About Teacher Trainings

CUP provides professional development opportunities for educators interested in incorporating project-based and place-based learning into their classrooms. Teacher Trainings are led by CUP staff with experience producing educational programs that demystify how the city works and foster increased civic engagement.

Teacher Trainings vary in length, and can be developed to meet the needs of your school or classroom. Educators will learn how to use the city as a teaching tool, how to use design to break down the city’s complex systems, and how to connect their curricula to neighborhood issues. CUP has provided trainings for high school teachers in all subjects, as well as teaching artists, administrators, afterschool educators, and graduate students in education programs.

Past Teacher Trainings have included:

Neighborhood Futures: Teachers learn how to find a site in their community and work with students to identify a variety of potential users and stakeholders. What would different groups want out of this space? Teachers then learn specific design activities they can use to help their students imagine futures for the space from the perspective of various stakeholders. These activities spark conversations about who gets to change places, who benefits from those changes, and students’ hopes and dreams for their neighborhood. 

Mapping: Teachers participate in a series of mapping activities that they can use with students to investigate their neighborhoods. Teachers learn how to use the built environment as a teaching tool, as well as techniques to investigate the social, physical, and political aspects of a neighborhood.

Project-based learning: Educators learn about CUP’s unique educational approach by participating in hands-on projects. Teachers learn how to frame questions for project-based curricula, how to use design to break down complex information, and how to frame collaborative design projects with their students.

If you are a teacher, a school administrator, or part of an institution interested in hiring CUP for a professional development session, email us at info (at) welcometocup.org