2026 Philadelphia Institute: Teaching Students to Evaluate Sources and Claims

This 3-day Institute for middle and high school teachers will explore and connect two types of curricular materials that deepen students’ understanding of how to evaluate socio-scientific issues, such as the climate crisis, energy use, and food security, using instructional scaffolds called Lateral Reading and Model-Evidence Link Diagrams.

We are looking for school-based pairs of teachers who have overlapping student populations to apply as a team. Our vision is to partner one science teacher (particularly in Earth or environmental sciences) with either a social studies or English language arts teacher so the same student population experiences both types of curricular materials. Solo applicants from any of the three content areas will also be considered.

There will be two pre-Institute webinars (Mondays, May 4 and May 18, both 7-8 PM EDT) and a 3-day Institute (June 24-26 at Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, 1600 Vine Street, Philadelphia). Complete participation in the webinars and the Institute will result in a stipend of $900 per teacher.

Applications are due March 31, 2026; notification of selection decisions are expected no later than April 13th. Apply at https://bit.ly/LR-MEL-2026_PA

Questions can be directed to mel2institutes@gmail.com. We hope to see your application soon!