Course Descriptions
EDCI 689-
-001 Assertive Discipline and Beyond cr. 3.34
This classic results-oriented course
shows you how to create a safe, positive learning environment where
your students behave responsibly and feel good about themselves.
Learn how to:
- Implement a behavior management plan
- Improve your confidence and communication skills
- Use positive reinforcement to help students stay on task and develop self-esteem
-002 How to Get Parents on Your Side cr.3.34
Improve student achievement and
behavior by recruiting parents to support your efforts at school.
Motivate parents to assume an active role in their children's education
as you create a clear line of communication.
Learn ways to:
- Conduct more positive parent conferences
- Reduce behavior and homework problems by enlisting parent support
-003 Succeeding with Difficult Students cr. 3.34
Helping hard-to-reach students succeed
can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your career. Learn
proven skills to reach students who have a history of failure.
Learn to:
- Understand when and why a student misbehaves
- Proactively respond to even the most difficult students in a calm, professional manner
-004 The High-Performing Teacher cr. 3.34
This revolutionary course will make you
feel more satisfied every day in the classroom. Learn skills that
successful teachers use to consistently bring out the best in
themselves and their students.
You will learn:
- Master daily challenges through practical problem-solving and stress-reduction techniques
- Help empower your students to be more motivated and take responsibility for their actions
-005 Teaching Students to Get Along cr. 3.34
Help your students develop positive
social behavior and skills with hands-on lessons and activities that
integrate easily into your school day. Create a positive learning
environment where students cooperate, leaving you free to teach.
Learn to:
- Increase students' ability to resolve arguments on their own
- Foster teamwork
- Help students manage their anger
-007 Motivating Today’s Learner cr. 3.34
Fire up student desire to learn, and
refuel your own teaching effectiveness. Bring your lessons alive for
every student in your classroom, even the seemingly unmotivated, with
easy-to-use techniques designed to reach all types of learners.
Learn how to:
- Design fast-paced, engaging lessons to grab and keep the attention of all your students–even the least motivated
- Present fresh, dynamic instruction.
-009 Building Your Repertoire of Teaching Strategies cr. 3.34
Learn how to match the best teaching
strategy to your learning objectives. See immediate results as more of
your students respond as learners and thinkers.
Learn skills to:
- Help students access, organize, and master content
- Encourage reasoning and critical thinking
- Foster creative problem-solving and collaboration
-010 Learning Differences cr. 3.34
Discover strategies to understand
learning differences and to design instruction, curriculum and
assessment that tap each student's strengths.
Learn ways to:
- Use diagnostic and prescriptive strategies to succeed with the diversity of students' learning styles
- Design instruction that draws on all seven intelligences
- Draw on each student's cultural background to enhance success
-011 Helping Students Become Self-Directed Learners cr. 3.34
Inspire your students to develop the self-discipline and thinking
skills that they will need
to thrive in the world. Teach 12 habits of mind, including managing
impulsively,
developing creativity and persisting when answers don't come easily.
Learn to:
- Use diagnostic and prescriptive strategies to succeed with the diversity of students' learning styles
- Refine and stretch their thinking beyond the first "right" answer
- Improve their ability to listen actively without interrupting
-014 Assessment to Improve Student Learning cr. 3.34
Strengthen your ability to choose what,
when, and how to assess, so you and your students can meet today's high
achievement standards.
Learn ways to:
- Align curriculum and assessment
- Construct more effective paper-and-pencil tests
- Optimize the use of portfolios
-015 Teaching Reading in the Elementary Grades cr. 3.34
Teach your students the reading and
thinking strategies they need to become truly fluent readers. This
course will give you the research-based strategies you need to help
your students thrive as independent readers, finding new joy and
meaning in the reading process.
You will learn:
- Explicit phonics, decoding and spelling instructional techniques
- Special interventions for struggling readers and English-language learners
- Strategies to increase vocabulary and build comprehension
- Methods for teaching phonemic awareness
-017 Improving Reading in the Content Areas cr. 3.34
Help students meet your subject area
standards. When you learn and use the numerous strategies in this
course, you can boost your students' mastery of content.
