Great self-paced classes for summer break! Registration opens June 1, 2019.
Self-paced, media rich, online courses with textbooks mailed right to your doorstep.
- Registrations Accepted: June 1 – October 1, 2019
- Coursework Due: November 15, 2019. You may complete earlier and your grade will be processed upon your completion.
- All courses are 3 credits, approved by UAA for 500-level professional development credit and may be used for Alaska teacher recertification
- Tuition for all courses is (Level 1/Level 2) $445 / $495, including all materials
- Courses through Learner’s Edge
Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Reflective Introduction
To achieve educational equity, we must address systems that foster chronic achievement gaps. Begin building a more responsive teaching practice by understanding the neuroscience behind culturally responsive instructional moves, and learn how to meet the needs of all students. This course will allow you space to both reflect on your personal practice and insights, and apply concepts to your classroom. K-12
Course text: Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain by Zaretta Hammond
Course Goals and Objectives:
- Reflect on assumptions and insights of practitioners, researchers and self, related to culturally responsive teaching.
- Articulate the correct parameters of what defines culturally responsive teaching.
- Identify and correct key misconceptions and myths about culturally responsive teaching as a methodology.
- Explain what makes a practice “culturally responsive.”
- Identifying current practices that hurt the cognitive development of diverse students.
- Implement basic structures, routines, and practices that leverage the culture of diverse students for rigorous learning.
- Experiment with high-leverage strategies to build student agency.
- Track student growth and development after students are capable of increasingly rigorous content.
Building Strong Relationships in the Classroom: Care to Connect
Building relationships in a classroom with and among students of different cultural, language and life experiences can have a positive impact on student confidence and ultimately achievement. In this course, educators will examine the role that relationships play in creating the ideal learning environment and explore research-based strategies for developing strong individual and community connections. Learners will also develop an intervention using non-punitive approaches to managing challenging behavior. K-12
From Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Invested: Creating a Culture of Safety
This valuable course will increase your ability to work more effectively with students who may have experienced trauma or display challenging behaviors by creating a culture of safety in your classroom or school. Through self-assessment and reflection, you’ll determine your present level of performance on the Spectrum of Trauma-Savvy Practices and identify methods to move you closer to becoming trauma-invested. You will learn and try next-level strategies to improve relationships, responsibility and regulation in all students especially those who have experienced trauma. Additionally, you will discover ways to ensure work-life balance to protect yourself from compassion fatigue or secondary trauma, so you can continue to make a positive impact on all students. K-12
Going Above and Beyond Academics for English Learners
Do you ever wonder how you can deepen your support for English Language Learners and their overall development? This course will inspire you to identify six specific ways you can help your ELs grow academically, socially, and emotionally that will
strengthen the work you are already doing with them. This course is for any teacher who wants to reach English Learners and help them unlock their potential for learning now and in their future. Educators will understand the interaction between students’ mindsets, relationships, and skills and how to develop these concepts in students to empower them to achieve learning success. PreK-12
Improving Outcomes for Students in Poverty: The Difference Makers
This strategy-based course will provide a solid base of information and provide ideas to disrupt the adverse effects of poverty for students. Participants will develop activities to build caring relationships with students based on mutual respect and trust. Additionally, they will develop action plans to incorporate effective instructional practices to promote a culture of possibility in their classroom. They will reflect on their own biases and expectations and develop methods for ensuring equity in their practice. Participants will take time to think about their professional accountability to ALL students and learn about the impacts of efficacy and self-awareness. This course is a must take for EVERY educator. PreK-12
Solving the Reading Puzzle: Using Assessment to Drive Intervention
This course will help you boost achievement in reading especially with those students struggling to learn to read and read to learn. Learn about reading assessment including, differentiating instruction and intervention in the five areas of reading. Come away with a better understanding of how reading assessment drives remediation and instructional planning, as well as many resources. K-12
Curriculum Design and Instructional Strategies: Education’s Dynamic Duo
This course will have participants digging deep to combine the power of effective curriculum design with engaging instructional strategies to increase student achievement. K-12
Anxiety Awareness: Empowering Students with Help and Hope
Mental health professionals are shining a light on the pervasiveness of anxiety, highlighting the need for increased awareness and attention to this issue. Young people are notably affected: anxiety affects 1 in 5 children, and 70% of teens say that anxiety is a major problem facing their age group. This course will give educational professionals the tools they need to support students who have anxiety, including foundational knowledge about anxiety, its symptoms, and a look at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Participants will complete the course equipped with ready to implement strategies for teaching coping skills, ideas for accommodations, and considerations for tools and processes to support students who have anxiety. K-12