Catalog
Coaching to Improve Reading
Credit: 45 hours, 3 semester credits
Tuition: $345
Course Description:
This course focuses upon the all-important coaching relationship in improving student reading achievement. Seven components of successful reading programs are the foundation of reading achievement: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing about the reading, and content area reading skills.
Intentional best practice in each reading component is emphasized as the basis for the coaching interaction. Through learning activities, observations of teaching and practice and application of skills, participants learn how to establish a positive, respectful, caring and confidential coaching relationship that allows each partner to grow and learn in a safe, collaborative and guiding atmosphere with the common goal of increasing student reading achievement.
This course has been approved by Just Read, Florida! as a service delivery option for Competency 6 of the Florida Reading Endorsement in many Florida counties. Districts who wish to add this competency to their endorsement plan must submit a request for revision to Just Read, Florida! via email or hard copy asking that CE Credits Online be added as a service delivery option for Competency 6.
Course Objectives:
- Understand the elements of a positive coaching relationship
- Establish operating principles and plan for an effective coaching experience
- Understand best practice in each of the seven components of successful reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing about the reading, and reading in content area skills
- Understand how enduring understanding, student engagement, student outcomes, and teacher behaviors that cause learning to happen are foundational to every subject and to the coaching interaction
- Design and use essential questions in reading instruction and in coaching
- Use the Foundational Four in lesson planning and design
- Understand four components of reading instruction to plan for in every class, especially content area instruction: reading with and to students, vocabulary/decoding, comprehension, and writing about the reading
- Differentiate instruction based upon enduring understanding, while varying difficulty and complexity of content that is read
- Choose effective methods for data collection and analysis
- Observe effective coaching methods and practices
- Identify effective communication structures and those that detract from a positive coaching experience
- Construct effective reading lessons based upon research-based practice in reading
- Observe one another and conduct coaching conferences and feedback analysis
- Distinguish between effective and ineffective lessons/instructional episode/practices
- Learn how to assess text fit and to differentiate instruction using appropriate resources and identified, common standards
- Differentiate comprehension questions, understanding that for some students literal questions are more difficult than inferential
- Understand the different reading demands of specific subject areas and design lessons to assist reading in content areas, with special emphasis upon reading rate
- Design a building-wide coaching and collaboration process for increasing student reading achievement
- Observe and conduct an effective data-driven coaching conference
Coaching to Improve Teaching and Learning
Credit: 45 hours, 3 semester credits
Tuition: $345
Course Description:
Collaboration and communication are essential to meeting the goal of all students learning well. Coaching is a proven and practical vehicle for staff members, mentors and administrative evaluators to use in guiding each teacher to intentional best practice that will ensure student learning.
This course details the process of collaboration and communication that promotes quality outcomes in terms of student learning. By establishing a mutual purpose, mutual respect, individual commitment and using a variety of effective coaching communication skills, staff members can maximize the expertise, skill, and talent of coaching partners…. They learn from each other. The online format allows for reflection, practice, observation and analysis and application of skills to current settings. Emphasis is upon intentional best practice, celebration of success, planning for increased effectiveness in subsequent observational episodes and relationship maintenance. While the emphasis of the course is on establishing an effective coaching team, individuals also report that the process of taking the course enhances their instructional, assessment and classroom management skills.
Course Objectives:
- Understand the role of coaching in intentional best practice
- Understand the different purposes and uses of coaching
- Observe and analyze coaching episodes
- Self-analyze their own prior knowledge about coaching experiences
- Identify specific and guiding questions they want to answer with respect to coaching
- Distinguish between what makes an effective and an ineffective coach
- Explain the importance of trust and identify behaviors that will enhance trust in a coaching relationship
- Establish clear expectations for coaching partnerships
- Understand the importance of active listening and essential questions in coaching experiences
- Separate competence from performance of a single teaching episode
- Explain what is meant by confidentiality in the coaching experience
- Understand the varied roles that are played by coaches
- Understand that student learning is the bottom line in effective instruction
- Separate style from lesson content
- Understand the different purpose of peer coaching, mentoring and evaluation
- Explain how coaching can add meaning and purpose to teacher evaluation
- Understand the role of enduring knowledge in effective instructional planning
- Distinguish between a learning and a activity
- Design/select essential questions to guide the planning process
- Practice lesson planning and essential questioning with a partner
- Practice using a variety of methods for data collection
- Practice a variety of observation strategies through video analysis and scripted lessons
- Practice with lesson planning and observation with colleagues
- Understand the role of self-reflection in the coaching process
- Analyze a variety of possible essential questions to spur reflective practice
- Evaluate a coaching conference against specific standards of performance
- Understand and practice using Principles of Constructive Feedback
- Identify language that builds bridges and language that builds walls in conferencing
- Conduct a coaching conference
- Plan time to engage in coaching experiences through Coaching Action Plan
The Constructive Discipline Series (4 courses)
1. Giving Directives That Students Will Follow (1 st of 4-course series)
Credit: 15 hours, 1 semester credit
Tuition: $175
Based on the Value Set of Safety, Order, and Rights®
Course Description:
Teachers and administrators learn a four-step verbal skill that will help them take responsible control of K-12 students. This online course teaches them to end power struggles and gain cooperation from resistive students. This fast and effective, choice-based approach to behavior management is being used successfully by thousands of educators. Teachers learn to develop meaningful classroom management plans for maintaining a safe and orderly classroom that maximizes learning time.