You will learn:
- Strategies that help students learn, retain, and recall important information
- Dozens of writing, comprehension, and vocabulary strategies to engage students and deepen their understanding of your subject matter
-018 Math: Teaching for Understanding (K-6) cr. 3.34
How you teach math today will
determine your students' success tomorrow. Help all students gain the
understanding they'll need without sacrificing basic skills.
Learn to:
- Eliminate the apprehension and frustration often associated with math
- Balance basic skills with real-world problem-solving
-019 Supporting the Struggling Reader cr. 3.34
A struggling reader in the first grade
has a 90 percent chance of remaining a struggling reader by the end of
the fourth grade. And with today's higher literacy standards, you may
have more struggling readers than ever before.
Learn techniques to:
- Provide phonics, spelling and vocabulary instruction tailored to your students' needs
- Identify risk factors and diagnose common reading difficulties
- Improve comprehension, fluency and writing
- Maximize support from parents and special programs
-020 Foundations of Reading and Literacy cr. 3.34
You've been challenged to achieve
higher levels of literacy in the classroom. Meet the challenge by
learning to integrate new research with traditional reading instruction
and lead your students to greater success.
Learn to
- Use five important principles for developing a balanced approach to reading instruction
- Select classroom materials that meet the needs and interests of all your students
- Understand how the brain processes information during literacy activities
- Effectively engage students of diverse language backgrounds
- Review and evaluate children's literature for use in your balanced literacy program
-021 Strategies for Literacy Instruction—Phonics, Vocabulary, and Fluency cr. 3.34
Gain practical, proven tools to
effectively teach your students to decode and assign meaning to words.
Learn specific skills and strategies to promote reading fluency and
give your students a solid foundation for lifelong reading.
Learn to:
- Design engaging class activities that develop phonemic awareness and reading readiness
- Evaluate your own phonics instruction and strengthen it with current research findings
- Create activities to assess and enhance students' developmental word knowledge
-022 Strategies for Literacy Instruction—Comprehension cr. 3.34
Learn research-based strategies to
support thoughtful and active reading behaviors. You'll discover
various forms of reading assessment, explore the reading-writing
connection, and gain strategies for promoting active reading.
Learn how to:
- Help students become active, strategic readers
- Use pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies to maximize comprehension
- Design writing activities that improve both reading and writing
- Conduct ongoing assessment of students' reading and writing proficiency
-023 Designing Curriculum and Instruction with the Learner in Mind cr. 3.34
Discover flexible framework for
developing units and lessons to meet the varying needs of your students
to make learning a meaningful, rewarding process.
Learn how to:
- Design engaging units and lessons that align with your academic standards
- Use research-based, proven instructional strategies to raise student achievement
- Implement easy-to-use activities to differentiate instruction and meet diverse learning needs
-025 Integrating the Internet into the K–12 Curriculum cr. 3.34
The Internet offers unlimited
opportunities for student learning, yet sometimes it's difficult to
know where to begin your instruction. This course offers teachers
practical and effective ways to integrate the Web as a learning tool
across all curricula. You'll learn instructional models that build upon
the diverse resources of the World Wide Web.
Learn to:
- Evaluate and select WebQuests to inspire student learning
- Develop workshops and inquiry projects to use immediately in the classroom
- Examine key principles related to new literacies and their implications for education
- Leverage the Web to support learning for all students
-026 Classroom Management to Promote Student Learning cr. 3.34
To successfully manage
today's standards-based classrooms, teachers need to rely on more than
one approach. Explore relationships between behavior management,
classroom instruction and student learning.
Learn strategies to:
- Teach students conflict resolution and peer mediation
- Increase parental support of student learning and behavior
- Use preventive rather than reactive strategies
-027 Including Students with Special Needs: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment cr. 3.34
Gain the skills you need to support an
inclusive classroom environment. This course provides practical
strategies to help you adapt and modify your curriculum and instruction
to meet the academic needs of all students. You will acquire critical
assessment skills to accurately measure student progress.
Learn to:
- Explore the use of technology to support students in an inclusive classroom environment
- Understand standards and regulations related to teaching students with special needs
- Adapt lessons and units to provide the appropriate level of challenge for students
- Apply strategies to manage behavior and foster a supportive classroom environment for all students
-028 Helping Struggling Readers with Content Area Learning 6–12 cr. 3.34
In today’s classroom, many students
struggle to meet subject standards due to reading difficulties. This
course focuses on what you need to know about these struggling readers.
