Advanced Classroom Management: Children as Change Agents

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Geared primarily for professionals (e.g., regular or special educators, instructional assistants, school psychologists, counselors) serving children and youths presenting behavior problems in the school or community, this course focuses on cognitive and cognitive-behavioral interventions (often lumped together under the rubric “social skills”) with an emphasis on teaching students how to change and manage their own behavior. Since previous knowledge and understanding of traditional behavioral (operant) concepts and strategies is required, it is strongly recommended that you take an introductory behavior management course to learn the basic terms and concepts of behavior management prior to taking this advanced course.

Behavior is Language: Strategies for Managing Disruptive Behavior

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give the learner a new perspective on student behavior and effective tools to facilitate positive student change. Taught by Mick R. Jackson MS/ED, this course provides a developmental framework to help the learner understand what students are trying to communicate through the "language" of their behavior. Topics covered include behavioral techniques and intervention strategies that remediate disruptive behaviors, reduce power struggles while increasing classroom control, reduce educator workload, and help prevent burnout. After successfully completing this course, the educator and his/her students will be better equipped to find and implement creative, effective solutions to behavioral problems.

Early Childhood: Observation & Assessment

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course explores observation and assessment instruments, as well as recommended practices and available resources for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Content includes an emphasis on observing young children and assessing their early childhood learning environments.

Early Childhood: Program Planning

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give you a new perspective on planning and implementing developmentally appropriate programs for young children from birth through age eight. In this course you will learn what is meant by curriculum, assessment, evaluation, and program planning as these terms apply to early childhood education. We will discuss several historical perspectives and theories on child development and examine best practice for early childhood education. We will also examine key concepts and specific activities for teaching various curricular content areas, including language and literacy, mathematics and science, and the expressive arts.

Early Childhood: Typical & Atypical Development

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course explores contemporary best practice and perspectives on early childhood development. Content includes patterns and sequences of typical development for children from birth to six years. Emphasis is on individual differences, cultural influences, and the impact of developmental delay and disability during infancy, toddlerhood, and the preschool years. Discussion will also include instructional technology (IT) and assistive technology (AT) applications for this population.

Educational Assessment: Assessing Student Learning in the Classroom

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to further develop the conceptual and technical skills required by teachers to help them identify their educational goals and implement meaningful instructional strategies for effective learning by students with special needs. The focus of the course is on assessment for instructional programming and will outline procedures for designing or selecting, administering, and interpreting a variety of informal assessment measures typically used in schools. The presentation of assessment information in an acceptable format to parents and teachers is also addressed.

Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools will discuss definitions and the personal, social, and legal ramifications associated with sexual harassment, bullying, and cyber-intimidation. The course will address what we know about these troubling areas. We will then explore preventative strategies as well as how school staff can address these issues when they occur. A clear understanding of what constitutes harassment and the harmful effects of harassment on people and institutions is essential to providing a safe and inclusive school environment for all.

Inclusion: Working with Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to help special and general educators gain a better understanding of inclusion, one of the current educational reform movements that advocates educating students with disabilities in the general education classrooms. Upon course completion, the learner will be able to define key concepts and terms, identify and describe federal legislature and court cases, and list and describe the federal definition of students entitled to special services. This course will also discuss the roles and responsibilities of educators in providing special services to students educated in inclusive classrooms.

Learning Disabilities: Practical Information for the Classroom Teacher

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course describes diverse theoretical approaches to handling learning disabilities in the classroom. Taught by Dr. Bob Pillay, it lays the foundation for sensitive, appropriate assessment and evaluation of students. In addition, this course covers program planning and implementation, stresses the importance of a close, positive partnership with parents or alternative caregivers, and explores methods for ensuring that the home-school axis is effective and meaningful. Major trends and unresolved issues in the field of learning disabilities are also discussed.

