One of the key skills that students need to learn as they make their way through their academic careers is the ability to do comprehensive historical research.
And one of the most valuable tools in research is the use of primary sources—documents or artifacts that are often created during the time period that is being studied. These can include correspondence, diaries, newspapers, government documents and works of art.
This summer, Grover Middle School teacher Debra Cohen participated in a prestigious national program that she believes will help her to better teach her students about the importance of using primary sources.
Cohen was one of a handful of teachers nationwide who was invited to the Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute, hosted by the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington D.C. from July 25 to 29. As part of the program, K-12 educators worked with specialists to both explore the primary sources that the Library of Congress holds, and they learned how to use these sources in the classroom to enhance student’s understanding of subject material.
“My hope is to work with my colleagues and WW-P administration to share the teaching methods, excitement and ideas I learned and practiced at the Library of Congress,” said Cohen, a West Windsor resident. “This type of teaching can benefit not only GMS students but kids at all grade levels across our school district.”
All WW-P teachers are to required to participate in a number of professional development hours as part of their licensing requirements. In order to expand her teaching methods, Cohen took an online course offered by the Library of Congress last fall, which is where she first heard about TPSSTI.
“When they mentioned the Summer Institute, I knew I had to apply. I applied in February and was on pins and needles until I found out in May that I’d been accepted,” said Cohen.
The application process for the Institute involved filling out background and teaching information, along with submitting an essay and a recommendation from Grover Principal Lamont Thomas. A total of 300 educators applied for the program, and she was one of only 26 who were accepted, said Cohen, who is the teacher of the Performance Revealing Individual Students’ Magic program at Grover.
PRISM is the school district’s program for students with identified talents in the arts and humanities who choose to participate in enrichment activities beyond the classroom. Students in the program pursue accelerated levels of independent and group research and problem solving.
“I do so much work with my student researchers that involves primary sources, and I truly believe using primary sources to teach history is essential,” Cohen said regarding her interactions with students in PRISM. “Examining primary sources — the ‘original stuff,’ if you will—encourages students to use their critical thinking skills to draw their own conclusions while they work like detectives to decipher the meaning of the document, photograph, journal, etc. they’re examining.”
She added that when students can investigate history using materials and artifacts created at the time of an event, it makes the experience richer.
At the Institute, Cohen worked with professionals from the Library of Congress and educators from around the country to examine historical primary sources and documents.
Cohen said she had “the amazing opportunity” to work with Dr. John Hessler, who is the senior cartographic librarian for the Library of Congress’ collection of 5.5 million maps (the world’s largest) and the curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of Archaeology and History of the Early Americas.
“Our group had the chance to spend time with him over three days, exploring the 1507 map that is the first to show the Americas (North and South), examining Maya artifacts and even touching Maya poison bottles, ” she said.
Though Cohen admits these sort of primary sources are “a bit too valuable to bring into schools,” she is excited to use what she learned in the coming school year. “I’m really looking forward to sharing this experience with both my students and with my colleagues, so they can work with their students this way when/if they think it’s appropriate,” she said.
Not only is Cohen a teacher in the school district, she is also a parent. She is the mother of two South graduates: Josh ‘12, who studies international affairs at George Washington University, and Allie ‘15, who studies music business at Drexel University. Her husband, Adam, works at the Department of Energy in Washington D.C.
After living in Chicago for around 30 years, Cohen moved to New Jersey and began teaching at Grover. She moved to Chicago when she was 17 to attend Northwestern University and stayed there, with the exception of a brief stint living in North Carolina.
After graduating, she worked for about 20 years in sales and marketing before going back to school for her master’s degree in teaching.
Her path to becoming a teacher actually started while she was working in business. “I’d thought about being a teacher when I was growing up, but I was also quite fascinated by the world of business as well, so I majored in communications at Northwestern University,” Cohen said.
“In business, I had always been involved in mentoring, training, and management, and so I finally decided to work toward becoming a school teacher and formalize all that teaching I’d been doing. I’ve always loved working with kids, so I took extra courses—required in Illinois, where I first taught—to teach my favorite age group: middle schoolers,” she said.
At Grover, Cohen was first a substitute teacher, before becoming the leader of the PRISM program, a position she has held since 2011.
“At the middle school level, students self-select whether they’d like to participate, and they choose from a collaborative, international problem-solving competition called Future Problem Solving or they can choose one of two research programs, the National History Day (NHD) contest or the Inquiry Project exposition,” Cohen said.
Cohen’s desire to improve herself as an educator and better serve her students stems from her motivation for teaching.
“I absolutely love the process of learning,” she said. “I think it’s just an amazing thing when we have the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the world around us. I am continually energized by watching the lightbulbs go on as my students expand and increase their knowledge. I think learning should be fun and enjoyable, and I think my students know that that’s my philosophy.”
Her motivation and instruction has made a significant impact on many of the students she has taught, including Ethan Glattfelder, a rising senior at South who participated in NHD through the PRISM program during his time at Grover.
“Ms. Cohen stood out to me as a teacher who identified each student’s individual potential and motivations and adapted herself to fit them while still maintaining structure in her lessons,” Glattfelder said. “Often it is the students who must adapt themselves to a teacher’s style and expectations, but like all great teachers Ms. Cohen recognized that truly valuable classroom experiences necessitate a two-way flow of respect and growth,”
She also pointed out that Cohen “provided unfailing support to me throughout my first in-depth, long-term research project. She was always available for advice and insight, and consistently encouraged and challenged me to exceed my previous limits as a thinker, researcher, and person.”
Cohen’s impact on her students and her motivation as a teacher are derived from her goal as an educator. “I absolutely adore working with students and helping them become thinkers. That is one of the most wonderful things that teachers—and parents—can offer the next generation, the opportunity for, and the interest in, learning. And if my students can learn to love learning, I’ll know I’ve done my job.”
For more details on the Grover PRISM Program, go to gms-prism.weebly.com.
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