Fall 2025 TIP Workshops

The application is now open for TIP’s fall 2025 workshops. Visit Apply to TIP for instructions on how to apply.

The Schuylkill River
Howard Gillette, Rutgers University

This workshop will utilize the history of the Schuylkill River as a window into the development of the Greater Philadelphia Region, from its role as a lifeline for Native peoples to its evolution as an industrial corridor and ultimate reclamation as a natural resource and spur to economic redevelopment. Opening insights into environmental as well as economic and social history, the river’s story will open avenues for exploring a wide range of subject matters, many of which can be enhanced by field trips and visits to such historic sites as Bartram’s Garden, the Philadelphia Waterworks, and the Schuylkill River Trail. Not shying away from the sharper edges of river history, we will consider the effects of pollution and environmental injustice over time and the tough decisions stemming from such massive redevelopment efforts as the Atlantic Refining site.

Integrating Movement: Harnessing the Power of Dance Across Curriculums
Amber McLean, Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School

This workshop will provide educators with strategies to integrate movement into their curriculum, enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. Key topics include the pedagogical benefits of dance, highlighting its impact on cognitive development, retention, and creativity. Participants will discover innovative ways to incorporate movement into STEM subjects, fostering interdisciplinary connections. They will explore literary rhythms, using movement to deepen literary analysis and interpretation. The workshop will celebrate cultural diversity through global dance traditions, promoting cultural awareness in the classroom. Lastly, participants will learn inclusive practices to ensure all students can participate in meaningful movement experiences. They will discover how dance can transform their teaching and create dynamic, inclusive learning environments.

Capital of Black America
Charlene Mires, Rutgers University & Andrew Diemer, Temple University

Too often, when we think of Philadelphia’s history, we imagine a history that is largely confined to the Revolutionary period and a history in which the most important actors are white. This workshop will help teachers rethink both of these assumptions. In the nineteenth century, Philadelphia and the region surrounding it would come to contain what by most measures were the most vibrant, dynamic, and influential free Black communities in the United States. Free African Americans relied on each other in order to confront the persistent power of slavery and white supremacy in their own city and region. At the same time, many free Blacks looked outward and became leaders in the national fight against those same threats. This workshop will focus on events, individuals, and themes that will illuminate this vibrant period in the city’s, and the nation’s, Black history; it will also provide tools for teachers who hope to bring this subject to life for their students.

Industry and Pollution: An Environmental History of Greater Philadelphia
Stephen Nepa, Pennsylvania State University-Abington

Once called the “Workshop of the World,” greater Philadelphia played indispensable roles in American manufacturing and making the United States a major industrial power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, a byproduct of that industry was pollution, the effects of which are still visible in the twenty-first century. In our sessions, teachers will learn about greater Philadelphia’s environmental history, its rise and fall as a major manufacturing center, the relationship between the built and natural worlds, and how the regions’ cities and towns addressed and regulated various forms of pollution. Specific topics include the development of parklands, early forms of urban sanitation, disease epidemics and public health, urban renewal and suburban growth, brownfield remediation, and how modern environmentalism became a political and social issue. We will explore this history using a variety of source material, including popular music, art, cartography, cinema, literature, and historical documents.

Recent Immigration and Migrant Communities in Philadelphia
Domenic Vitiello, University of Pennsylvania

This workshop will focus on the recent history of migration and migrant communities in Philadelphia and the United States. During our meetings, we will practice various techniques for teaching and learning about migration at the national, international, and especially the local level, including family, community, and neighborhood studies. We will use qualitative and quantitative data and maps; and we will take a walk in a neighborhood adjacent to Penn’s campus.

Workshop Schedule