Reading & Writing in Content Area

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Reading & Writing in Content Area offers instruction in teaching reading and writing in various subject matter fields at the secondary level. The material stresses the skills of vocabulary building, comprehension, and writing, as well as methods for motivating adolescents to read and write. The course also provides information on recognizing reading difficulties, assessing textbooks, and the integration of reading strategies within a content area. The strategies taught are aligned with the Praxis Reading Across the Curriculum test guide and the Reading in the Content Area national standards.

Reading Fundamentals #1: An Introduction to Scientifically-based Research

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  The purpose of this course is to improve your knowledge of science and the scientific process. This is the first course in a three-course series.

Reading Fundamentals #3: The Elements of Effective Reading Instruction & Assessment

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course will focus on learning to read, reading to learn, and an introduction to reading assessment. As part of these key areas of reading instruction, the five elements of effective reading instruction will be highlighted, including definitions, implications for instruction, and future directions.

Talented & Gifted: Working with High Achievers

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course provides information on the history of exceptional students in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment, and identification. It covers major program models and methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of those students identified. The course gives the learner an understanding of ways to meet the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the regular classroom and lists resources for teachers and parents who would like more information about the talented and gifted.

Teaching Diversity: Influences & Issues in the Classroom

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Designed to give the learner the knowledge, tools, and dispositions to effectively facilitate a diverse classroom, this course teaches how to understand and identify differences in approaches to learning and performance, including different learning styles and ways in which students demonstrate learning. An emphasis in this course is on understanding how students' learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, disabilities, gender, language, culture, and family and community values. The learner is challenged to apply knowledge of the richness of contributions from our diverse society to the teaching field.

Teaching Elementary Math Conceptually: A New Paradigm

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to expand your methodology for teaching Mathematics. The course will explore an innovative teaching model that incorporates strategies for teaching concepts constructively and contextually. The goal is for you to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts of various math topics and to explore the principles of teaching those concepts to learners. This course will focus on the topics of number sense, basic operations, and fractions.

Try DI!: Planning & Preparing a Differentiated Instruction Program

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Try DI! is designed to provide you an opportunity to learn about an instructional framework, Differentiated Instruction (DI), aimed at creating supportive learning environments for diverse learning populations. Students will be presented a method for self-assessment of the extent to which their current instructional approach reflects the perspective, principles, and practices of the DI approach. The course reflects an approach that aligns the principles of DI with the practices of DI. The concept of a “theory of action” will also be provided within a DI context. The course has also been designed to introduce students to a range of strategies associated with a DI approach. Strategies included in this course have been selected on the basis that they are effective in the widest possible range of educational K-12 settings. This course follows Why DI?: An Introduction to Differentiated Instruction, which addressed the What, Why, and Who of a classroom that reflects a DI approach. The focus of Try DI!: Planning & Preparing a Differentiated Instruction Program is on the When, Where, and How of the DI approach.

Understanding Aggression: Coping with Aggressive Behavior in the Classroom

CEUs: 4.5
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course includes topics on violence, aggression in the classroom, youth gangs, aggression in sports and on television, how drugs and alcohol play a role in aggression and violence, and "hot spots" that tend to breed aggression and violence. It is designed to help school personnel become more aware of the causes of aggression and ways to evaluate it and intervene before it turns to violence in the schools. The course also discusses aggression in our communities through driving, dating, sports, television, and music, and how these issues are dealt with in modern society.

Violence in Schools: Identification, Prevention & Intervention Strategies

CEUs: 3
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give participants an understanding of school violence and increase intervention strategies. Taught by Dr. Michael Sedler, the course provides an overview of violence and the motivational purposes behind aggression. The correlation and impact of the media, community, and family upon violence is investigated. The learner will gain an understanding of identification and intervention approaches to working with out-of-control behaviors. In addition, information about the national resources available for both parents and teachers is covered. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will have a better understanding of violence and the motivations behind its use, as well as specific strategies to minimize the occurrence of violence in the school and community.

