Professional Development Institute

Online Courses and Teacher Resources

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All online courses are approved for graduate-level credit through Chapman University, a fully accredited university.

Content Area Literacy: Nonfiction Books in the K-3 Classroom (K-3)

This course focuses on practical strategies teachers can use for integrating nonfiction, informational books into the K-3 classroom as a valuable supplement to classroom textbooks. With a focus on how to teach expository reading skills, the course also covers comprehension, text structure, and strategic reading instruction. Teachers will learn how to develop and benefit from the use of thematic units, how to teach expository reading and comprehension in the three content areas based on state standards, and how to adjust their teaching to help English Language Learners.

Instructional Approaches for Literacy Development (Pre-K-3)

A Primary Teacher's Guide to Positive Discipline (K-3)

This course helps teachers to learn new and innovative ways for managing and controlling behavior using traditional and non-traditional, positive methods for discipline and order specifically for the primary classroom. Teachers will be provided with many resources and ideas to effectively manage their primary grade classrooms and student behavior while proactively promoting organization, communication, safety, structure, and a positive classroom environment that supports learning.

Positive Discipline: A Powerful Approach to Classroom Management (4-12)

This course helps teachers to learn new and innovative ways for managing and controlling behavior using traditional and non-traditional, positive methods for discipline and order specifically for the upper grade classroom. Teachers will be provided with many resources and ideas to effectively manage their classrooms and student behavior while proactively promoting organization, communication, safety, structure, and a positive classroom environment that supports learning.

The Six Traits of Writing (K-6)

You've heard about the six traits of writing and want to know more about it. You want to understand how to successfully teach the traits to your students so they can be better writers. This course will teach you all the basics you need to get started.

Young Adult Literature in the Classroom (4-8)

This online course focuses on strategies for teaching literary elements using young adult novels. Specific definitions, strategies, and activities will be shared for teaching critical literary techniques such as character development, setting, plot, symbolism, point of view, and style. Resources for selecting quality young adult novels will also be shared.

Study Smarter Not Harder: Study Skills for Students (K-6)

Do your students need study skills training to help them become better students and test takers? This course will provide techniques, ideas and resources for helping students to develop their study skills such as the use of mnemonics, time management and note-taking skills, and the ability to establish a good study environment. With the use of visual aids, innovative strategies, and helpful worksheets, teachers will be able to develop their students’ study skills and help take the fear out of test-taking.

Differentiated Instruction: One Size Does Not Fit All (K-6)

Do your students struggle when they have to write anything other than a narrative essay or story? This online course focuses on helping students learn how to write research reports. The focus will be on teaching students organizational patterns, as well as how to develop an outline, and thesis statement. Teaching students how to do research and then read and paraphrase for writing will also be emphasized. Teachers will gain assessment strategies as well.

Diagnostic and Prescriptive Teaching of Reading (K-3)

In this online course, participants will learn how to diagnose reading difficulties and make accommodations for those difficulties in the classroom. Teachers will also learn how to work with individual students to improve their reading skills by selecting, modifying, and preparing appropriate instructional materials.

Teaching Real World Math: Tools and Techniques for the Primary Grades (Grades K-3)                                   

A must for elementary teachers! This online math course will focus on appropriate instructional tools and techniques to help you connect math standards to instructional practice. The course content will help you to move beyond teaching math basics to helping students develop a greater conceptual understanding of math as well as how to use math in everyday life. Excellent ideas for connecting math to literature and technology will also be shared. 

Reading in the Primary Grades: A Balanced Approach (Grades K-3)

This online course is designed to help teachers of primary grades to teach reading more effectively. The emphasis is on a balanced approach to reading and includes the following components: systematic phonics, reading for meaning, using children's literature, and teaching district and state standards. A must for any teacher seeking to improve the reading skills and comprehension of students.

Classroom Management Survival Course (K-12)

This online course focuses on helping teachers with classroom management strategies. Teachers will learn many useful and practical techniques for working with students such as how to establish a discipline plan, establishing rewards and consequences, and teaching routines. A particular focus is effective strategies for working with difficult students.

