For Educators

UW-Madison's Theater for Youth performing Schvarts's The Dragon to audience of middle school students at Taliesin.
UW-Madison’s Theatre for Youth performing Shvarts’s The Dragon to middle school students at Taliesin (Spring Green, WI). Photo by Kelly Iacobazzi.

CREECA is committed to serving as a resource for educators at all levels, from primary and secondary school teachers to instructors at institutions of higher education (community and technical colleges, tribal colleges and universities, and four-year colleges and universities). We regularly offer teacher training workshops on topics related to Russia, Eastern and Central Europe, and Central Asia; participate in internationally-focused events such as World Languages Day; organize cultural events in Madison and beyond; and present on regional topics at local primary and secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher education. We also provide resources to educators in the form of our lending library and curriculum development materials.

Educators are also welcome to attend any of our public events, including our weekly lecture series, panel discussions, concerts, and other performances. See our events calendar for a list of all upcoming events.

CREECA is always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with schools, colleges, and universities in Wisconsin and the surrounding states. Contact jtishler@wisc.edu for more information.

Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellowship

Are you an educator who is interested in deepening your understanding of the history, culture, and current events of Russia and Eurasia? Consider applying for the Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellowship (EETF). Over the 9-month fellowship, fellows participate in 8 content webinars, hearing from scholars with expertise on the fellowship topic. Each fellow is expected to complete a final project–either curriculum development or a literature review on a question that develops during the course of the fellowship.

The EETF is a collaboration between the Harvard University Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the Ohio State University, the Center for Russia, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is funded through a Title VI/National Resource Center Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Special Events for Educators and Students

CREECA regularly organizes and participates in events for educators and students from Wisconsin schools and institutions of higher education. This includes teacher training workshops, conferences, and other internationally-focused programs. Recent educator workshop topics include Cyber-Capabilities and Accelerating Global Change and Empowering Educators to Teach on Genocide.

Our center is also a member of the Wisconsin International Resource Consortium (WIRC), a collaboration among the nine UW-Madison Area Studies Centers with the mission to provide internationally themed outreach programming, resources, and support to K-14 teachers and students, Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), and Community Colleges. For more WIRC-related programming, please see our website.

Invite CREECA to Your School!

Organizing an “International Day” or teaching a unit on Russia, Eastern/Central Europe, or Central Asia? CREECA is happy to accommodate requests for speakers on our region to make classroom visits or participate in school events. Contact jtishler@wisc.edu for more information.

Teaching on Russia’s War in Ukraine

CREECA has compiled a list of resources for educators on teaching about Russia’s war in Ukraine here. This list is being actively expanded.