James Oigara, assistant professor in Geneseo’s Ella Cline Shear School of Education, recently led a teacher workshop on Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS), sponsored by the SUNY Geneseo Library of Congress TPS grant project.
The workshop supported educators in integrating primary sources into classroom and inquiry-based learning assignments that enhance student engagement and understanding. Workshop topics included indigenous history (Haudenosaunee), life in colonial America, immigrants and slavery in New York State, visual picture books, and integrating VR/AR with primary sources.
Oigara conducted a similar workshop in June 2025.
The TPS program is the Library of Congress’s premier educational initiative, designed to help educators strengthen students’ critical thinking, analytical skills, and content knowledge by using millions of digitized primary sources.
The SUNY Geneseo TPS project is a collaborative team that includes Shane Wiegand ’11,’15 MSEd, co-director of Our Local History at Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI); Anna Kowalchuk, director of the Livingston County Historical Society Museum; Susan Allen, mentor at the Library of Congress TPS Teacher Network; and Justin Behrend, professor in Geneseo’s Department of History. Together, they provide training on instructional strategies and on the analysis of historical documents from the Library of Congress and from local and regional collections.
Oigara says this collaborative approach brings diverse sources into conversation, fostering a richer and more nuanced understanding of social studies instruction.