AccelerateU Online Professional Development Course Catalog is a course that runs for 12 weeks is a course that runs for 6 weeks is a course that allows you to work on your own (self-paced) during a 6 week period
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This course is a 7 hour workshop designed to meet the NYS Education Department’s requirements of Autism training for those applying for a teaching certificate or license in special education. This on-line course goes beyond the SED required syllabus in order to provide an opportunity for enhanced training for all interested educational staff and administrators. The course will entail information on definitions, etiology, characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder, evidence-based instructional methods and interventions, positive behavioral management strategies, and effective collaboration, resources, and supports available. Successful participants will receive a signed certificate from their course facilitator to submit to the NYS Education Department as proof of completion.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
What are some of the best ways that students can cope with stress in their lives? This timely 7 hour course is intended as an introduction to students’ educational, relationship, loss, trauma, and familial stress which negatively affect learning. Typical warning signs as well as physical, mental and emotional effects of stress will be discussed. This course will provide educators and administrators with ideas for alleviating student stress. Ways that students can use/ develop coping strategies and tools to help build resiliency will be addressed.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Teachers everywhere are looking for strategies to implement in their own classrooms that will help them deal with the increasingly diverse populations that they are now teaching. The intent of Course II is to examine some of the relevant current literature and thinking related to issues of inclusiveness. If you are grappling with concrete strategies to meet the needs of ESL students, those from different religious or racial backgrounds, or impoverished students, you'll find ideas here!
Participants will be exposed to a variety of effective teaching strategies and methods and have the opportunity to practice some new ones as well as enhance their current practice. Many ideas can be implemented the next day in your classroom! Communication with their facilitator and other participants will allow them the opportunity to share best practices.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
The key to effective communication relies in the construction of successful relationships. These relationships may exist in the school culture between the mentor and the new teacher or a veteran who is assisting a teacher new to the department. This course is vital to creating strong partnerships.
This 7-hour, instructor-led course will assist experienced educators in the navigation of the mentoring process. Communication skills will be enhanced with students, parents, and peers.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This fifteen hour course is designed as an introduction to the philosophy and current research on critical thinking. Throughout this course, you will be required to read several articles and selected readings from various expert sources, interpret their thinking and compare it to your own. Please note: Critical Thinking is designed using a "constructivist" format. The participant is directed to explore, explain, expand, extend, exchange, and examine using many information sources to construct their own meaning related to critical thinking. This is a cyclical process that takes place throughout the course and you are asked to continue the inquiry and add to the exchange of ideas with others in the course. This truly is a community of learners.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
In this 7 hour course, you will examine the issue of bullying in our technologically advanced world. Bullying is not a new behavior, but a new type of bully- the cyberbully-has emerged. By taking this course, you will be able to identify forms of cyberbullying, the effects of this type of bullying, and the educator/administrator responsibility related to cyberbullying. Through video, articles and activities, you will experience personalized encounters with cyberbullying as well as increase your knowledge. You will be able to complete a plan of action to deal with cyberbullying in your own school.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Differentiated Instruction is a teaching philosophy based on the premise that teachers should maximize student growth by meeting each student where he/she is and helping the student to progress. It involves offering several different learning experiences in response to students’ varied needs. It is not a recipe for teaching; it is not an instructional strategy; it is not what a teacher does when he/she has time. It is a way of thinking about teaching and learning.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This course 7 hour course will focus on 8 common conditions that any teacher may encounter in the classroom. Your discoveries and insights from this course can help understand student’s behaviors. The information is ever evolving as the fields of medicine, neuroscience and education collaborate.
Special needs learners are not a homogeneous group. Their disabilities may be as individual as they are. By learning more about strategies, interventions and techniques you will increase your repertoire in meeting their needs.
Remember that diagnosis of conditions should be left for specialists after appropriate testing. You as a teacher or support person may be able to provide information to assist in the process. High expectation should be maintained for all students!
