revolution Institute seek to provide teachers with the best strategies and materials to cover the American Revolution effectively. Our programs address ways to approach the most important questions: What were the colonies like before the Revolution? Why did the Revolution happen? What shaped colonial resistance to British authority? What transformed resistance into rebellion and then into revolution? What did the men and women of the Revolutionary generation hope to achieve? What did the Revolution achieve? What did it leave for subsequent generations, including our own, to accomplish?
The Institute offers week-long residential seminars each summer, a series of one-day and sometimes two-day regional workshops at historical sites and other institutions around the country, and one-day online workshops. Professional development credit is offered for these programs. We invite you to explore the programs we offer and hope you will take this opportunity to enroll. There has never been a more important time for your students to learn about the American Revolution. The future of the United States depends now, as it did two hundred and fifty years ago, on cultivating informed citizens—women and men who understand how and why our country was created, what the Revolutionary generation achieved, and what the high ideals first expressed by that generation calls on each of us to do today. Our professional development programs are designed to support your efforts to make that happen.
Learn more about our professional development programs
Master Teachers Seminar
The annual Master Teacher Seminar is a week-long residential program at Anderson House, our headquarters in Washington, D.C. Participants discuss best practices, hear expert lectures, and conduct research in our world-class library to develop a lesson on the American Revolution to share with their classes and their peers across the country.
Regional Workshops
The American Revolution Institute offers one-day regional workshops, often at historic sites or institutions with which we collaborate, focusing on critical themes, major achievements of the Revolutionary generation, and central ideals of the Revolution that have shaped our history for nearly 250 years.
Online Workshops
Our online workshops focus on critical themes and are designed to introduce our digital resources about the American Revolution and its legacy. These workshops combine expert instruction, lesson concepts, and overviews of online resources.