Course Objectives:
- To examine the four-step verbal skill for giving directives to students.
- To perform the skill and develop mastery of the techniques.
- To adopt the value set of Safety, Order, and Rights.
- To formulate plans for using the technique in the classroom.
2. Stopping Disruptive Behavior (2nd in 4-course series)
Credit: 15 hours, 1 semester credit
Tuition: $175
Course Description:
Stop disruptive behavior with three carefully worded questions! Teachers and administrators will enjoy this effective strategy for dealing with problem behavior from K-12 students. Learn to lead the students through a process that promotes a solution they create and will accept. Create effective classroom management plans and discover how the Safety, Order and Rights value set will help clarify and define wanted and unwanted behaviors. Watch demonstrations and practice the strategies you can use in your classroom today!
Course Objectives:
- To explore the constructive discipline techniques for stopping disruptive behavior.
- To perform the skill and develop mastery of the techniques.
- To adopt the value set of Safety, Order, and Rights.
- To formulate plans for using the technique in the classroom.
3. Conducting the Parent Conference (3rd in 4-course series)
Credit: 15 hours, 1 semester credit
Tuition: $175
Course Description:
This course provides teachers and administrators with persuasive and effective strategies for conferencing with parents, including uncooperative or difficult parents. This 7-step interview using the 7-Cs of communication will move parents toward becoming committed participants in the goal of solving their child’s academic and behavioral challenges. Teachers and administrators will learn how the Safety, Order and Rights value set provides a firm and logical foundation for setting goals and finding solutions.
Course Objectives:
- To investigate a technique designed to improve teacher/parent interaction.
- To perform the skill and develop mastery of the technique.
- To adopt the value set of Safety, Order, and Rights, and utilize it as a fundamental tool for teacher/parent interaction.
4. Rights and Responsibilities in the Disciplinary Process (4th in 4-course series)
Credit: 15 hours, 1 semester credit
Tuition: $175
Course Description:
This course will guide teachers and administrators toward understanding their school’s discipline policies and to better understand and manage disruptive and violent behaviors. It is designed to help create and maintain save and orderly environments. Participants will identify the practical and legal definitions of force as well as their rights and responsibilities, particularly regarding the use of physical restraint. They will also learn to correctly describe and document incidents and explore strategies and techniques that are preventative. This course is an essential tool for all school personnel.
Course Objectives:
- To investigate teacher and administrator rights and responsibilities in regards to the school's discipline policies.
- To adopt non-physical strategies and techniques while disciplining.
- To define and interpret legal terms regarding use of physical restraint.
- To correctly describe and document responses to disruptive incidents.
Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom
Credit: 45 hours, 3 semester credits
Tuition: $345
Course Description:
Student populations in schools today are very diverse. Students differ in their readiness to learn, the ways in which they prefer to learn, and the areas of interest that motivate their learning. Differentiated instruction is based on the belief that classrooms where students are active learners, active inquirers, and active problem solvers are more effective than those where students passively receive a “one-size-fits-all” curriculum.
This course introduces teachers to instructional strategies and methodologies that will enable them to create powerful learning experiences to meet the wide range of different student needs in their classrooms.
School improvement plans in virtually every school, regardless of grade level configuration, underscore the importance of helping all students achieve academic success and meet educational standards. It is clear from the research that the intentional use of differentiated instruction strategies is highly effective in meeting diverse learner needs and positively impacting student achievement.