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Current brain research unravels the mystery of how children actually learn. This 7 hour course is designed for teachers (pre-school, elementary, secondary, special education and vocational education) and educational support staff to examine and understand appropriate applications of brain research to enrich the classroom. Particular attention will be given to: biology of the brain, significance of plasticity, the importance of making meaning and the role of emotion in learning and memory. Participants will gain a partial understanding of why certain procedures and teaching/learning strategies work. They will also identify how they will apply these three research findings in the classroom.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Diversity" can mean so many different things to so many people! During this fifteen hour, twelve week course, we will examine our own definitions of diversity, explore what the research has to tell us about this important topic, be enlightened by experts in the field, discover some useful and fun strategies and materials for the classroom build culturally sensitive lesson plans and assessment pieces, and finally re-examine our diversity definitions.
Course content is based on a 30 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This 30 hour online course is based on the work of Madeline Hunter and others and upon the research on human learning. Critical to the theory is the belief that teaching is a constant stream of decisions made by the teacher before, during and after instruction. These decisions either promote or impede learning. Participants in this course will be expected to post lesson ideas, tips and questions to the group discussion boards.
What are the seven areas of responsibilities for teachers? The introductory video below will provide essential background knowledge for you before you begin your coursework. More specifically, it will acquaint you with:
the Elements of Instruction course from a content and technical perspective;
the rigor and expectations of the course.
the definition of teaching as a steady stream of decisions, the implementation of which increases the probability that learning will occur (see Glossary)
the seven areas of responsibility of a teacher
the four Essential Elements of Instruction based on Madeline Hunter's work.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
As an experienced teacher, I was often concerned about new teachers. How could I best help them and yet allow them to be independent? As I worked through these issues, I became better able to assist teachers new to the district. A way of thinking developed and it is this philosophy, along with practical ideas, that we will share throughout this 7 hour, instructor-led online course. This course is specifically developed for veteran teachers with at least 8 years of experience who are new to the mentoring concept. It should be viewed as an introductory module.
Health and Safety Online Training Series Self-Paced Course Registration is required.
This is a series of self-paced courses designed to keep you informed and up-to-date on safety precautions. You will be asked to watch a series of 5-minute videos, then take a brief quiz. If you answer all of the questions correctly, you will be asked to enter your name and choose your school district, and print your own completion certificate.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Welcome to "Multiple Intelligences." Throughout this 15 hour course you will journey into that miracle of all miracles, the human brain. You will have the opportunity to learn some basic brain functions, examine Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, design lessons including the different intelligences and develop assessments to align with those lessons. Actually, this course should be called "How Are You Smart?" because you will be examining all the different ways you and your students are smart.
To get us started think about something you have learned to do such as a hobby, to play an instrument or learn the background knowledge to teach a new concept in your class - it can be anything!
Think about the steps you went through, the attitudes and feelings you had at different times during your learning experience. Consider the following questions as you reflect:
What was the first thing you did?
What did you do when you became stuck?
How did you go about "mastering" your learning?
Did you seek outside help?
Chances are you exhibited and experienced different intelligences as you learned your new task. And chances are, not everyone tackled his/her task the same way. That is the basis for Gardner’s theory—there are different ways people have of knowing and understanding the world. Each of these is a distinct "intelligence," a set of skills that allows a person to find and resolve problems facing him/her.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Welcome to the ABC's of Rubrics. This 15 hour course is designed to acquaint you with the design and development of rubrics, a form of evaluation used to assess student performance. Some of the sample topics explored will be the concept of a rubric in general, holistic, analytic, and task-specific types of rubrics, troubleshooting rubrics, and assessing rubrics. We hope you enjoy your adventure!
