PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Addressing current events with young people can be especially challenging — and Close Up helps educators rise to that challenge through our professional development workshops. Drawing on over 40 years of experience in issue-centered education and developing non-partisan content, our Curriculum Training Specialists give teachers specific tools and techniques to facilitate civil discourse and conversation about current controversial issues. All workshops use Close Up in Class resources as the basis for hands-on instructional practice and require the purchase of one library.

Our professional development workshops provide concrete strategies to address the following questions:

• Importance of Controversial Issues: Why is it critical to address controversial topics with students through issue-centered education?
• Facilitating Discussions: How can teachers develop an inclusive classroom culture and create tolerance and respect for opposing viewpoints?
• Classroom Debate: What different formats can teachers use to foster informed and constructive in-class debate?
• Integrating Close Up in Class: How can teachers or administrators use the Close Up in Class resource library to build a comprehensive curricular sequence in a school or district?

Teachers who participate in Close Up’s professional development workshops can also earn Continuing Education Credits (CEUs).

To customize your own professional development workshop for your school or district, please complete the form below and we will be in touch shortly. The average session lasts three hours and pricing varies by location and the number of teachers that plan to participate.