Advanced Classroom Management: Children as Change Agents

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Geared primarily for professionals (e.g., regular or special educators, instructional assistants, school psychologists, counselors) serving children and youths presenting behavior problems in the school or community, this course focuses on cognitive and cognitive-behavioral interventions (often lumped together under the rubric “social skills”) with an emphasis on teaching students how to change and manage their own behavior. Since previous knowledge and understanding of traditional behavioral (operant) concepts and strategies is required, it is strongly recommended that you take an introductory behavior management course to learn the basic terms and concepts of behavior management prior to taking this advanced course.

Behavior is Language: Strategies for Managing Disruptive Behavior

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give the learner a new perspective on student behavior and effective tools to facilitate positive student change. Taught by Mick R. Jackson MS/ED, this course provides a developmental framework to help the learner understand what students are trying to communicate through the "language" of their behavior. Topics covered include behavioral techniques and intervention strategies that remediate disruptive behaviors, reduce power struggles while increasing classroom control, reduce educator workload, and help prevent burnout. After successfully completing this course, the educator and his/her students will be better equipped to find and implement creative, effective solutions to behavioral problems.

Early Childhood: Observation & Assessment

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course explores observation and assessment instruments, as well as recommended practices and available resources for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Content includes an emphasis on observing young children and assessing their early childhood learning environments.

Early Childhood: Program Planning

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give you a new perspective on planning and implementing developmentally appropriate programs for young children from birth through age eight. In this course you will learn what is meant by curriculum, assessment, evaluation, and program planning as these terms apply to early childhood education. We will discuss several historical perspectives and theories on child development and examine best practice for early childhood education. We will also examine key concepts and specific activities for teaching various curricular content areas, including language and literacy, mathematics and science, and the expressive arts.

Early Childhood: Typical & Atypical Development

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course explores contemporary best practice and perspectives on early childhood development. Content includes patterns and sequences of typical development for children from birth to six years. Emphasis is on individual differences, cultural influences, and the impact of developmental delay and disability during infancy, toddlerhood, and the preschool years. Discussion will also include instructional technology (IT) and assistive technology (AT) applications for this population.

Educational Assessment: Assessing Student Learning in the Classroom

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to further develop the conceptual and technical skills required by teachers to help them identify their educational goals and implement meaningful instructional strategies for effective learning by students with special needs. The focus of the course is on assessment for instructional programming and will outline procedures for designing or selecting, administering, and interpreting a variety of informal assessment measures typically used in schools. The presentation of assessment information in an acceptable format to parents and teachers is also addressed.

Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools will discuss definitions and the personal, social, and legal ramifications associated with sexual harassment, bullying, and cyber-intimidation. The course will address what we know about these troubling areas. We will then explore preventative strategies as well as how school staff can address these issues when they occur. A clear understanding of what constitutes harassment and the harmful effects of harassment on people and institutions is essential to providing a safe and inclusive school environment for all.

Inclusion: Working with Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to help special and general educators gain a better understanding of inclusion, one of the current educational reform movements that advocates educating students with disabilities in the general education classrooms. Upon course completion, the learner will be able to define key concepts and terms, identify and describe federal legislature and court cases, and list and describe the federal definition of students entitled to special services. This course will also discuss the roles and responsibilities of educators in providing special services to students educated in inclusive classrooms.

Learning Disabilities: Practical Information for the Classroom Teacher

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course describes diverse theoretical approaches to handling learning disabilities in the classroom. Taught by Dr. Bob Pillay, it lays the foundation for sensitive, appropriate assessment and evaluation of students. In addition, this course covers program planning and implementation, stresses the importance of a close, positive partnership with parents or alternative caregivers, and explores methods for ensuring that the home-school axis is effective and meaningful. Major trends and unresolved issues in the field of learning disabilities are also discussed.