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This 15 hour course is designed as an introduction to the teaching of spelling. Throughout this course, you will be required to read several articles from various sources, interpret their thinking and compare it to your own. The participant is directed to explore, explain, expand, extend, exchange, and examine using many information sources to construct their own meaning related to spelling. This is a cyclical process that takes place throughout the course and you are asked to continue the inquiry and add to the exchange of ideas with others in the course. Even though this course is targeted to K-6 teachers, it would be beneficial to teachers at higher levels who are interested in learning more about the spelling process.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This 7-hour course will help parents, teachers, administrators and support staff explore and understand the dynamics of victimization, including the roles of bully, victim and bystanders. Strategies students and staff can use to deal with bullying and harassment, while emphasizing positive social skills such as respect and empathy, will be provided. School staff and faculty and will learn how to focus on the problem and develop ways to counter bullying in a school setting.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This fifteen hour course allows you to explore topics that will enable you to develop a positive and productive relationship with a student teacher. As you delve into what makes you a successful teacher and what makes your classroom environment one that promotes learning, you will gain new insights into the many responsibilities of a teacher, the complex aspects of the teaching and learning process, and the essentials of good teaching. One of the most important roles of the supervising teacher is to help the pre-service teacher become an effective planner, instructor, and manager. Given this important task, the supervising teacher needs to hone his or her skills in observation of teaching and the manner in which you can give immediate verbal feedback as well as engage in a mutual dialog regarding positive and negative aspects of performance.
With increased demands on the classroom teacher, addressing the needs of students with special needs becomes a difficult task. This self-paced course looks at the ways in which a regular education teacher can help all students meet the Standards. Learners using this course will examine strategies and interventions to help students with learning disabilities, AD/HD and emotional disorders meet the Standards in regular education classrooms.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This 7 hour course will allow participants to learn to use a functional behavioral assessment format (ABCs of behavior management) to objectively observe student behavior, identify problem behaviors that fall into the Skill Deficit category and the Performance Deficit category, and learn intervention approaches that address behavior in each deficit category. Participants will be required to do an ABC observation that includes identifying the type of deficit the behavior is representing and writing up a brief intervention plan for that behavior.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
This 7 hour course expands on the basic elements of writing a functional behavioral assessment that was learned in the ABC’s of Behavior Management. It provides in depth practice at writing the FBA so that it is useful for long term change in behavior. The concepts of skill and performance deficits, and behavioral excesses are revisited in terms of behavior modification principles and participants will become practiced at designing interventions that are linked to the FBA hypothesis.
Course content is based on a 15 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 12 weeks to complete the course with your group.
In this 15 hour course participants will analyze the question, 'What is Reading?' by focusing on the reading process and the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to become proficient readers. How Reading works will be investigated. Reflections on the strategies an effective reader uses to read a difficult text will be explored. The basics of Reading along with major teaching strategies will be examined. Participants will take a look at phonics instruction and the latest research.
In this video the author explains the origination of the foundational reading information and gives an overview of the course. Be sure to watch this short clip to gain a better understanding of the direction you will be headed.
Course content is based on a 7 hour workshop. Registration is required. You will have 6 weeks to complete the course with your group.
Research-based practices can help school communities (administrators, teachers, families, students, support staff and community members) recognize the early warning signs of violence so children can get the help they need before it is too late. This 7 hour course presents a brief summary of the research on violence prevention, intervention and crisis response in the schools. The course facilitator will identify specific signs that could lead to violence in a child. The facilitator will discuss strategies that will help to prevent violence that could occur in the school, community or home.
This course will introduce Search Institute's philosophy of the Developmental Asset approach to positive youth development. Participants will become familiar with the Internal and External Assets that contribute to the development of ALL children and young adults. The resources of Search Institute's website will be used to understand the research and the on-going work that supports the Asset philosophy. Through articles and individual activities, participants will have an opportunity to: (a)reflect on the asset builders in their lives, (b)what can be done immediately to improve the lives of any and all young people, and(c)to set a larger goal to commit to the increased asset building for all OUR CHILDREN.
This course has been specially designed for occupational and physical therapists working within the school system. Throughout the next six weeks, you will have the opportunity to select and begin researching a topic that is of interest to you. This course is not intended to guide you through the complete phase of setting up a research project. It will, however, provide you with the framework and tools necessary for gathering data on your topic to provide you with the information you need. The course has also been designed to increase your familiarity with Internet sites that are pertinent to you as a therapist.