Learn how you can identify and then meet the needs of students who
struggle with reading, and how your classroom climate can help make a
difference in their success. Discover what support resources are
available to you as a content area teacher, such as partnerships with
parents and reading professionals, to ensure all of your students can
engage in meaningful content area learning.
-029 Introduction to Teacher Leadership cr. 3.34
Discover how you can take a leadership
role in affecting positive change for your students, your colleagues,
and your profession. Learn to identify roadblocks teachers face in
taking on leadership roles, formulate strategies to address these
issues, and apply ethical solutions to challenges within the field of
education. You will examine your leadership style and gain skills
necessary to lead with great confidence–in your classroom, your school,
and beyond
-030 Meeting the Needs of Cultural and Linguistically Diverse Learners cr. 3.34
Providing a culturally responsible learning environment is critical in
today’s divers classroom–and this course provides the perfect framework
for meeting this need. You will examine the characteristics of
multicultural education, address potential cultural and linguistic
barriers to learning (including ESL), and devise strategies for
ensuring an equitable learning experience for all students. By
incorporating these strategies, you will be able to create a classroom
setting that serves as an insightful model for your peers.
-031 Teacher Leadership for Learning and Teaching cr. 3.34
Successful teaching begins with a deeper understanding of learning.
This course will help you become a more informed and effective leader
of student learning as you examine current research, including
brain-based learning theory., and learn to tailor your instructional
approaches. Discover new and innovative ways to motivate, challenge,
and engage each learner as you explore instructional models and
strategies designed to increase learning and achievement. As a result,
you can gain the flexibility, knowledge and sills to meet the unique
needs of your students.
-041 Classroom Management: Orchestrating a Community of Learners
-042 Teaching Through Learning Channels
-043 Learning to Read: Beginning Reading Instruction
-044 Reading to Learn: Comprehension Instruction
-045 Blended and Synchronous Learning Design
-051 Teaching Students Responsible Behavior cr. 3
This course will give you the theory and skills to teach
students how to take responsibility for their own behavior in school.
It will lead you through a series of learning activities designed to
instruct you in how to teach your students the concepts of Choice
Theory and to plan and implement a program of Responsibility Training
in your classrooms.
In this course, you will learn how to:
• determine why some students choose to misbehave.
• implement a proven approach to improving student behavior.
• effectively use “Time Outs” to improve behavior.
-052 Cooperation in the Quality Classroom cr. 3
This course will give you the theory and skills to
create lesson plans that meet the basic psychological needs of students
and gain their cooperation in the learning process. Based on the works
of Drs. William Glasser, David Johnson and Roger Johnson, you will gain
the knowledge and skills to guide your students to become active,
enthusiastic partners in the learning process.
In this course, you will learn to:
• create lessons that involve students.
• use cooperative learning strategies to encourage quality work.
• help students solve classroom problems affecting learning.
-053 Teaching in the Quality Classroom cr. 3
This course will give you the theory to enhance your
instructional skills and develop strategies that will raise your
students’ achievement to a new level of quality. Course assignments and
activities introduce you to Dr. Glasser’s Quality Schools concepts and
practices and demonstrate how they can be combined in a comprehensive
program of instruction and behavior management.
In this course, you will learn how to:
• teach your students problem-solving skills that lead to improved achievement.
• help your students become better listeners and stay on task.
• manage your classroom in a manner that promotes quality work.
-054 Responsibility, Respect & Relationships cr. 3
This course will give you the knowledge and skills to
deal with students’ apprehensions and fears and at the same time create
an emotionally safe classroom atmosphere that promotes learning. Topics
covered include teaching to various learning styles and preferences,
setting attainable goals for improving student achievement, and helping
students in crisis situations.
In this course, you will learn how to:
• create an emotional safety net to support troubled students before they become dangerous students.
• recognize and respond effectively to students who are experiencing an emotional crisis.
• identify and capitalize on students learning strengths and preferences.
-055 Dealing with Discipline Problems cr. 3
This course will give you the knowledge and skills to
apply previously learned choice theory concepts to commonly occurring
classroom discipline problems. As a course outcome, you will develop a
personalized plan designed not only to solve discipline problems but
also to help students take responsibility for their own behavior.
