The Teacher Fellow Program was created in 2009 with the desire to make The Henry Ford an indispensable, extended classroom experience that, consequently, empowers teachers through a unique professional development opportunity. This 90+ hour “by the teachers, for the teachers” forum utilizes a “co-creation” method to construct new education products and ideas that employ The Henry Ford’s extensive collection in an innovative and enlightening way. Since 2009, over 40 teachers from over 25 school districts and two states have completed this program, putting in a combined 3,500+ hours. These teachers represent a diverse group of educators who teach a variety of subjects at public, private, charter, and vocational schools to students of all ages. Since its creation, the Teacher Fellow Program participants made a significant contribution to the over 1,000% growth in educational products available from The Henry Ford. The program’s ultimate goal, however, is to make teachers equipped, empowered, engaged, encouraged, and enlightened to employ their learning and convert it into active teaching.

The Education and Learning Department at The Henry Ford selects 12-16 teachers each year through a competitive application process to participate in this unique program. Meetings will be held on weekends and weekdays, based on Teacher Fellow availability. The program uses immersion learning, site visits, tours with the curators and historians, brainstorming sessions, dialogues, debates, and more to give educators an “out-of-the-box” professional and personal growth experience. Ultimately, this program gives educators a challenging and fun way to enhance not only their professional careers, but also their capabilities as teachers and individuals.

• Program Overview (PDF)
• Application Packet (PDF)
• Alumni Biographies (PDF)
• Read What our Teacher Fellows are Saying (PDF)
• Glimpses from the Program (PDF)
• Teacher Fellow Projects
• Building Stories Creative Writing Contest
• Family and Community Life self-guided itinerary
• Ford Rouge Factory Tour: They Said It Could Not Be Done self-guided itinerary
• Innovation in 20th Century Design self-guided itinerary
• Life of an Inventor self-guided itinerary
• Moving Away, Settling In self-guided itinerary
• The Industrial Revolution in the Women’s Sphere self-guided itinerary
• Field Trip Planner checklist and tips