This course focuses on best practices in differentiation and provides teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to implement these methods in their own classrooms. Through learning activities, and the practice and application of skills, participants gain new levels of expertise which will enable them to create instructional experiences in an engaging classroom atmosphere to help all of their students reach their full potential.
This course has been approved by Just Read, Florida! as a service delivery option for Competencies 4/5 of the Florida Reading Endorsement in many Florida counties. Districts who wish to add this competency to their endorsement plan must submit a request for revision to Just Read, Florida! via email or hard copy asking that CE Credits Online be added as a service delivery option for Competencies 4/5.
Course Objectives:
- Understand the principles of differentiated instruction
- Learn the components of learning style and their applications in the classroom
- Understand how enduring understanding, student engagement, student outcomes, and teacher behaviors that cause learning to happen are critical elements of differentiated instruction
- Practice designing multiple paths to reach a specific learning objective
- Create lessons that differentiate content, process, and product
- Learn how to differentiate instruction to meet diverse student learning styles, readiness levels, and interests
- Understand how brain-compatible learning corresponds with differentiated instruction methodologies
- Design learning activities that increase student engagement by enhancing semantic, episodic, procedural, automatic, and emotional memories
- Plan lessons that differentiate instruction across four continuums
- Practice using tiered instruction and anchor activities with flexible groups
- Design and use essential questions and effective questioning strategies
- Understand how scaffolding and coaching can assist struggling learners
- Explore practical ideas for increasing active student participation and using graphic organizers in a whole-class setting
- Understand how to use assessment as an integral part of instruction in a differentiated classroom
- Design performance tasks to use as assessment tools
- Plan and teach lessons based upon enduring understanding that differentiate content, process, and product to meet individual student needs
How to “Read and Write” in Math: Improving Problem Solving and Communication in Mathematics
Credit: 45 hours, 3 semester credits
Tuition: $345
Course Description:
The ability to solve problems is not just a math skill, it’s a life skill. Problem solving is – what we do when we don’t know what to do. It requires that we think – critically and creatively – to come up with a solution. Once we’ve solved it, we want be able to explain how we did it. Math communication is putting math into words.
In this course we will consider this essential question: How can we create effective classroom learning experiences that will help students solve word problems successfully and describe their solution processes clearly?
The enduring knowledge you will take away from this course will be the answers to this question – how to help students in your classroom solve math word problems with skill and confidence, and be able to explain how they did it so others can understand.
In this class you will explore a wide range of instructional strategies for math problem solving and math communication. You will learn to create exciting math lessons that are challenging and achievable for all your students. This course will provide an in-depth exploration of teaching systematic approaches for solving math word problems and developing written communication skills to describe solution processes. Teachers will learn a wide range of strategies to develop students’ skills in the math problem-solving tasks of:
- comprehending the problem and identifying relevant data
- analyzing the problem’s internal structure to determine what type of problem it is
- selecting a viable solution process and carrying it out
- explaining the solution process both orally and in writing.
Course Objectives:
- explore a wide range of instructional strategies for math problem solving and math communication
- learn to create exciting math lessons that are challenging and achievable for all your students
- find a focus on strategies that can be applied across all grade levels in mathematics
- learn practical ideas and instructional strategies that they can immediately use with their students
- look at teaching strategies that can help students accomplish the four main tasks of problem solving:
- understanding the problem and what it is asking
- analyzing the problem to determine its structure
- choosing a solution process and carrying it out correctly
- explaining that process, both orally and in writing
Today’s Classroom: Foundations of and Current Trends in Education
Credit: 30 hours, 2 semester credits
Tuition: $265
Course Description:
This course provides teachers with the tools they need for effective teaching strategies in today's classroom, including classroom environment, setup, differentiated instruction techniques, classroom management, alternative assessments and modifications for diverse learners. Videos model different teaching techniques giving participants an opportunity to “visit” and observe other teachers in action.
Course Objectives:
- To introduce course participants to American education, from its history and the governmental policies that has guided it, down to the actual workings within today's classroom.
- To identify the leaders affecting public education, including those considered innovators.
- To discuss the development of a child, including the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson and Kohlberg. To identify and address individual differences in learning and diversity in the classroom.
- To discuss the scientific approach to learning, including the behavioral, cognitive and constructivist theories.
- To identify the factors that influence motivation.
- To identify methods to create an environment that promotes better learning.
- To discuss traditional versus alternative methods of assessment.