Civil War Professional Development

Take advantage of the teacher development opportunities in your national parks! Learn how to use cultural and natural resources to enhance the way that you teach history.

Civil War Studies Programs

Each of these university programs are designed for students interested in the antebellum period, the Civil War years (1861 to 1865), reconstruction era, and the social, cultural, economic, and political developments in the North and South.

Gettysburg College

Shepherd University

Penn State University

Virginia Tech


Teaching with Historic Places Workshops/Presentations

Each year, the program staff conducts workshops, gives presentations, and exhibits materials on how places can teach American history to people of all ages. Participating in a variety of professional development opportunities for educators, historians, and preservationists--including professional conferences, teacher in-service and training, symposia, summer institutes, and other activities--allows us to explain our program and demonstrate techniques in person to a broad and diverse audience.

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Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program

Selected teachers spend the summer working as park rangers, often living in the park. They perform various duties depending on their interests and the needs of the park, including developing and presenting interpretive programs for the general public, staffing the visitor center desk, developing curriculum-based materials for the park, or taking on special projects.

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Distance Learning Opportunities


The following parks offer distance learning programs that may allow them to share curriculum-based programming about the park with your students through the web, audio or video conferencing. Please bear in mind that there may be limitations to the scope and technical compatibility between the parks and your school.

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Last updated: January 27, 2012