Teaching Reading to Struggling Readers: Identification, Intervention, and Remediation (Grades K-3)

This course focuses on teaching reading to special populations of students such as struggling and low performing readers, English Language Learners, as well as gifted/advanced readers. Specific intervention and motivational strategies will be shared. Assessment options such as running records and miscue analysis will also be presented.

Instructional Strategies for ELD and SDAIE (K-12)

Teachers are truly struggling with the best ways to help their English Language Learners. This course focuses on offering teachers strategies to use for ELD lessons as well as SDAIE lessons. The Into/Through/Beyond approach is emphasized along with a variety of assessment options appropriate for ELL students. Just a few strategies presented include scaffolding, think/pair/share, K-W-L, reciprocal teaching, cooperative learning, anticipation guides, quick writes, graphic organizers, and learning logs.

Teaching Reading in Grades K-3: Putting Reading Research into Practice (K-3)

This online course focuses on helping teachers work with students on key reading skills. The emphasis is on improving phonemic awareness and teaching students an explicit, systematic approach to phonics. However, we also address the connections between word attack skills and comprehension, the importance of fluency on comprehension, and vocabulary development. Ideas for using children's literature in the classroom are also shared.

Developing Phonemic Awareness in Emergent Readers (PreK-2)

This course focuses on developing a child’s phonemic awareness to prepare him or her to be a successful reader. The course begins with phonemic awareness assessment options. Based on the assessment results, the teacher can determine which strategies are most appropriate for each student. Instructional strategies presented in the course include: rhyming, alliteration, onset and rime, syllable segmentation, and many more.

Focus on Phonics (K-3)

This course focuses on effective ways to teach children to decode unknown words. Phonics basics will be emphasized along with specific ways to help students who are struggling in this area. Using context clues and structural analysis as a means of decoding will also be introduced. Teachers will also learn how to use the Making Words strategy and how to use Reader’s Workshop.

Comprehension The Key to Successful Reading (K-3)

This course focuses on improving students’ comprehension skills. The course begins offering three different options for assessing comprehension. Then, teachers are introduced to a wealth of strategies that can improve and support a reader’s comprehension. Strategies presented include: anticipation guides, DRTA, questioning techniques, text structure, guided reading and reciprocal teaching.

Word Play: Vocabulary Instruction in the Primary Grades (K-3)

This course focuses on how to improve student’s vocabulary. The course begins with options for vocabulary assessment. The results of the assessment will be used to guide instruction and select appropriate and effective instructional strategies. Strategies presented include word roots, semantic feature analysis, categorization, analogies, concept maps, traditional resources, and cloze procedure to name just a few.

Using Children’s Literature in the Classroom (K-12)

Do you love using children’s books in your classroom? Do you want to find out about excellent new books and fun ways to use them in your classroom? Get prepared for the next school year! This online course will focus on the best children’s books available to use in all four content areas. Fun and educational ideas for using children’s literature will be shared. If you love children’s books….don’t miss this class!

Reading to Learn: Developing Strategic Reading Skills (Grades 4-12)

Designed to help teachers raise student's performance scores in all curricular areas by improving content reading skills. The focus will be on strategies that help increase students' reading comprehension of content material. State and school district standards for reading and language arts will be emphasized and referenced throughout the course. Technology and Internet resources will also be explored.

Effective Strategies for Emergent and Early Writers (K-3)

Discover effective ways to encourage emergent writers and offer them strategies to become successful writers. You will be armed with the ideas you need to strengthen your writing program. The developmental stages of writing will be one focus of this course along with specific examples of writing domains. Strategies for using writer’s workshop with emergent writers will also be shared.

Effective Strategies to Improve Student Writing (4-12)

This course offers an unbelievable amount of information to help teachers improve their students’ writing skills. All four writing domains are covered in detail including organizational patterns for writing, graphic organizers, writing ideas and tasks, rubrics for assessment, prompts, and strategies. Also, each stage of the writing process is highlighted with specific strategies and suggestions for each. Other course topics include specific writing standards, writer’s workshop, forms of assessment, mini-lessons, and using technology to improve student writing.