This course provides a vehicle for the paraprofessional to explore the concept of collaboration in depth. Help will be provided to establish the paraprofessional as a viable partner in the classroom. The skills both teachers and paraprofessionals need for collaboration will be examined. Roles, rules and relationships tips will be investigated and suggestions for overcoming barriers to collaboration will be included. Participants will draft an action plan to work through with their supervising teacher.
Ultimately, the overall goal of helping students achieve, can be more seamlessly attained by developing a thorough understanding of collaboration.
In this course, participants will learn the history of DBQs and be exposed to a theory of why the skills necessary to answer DBQs properly call for a closer look at how we teach social studies. In addition participants will become acquainted with the structure of DBQs, examine some good examples, and practice building their own. Ample time for reflection and sharing are built into the course.
It's time to take a look at how to use the Internet effectively in your classroom. From classroom management issues to ways to focus both you and your student's time, we'll help you work through the critical issues in making the Internet an effective tool in your teacher's toolkit.
Economic, administrative, political and regulatory restrictions are impacting the decision of who qualifies for language therapy intervention. The goal of this program is to increase the speech and language professional’s awareness and understanding of these issues in order for them to make well informed decisions concerning language service eligibility.
The content of this course will involve the presentation, definition and discussion of influential issues and their affect on the decision of who receives language service intervention. These issues include economic, political, and administrative roles of the regulatory agencies that are influential in approving services; how language is defined by these regulatory agencies, and how these various definitions determine the student’s eligibility factor.
The program is divided into three sections. Section I, discusses the key players that determine language service eligibility and the economical, political and administrative factors that influence this decision making process. Section II, defines and discusses the integral components of language and their effect on the learning process of a child. Section III, discusses various language assessment instruments and the role the speech language pathologist plays in analyzing these outcomes.
Once considered a “frill”, research continually proves that music can actually be an integral part in improving the learning process. This course will explore the benefits of music instruction from the pro social skills it encourages and teaches: its ties to the core academic curriculum, and its improvement of listening skills to some of the research surrounding music’s impact on the brain and brain based learning. Social and emotional impact will also be discussed, as well as, the advantages of moving music from “extra curricular” status to “co-curricular” status. Participants will finish this course with, not only a better grasp of music’s impact on education, but concrete ideas on how to incorporate music into their educational programs.
A Facilitator's Guide to Professional Development Plans and the Annual Professional Performance Review Video. Meant for those facilitating groups through the development of the Professional Development Plan, this self-paced course will explore the turn-key training materials created by the State Education Department and provide helpful hints and tips for those facilitating this process. Group dynamics, overcoming obstacles and other materials will be provided through this course.
This guide is designed to assist those teachers electing the self-evaluation process as part of their annual professional performance review (APPR). Learners in this self-paced course will have the opportunity to examine the process an organization might go through in evaluating, the criteria suggested by the State Education Department, what resources are needed for this type of evaluation and how to focus the learning that is taking place.
In this self-paced course, participants will be exploring the ways in which an educator can make informed decisions regarding classroom instruction. As the learner examines the use of data in the classroom specific aspects of improvement will be described including: how collaborative efforts enhance student learning, and various elements of planning. Throughout this experience, participants will have the opportunity to gain clearer understanding by reviewing various models that have been effective in real classrooms.
An effective facilitator has the ability to make a huge difference in the outcomes of meetings, committee work and group projects. All people can learn the skills of facilitation. This course will help aspiring facilitators prepare to lead groups and to utilize effective strategies that help groups move forward while maintaining positive relationships.
One of the tasks of this course is to attend a meeting and reflect on the experience. Be sure to inquire about meetings in your district or community in advance so you can be prepared!
Welcome to Understanding Literacy for Paraprofessionals! We're glad to have you join us in this introductory exploration of Literacy. This course will examine the basic elements of a strong literacy program through the lens of the paraprofessional. The role of the paraprofessional in supporting students in being strong readers and writers will be highlighted, as will some strategies for reading comprehension, spelling, and writing.