Reading & Writing in Content Area

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Reading & Writing in Content Area offers instruction in teaching reading and writing in various subject matter fields at the secondary level. The material stresses the skills of vocabulary building, comprehension, and writing, as well as methods for motivating adolescents to read and write. The course also provides information on recognizing reading difficulties, assessing textbooks, and the integration of reading strategies within a content area. The strategies taught are aligned with the Praxis Reading Across the Curriculum test guide and the Reading in the Content Area national standards.

Reading Fundamentals #1: An Introduction to Scientifically-based Research

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  The purpose of this course is to improve your knowledge of science and the scientific process. This is the first course in a three-course series.

Reading Fundamentals #3: The Elements of Effective Reading Instruction & Assessment

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course will focus on learning to read, reading to learn, and an introduction to reading assessment. As part of these key areas of reading instruction, the five elements of effective reading instruction will be highlighted, including definitions, implications for instruction, and future directions.

Talented & Gifted: Working with High Achievers

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course provides information on the history of exceptional students in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment, and identification. It covers major program models and methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of those students identified. The course gives the learner an understanding of ways to meet the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the regular classroom and lists resources for teachers and parents who would like more information about the talented and gifted.

Teaching Diversity: Influences & Issues in the Classroom

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Designed to give the learner the knowledge, tools, and dispositions to effectively facilitate a diverse classroom, this course teaches how to understand and identify differences in approaches to learning and performance, including different learning styles and ways in which students demonstrate learning. An emphasis in this course is on understanding how students' learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, disabilities, gender, language, culture, and family and community values. The learner is challenged to apply knowledge of the richness of contributions from our diverse society to the teaching field.

Teaching Elementary Math Conceptually: A New Paradigm

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to expand your methodology for teaching Mathematics. The course will explore an innovative teaching model that incorporates strategies for teaching concepts constructively and contextually. The goal is for you to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts of various math topics and to explore the principles of teaching those concepts to learners. This course will focus on the topics of number sense, basic operations, and fractions.

Try DI!: Planning & Preparing a Differentiated Instruction Program

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  Try DI! is designed to provide you an opportunity to learn about an instructional framework, Differentiated Instruction (DI), aimed at creating supportive learning environments for diverse learning populations. Students will be presented a method for self-assessment of the extent to which their current instructional approach reflects the perspective, principles, and practices of the DI approach. The course reflects an approach that aligns the principles of DI with the practices of DI. The concept of a “theory of action” will also be provided within a DI context. The course has also been designed to introduce students to a range of strategies associated with a DI approach. Strategies included in this course have been selected on the basis that they are effective in the widest possible range of educational K-12 settings. This course follows Why DI?: An Introduction to Differentiated Instruction, which addressed the What, Why, and Who of a classroom that reflects a DI approach. The focus of Try DI!: Planning & Preparing a Differentiated Instruction Program is on the When, Where, and How of the DI approach.

Understanding Aggression: Coping with Aggressive Behavior in the Classroom

Professional Growth Points :90
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course includes topics on violence, aggression in the classroom, youth gangs, aggression in sports and on television, how drugs and alcohol play a role in aggression and violence, and "hot spots" that tend to breed aggression and violence. It is designed to help school personnel become more aware of the causes of aggression and ways to evaluate it and intervene before it turns to violence in the schools. The course also discusses aggression in our communities through driving, dating, sports, television, and music, and how these issues are dealt with in modern society.

Violence in Schools: Identification, Prevention & Intervention Strategies

Professional Growth Points: 60
Fee: $350

• Course Description
  This course is designed to give participants an understanding of school violence and increase intervention strategies. Taught by Dr. Michael Sedler, the course provides an overview of violence and the motivational purposes behind aggression. The correlation and impact of the media, community, and family upon violence is investigated. The learner will gain an understanding of identification and intervention approaches to working with out-of-control behaviors. In addition, information about the national resources available for both parents and teachers is covered. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will have a better understanding of violence and the motivations behind its use, as well as specific strategies to minimize the occurrence of violence in the school and community.