Clinical Instructor Heather Haynes and Associate Professor Dr. Michelle Morgan from the Department of History have co-written a winning grant proposal for the Missouri Council for History Education (MOCHE).

MOCHE received the Teaching with Primary Sources grant from the Library of Congress. Grant funds will support a workshop series for southwest Missouri’s history educators.

Collaborating with MOCHE Vice President Rob Good, Haynes and Morgan started writing the grant proposal in the summer of 2025. The trio submitted their proposal in August.

The proposed series, “Creative Campaigners: The Arts and Civic Engagement,” consists of three separate workshops scheduled for Jan. 31, Feb. 28 and March 28 in 2026. Two workshops will be on Missouri State’s Springfield campus. Another will be held at the History Museum on the Square in Springfield.

The workshop series is open to any secondary teacher or pre-service teacher in southwest Missouri, Haynes said. Participants will receive a stipend of $150 a day. The stipend will be paid after the series is completed.

Application deadline is Dec. 5.

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“Creative Campaigners” explores civic engagement and the arts

During the “Creative Campaigners” workshops, history educators will learn how to use primary source materials in high school classrooms, according to Haynes.

Participants will learn about national and local historical events that used music and the arts to promote civic engagement. Moreover, they will use Library of Congress resources to develop lessons that reflect that theme, she added.

Haynes said the grant gives them a “wonderful opportunity” to help educators develop primary source-based classroom activities.

Developing critical thinking skills

A specific goal of the workshops is to illustrate how using primary sources helps students develop critical thinking skills. By using primary sources in their lesson plans, educators can encourage students to think critically about civic participation through such issues as labor, race and gender, Haynes said.

To demonstrate this, Haynes will co-present with Senior Instructor Dr. Marlin Barber during one workshop. They will discuss how and why primary sources are useful in history education. Participants will also learn how to navigate the Library of Congress to identify primary sources for classroom activities.

In another workshop, participants will spend time at the History Museum on the Square in Springfield. “They will hear from Whitney Mosley, Education Manager, and interact with museum materials and local history,” Haynes said.

Participants will present their efforts during a third workshop. They will also have opportunities to discuss their activities at the 2026 MOCHE conference. It will be held on Missouri State’s Springfield campus in October.

Promoting civic engagement

Specifically, the workshop emphasizes creating activities that reflect how the arts are used to facilitate civic discourse, Haynes noted. Participants will explore how the arts have been used “to include voices that represent multiple perspectives and how to incorporate those perspectives in the classroom,” she added.

Beyond the classroom, Haynes hopes the workshops strengthen professional ties among southwest Missouri’s history educators.

“We also want to build a network of support among secondary, post-secondary and museum educators, along with professional organizations such as MOCHE,” she said.