Hands-On Learning with Math Manipulatives (K-3)

This exciting course helps teachers use math manipulatives to increase students’ understanding of basic math concepts. Critical reasons for using math manipulatives will be explored in-depth as well as how manipulatives help students learn important math standards. Many ideas for using math manipulatives will be offered. All the ideas can be used immediately to help students grasp important basic math skills. 

Reaching Students Through Character Education (K-12)

Now, more than ever, character counts! Learn the six building blocks of character and how to explore them with your students through discussions, activities, and projects. Teach your students how to make the right choices in problem situations and help build their awareness of accountability for their actions. You will be amazed at how much easier classroom management is when you help students develop character and values. This is a very rewarding course for you and your students.

Effective Strategies for New Teachers (Grades K-12)

Created to help new teachers become highly effective teachers. Topics addressed in this course include engaging curriculum ideas, writing quality lesson plans (with clear objectives that address key standards), assessment techniques (including rubrics and portfolios), themes and literature ideas, management techniques, discipline strategies (rewards and consequences), and, of course, technology integration. Teachers participating in this training will have an online mentor for the entire four weeks to guide them and support them through their first teaching experiences.

Improving Your Students' Test Taking Skills (Grades 2-8)

Are you feeling pressured to improve your students’ test scores? Are you going to be held accountable for their scores? This online course will help you to better prepare students to take standardized tests. Learn the tricks that help students perform better by effectively analyzing test questions. A wide variety of test taking strategies will be presented all of which are sure to help improve your students’ scores.

Technology Courses

Designing and Creating a Virtual Field Trip (Grades K-12)

Take your students anywhere in the world! This course will teach you how to develop a Virtual Field Trip based on any content area. Participants will learn how to locate relevant resources and develop an effective Virtual Field Trip. Internet search strategies will be emphasized along with practical approaches to incorporating standards into the development of the Virtual Field Trip.

Managing & Integrating Technology into the Curriculum (Grades K-12)

This course focuses on the management issues teachers struggle with such as
scheduling students for computer time, writing lessons and thematic units that integrate technology, using the computer as a center, tips and tricks, the Internet, and getting the most out of the available technology.

Designing and Creating WebQuests (Grades 3-12)

The education world is buzzing about the Internet. One way to effectively use the vast resources on the Internet is through a WebQuest. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information students interact with comes from resources on the Internet. Participants are led through the process of setting goals, gathering resources, and planning the WebQuest. A template is provided for creating the online WebQuest. Additionally, rubrics for assessing what students learned from the WebQuest are also introduced.

Also Available:

• Designing and Creating WebQuests for Your Language Arts Curriculum

• Designing and Creating WebQuests for Your Social Studies Curriculum

• Designing and Creating WebQuests for Your Mathematics Curriculum

• Designing and Creating WebQuests for Your Science Curriculum

Technology Based Projects (Grades K-12)

Participants design and create a sample multimedia project to use in their classrooms to introduce a concept or theme. Then, they create word processing and multimedia project ideas for their students to do in the classrooms, along with assessment instruments to evaluate those projects. Multimedia portfolios are also discussed. Participants will need HyperStudio or PowerPoint  in order to complete the projects.

Using the Internet to Enhance Your Language Arts Curriculum (Grades K-12)

This course explores the resources available on the Internet to enhance and support the language arts curriculum. Comprehensive lists of sites will be provided but time will also be spent helping teachers develop effective search strategies so that they may find quality resources on their own. Participants will complete an online scavenger hunt and learn to design a similar activity for their own students. Teachers will also explore interactive sites appropriate for students. They will be expected to revise existing lesson plans, thematic units, and activities to incorporate online resources and references.

Also Available:

• Using the Internet to Enhance Your Social Studies Curriculum

• Using the Internet to Enhance Your Mathematics Curriculum

• Using the Internet to Enhance Your Science Curriculum

Effective Internet Search Skills for Teachers (Grades K-12)

If teachers are going to use the Internet to find resources to use in their classrooms, they need to develop effective search strategies for locating these resources. In this course, teachers will use and explore the search engines available and determine which is the best for their needs. Teachers will also practice narrowing topics and using Boolean search terms to get the best possible results from a search.

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