Teacher Feedback about the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute of Colonial Williamsburg

• "I love this program! The preparation and presentation is beyond expectation! The presenters are professional yet fun and relaxed. The amount and quality of materials, lessons, and experiences is so much, I can barely take it all in. But it gives some broad perspectives and helpful tools in viewing and using/understanding history. Life changing! It’s a very rich and engaging program. It’s given me an enthusiasm about this period in history, and a desire to more fully integrate art with social studies."


• "I keep thinking every day that this is The Best professional development I’ve ever received. I cannot wait to go back to teach and share what I’ve learned with my colleagues."


• "My experience brought history alive. Viewing and participating in the activities made the time period so much more understandable. It breathed life in to the words I’ve read and the pictures I’ve viewed. The exchange of ideas between colleagues was stimulating and will encouraged me to create better experiences for my students."


• "I am coming back from Virginia with a fire to change my entire curriculum. . . . I know my level of excitement will transfer to my students. I have such high hopes that we are going to make some meaningful and memorable “history” this year in my classroom. The resources and primary sources I am bringing back are going to make this such an awesome year!"


• "I loved being immersed in history for the week. The program was so well organized and gave so much information. I appreciated how each day brought out a different important aspect of history to focus on. The way it was organized helped me to process the material so I CAN effectively use it in my classroom. I felt the balance of exposure and lesson ideas were terrific and the activities we participated in during our sessions are all experiences I want to reproduce in my classroom."


• "Before going to the [Teacher Institute], I did not feel confident in the Social Studies curriculum of my new grade level (5th grade). After spending the week learning about colonial history, collaborating with other teachers, and hands-on experiences, I now feel more confident to share our early history with my students. This also provided me with an opportunity to challenge my own personal beliefs about our nation’s history and pushed my thinking beyond the assumptions that I have always made."


• "The biggest impact on my students will be the “human aspect” of history. The way the interpreters told us the stories of the citizens and people of Williamsburg brought the emotional side of history. It brought a face and name of the situation and decisions Colonial individual experienced. How did these decision impact others? How did those effects lead to different situation? All of the questions can be applied to my students’ lives today."


• "Being new to Williamsburg and the Teacher Institute, I was not familiar with the area or the incredible collection of resources available through the Colonial Williamsburg Education Resource Library. I’ve spent time each night here looking though not only the videos and primary source documents, but the interactives! There are so many applicable lessons, concepts and activities here, it will quickly become a regular “go to” for me and my students"