In this course, you will learn to:
• solve commonly occurring discipline problems that keep you from
teaching and other students from learning.
• deal with recurring discipline problems and help troubled students plan for improved behavior.
• create and use a classroom discipline plan designed to prevent problems from occurring.
-057 Improving Student Achievement cr. 3
This course will give you the psychological foundation
to understand how learning, motivation, and individual differences
relate to improving student achievement. In the videos, you will see
demonstrated dozens of strategies that are being successful used to
enhance student achievement at all grade levels.
In this course you will learn how to:
• create effective lessons and units that engage students in the learning process.
• increase your students’ comprehension and retention levels.
• connect with students who are resisting your best efforts to help them succeed.
-062 Differentiated Instructional Strategies cr. 3
This new course is
designed to give you the knowledge and skills to implement
differentiated instruction successfully in your own classroom. You will
learn strategies for meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse
student population within the context of today's challenging
standards-based curriculum. Real-life video demonstrations will
illustrate how to adapt curriculum content, processes, and products to
match students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles.
In this course, you will learn how to:
• Recognize and teach to different kinds of intelligences.
• Understand and accommodate various learning styles.
• Effectively implement multi-option and tiered assignments.
• Utilize ongoing, authentic assessment techniques.
• Design more dynamic and engaging lessons and units.
In
addition, you will learn how to further differentiate your instruction
through the use of learning centers, portfolios, graphic organizers,
group investigation, and varied homework assignments. With this
thorough introduction to differentiated instruction, you will be
prepared to meet the learning needs of all students no matter how
diverse their learning styles or preferences.
-071 Classroom-Based Assessment-Practical Strategies for Powerful Learning cr. 3
Focuses on helping today's K-12 teachers understand, appreciate, and
reclaim the power of everyday assessment for the benefit of student
learning in their own classrooms. Enables participants to expand their
understanding of the role of assessment and instruction, and learn a
wide range of practical, user-friendly strategies designed to support
learning, not just measure it. With the strength of research supporting
each newly acquired skill, teachers will build their expertise in
identifying key learning targets, understanding the distinguishing
attributes of a wide range of assessment strategies, appropriately
matching assessments to learning targets, adjusting instruction based
on assessment information, providing effective feedback, using
assessment data to determine grades that accurately reflect student
achievement, and helping students develop confidence as learners.
-072 Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Today's Classroom cr. 3
Helps participants translate the theory of DI into the practice of DI
by (1) creating a learner-centered classroom environment to optimize
achievement for all students; (2) differentiating based on students'
learning profiles and interests; and (3) adjusting instruction based on
formal and informal pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative
assessment. Builds expertise in a wide range of DI instructional
approaches and strategies, the subtleties of DI classroom management
and flow, shifts in the teacher's role, and ways in which student
self-directedness is both the catalyst for and result of effective
differentiation.
-073 Best Practices for Brain-Based Classrooms: Fusing the Art of Teaching with the Science of Learning cr. 3
Enables participants to develop the knowledge and professional
expertise to fuse emerging neuroscientific research with their own
educational practice. Gives educators an understanding of basic brain
physiology and the way in which the brain processes and stores
information. Examines how to design a learning environment that
supports and enhances the brain's natural learning systems, and
explores a wide range of brain-based instructional strategies to
optimize students' successful acquisition, internalization, retrieval,
and transfer of key concepts and skills.
-074 Boys and School: Challenging Underachievement, Getting it Right! cr. 3
Clarifies why one-size-fits-all-boys solutions cannot work in response
to complex reasons about why so many boys in our schools today are
underachieving. This course focuses on a multi-faceted approach
designed to clarify which boys are struggling, the many reasons why
they struggle, and how educators can respond with a rich repertoire of
research-based responses designed to engage and support struggling boys
in their own classrooms, provide conditions for their success, develop
their real-world skills, and help them build a positive male identity.
-081 Foundations of Teaching Reading Grades K–6
-082 Fundamentals of Math – What to Know and How to Teach
-083 Research-based Instructional Strategies that Improve Student Achievement
-084 Research-based Strategies for Improved Reading Success K-6
