Action research is a process of inquiry and reflection in which educators examine their personal instructional practice systematically using the techniques of research. This online course addresses concepts associated with action research, the processes and procedures for conducting action research, culminating in the development of an action research plan.

Action research is a process of inquiry and reflection in which educators examine their personal instructional practice systematically using the techniques of research. Action Research for the Classroom™ Online addresses concepts associated with action research, the processes and procedures for conducting action research, culminating in the development of an action research plan.

Given the growth of online teaching and learning, educators explore ways to incorporate best practices to meet the needs of all learners. This online course focuses on designing courses and activities for blended (part online and part face-to-face) and synchronous online learning environments. Participants will progress from defining these environments to designing course outlines and learning activities, and will conclude with considerations for implementation, assessment, and evaluation of each.

How can classroom teachers harness the power of online technologies like blogs, podcasts, and wikis for student engagement and learning? Course participants will experience the Web as more than a source of information, instead using it as a means of constructing new knowledge through conversation, networking, and collaboration. The focus is on tools currently available and how to use them effectively for student research, writing, and learning.

Classroom Management: Orchestrating a Community of Learners is a Performance Learning Systems^® online course that equips experienced and beginning K–12 educators with current, research-validated concepts and strategies for orchestrating classroom life and learning so that instruction flows smoothly, student misbehavior is minimized, and learning potential is maximized. Participants will learn strategies associated with seven key areas of expertise that collectively contribute to a teacher’s classroom-management effectiveness: creating an inviting classroom climate, structuring a positive physical environment, establishing rules and procedures, maintaining momentum and flow, reinforcing positive behavior, responding to misbehavior, encouraging parental involvement, and maintaining personal resilience.

Creating Professional Learning Communitiesâ„¢ Online (PLCs) is a dynamic, results-driven course that emphasizes teamwork, group learning, and professional development. Participants will share ideas, discuss divergent views, and formulate a mutual perspective on how they can significantly improve student achievement. Through team building activities, participants explore the challenges that educators face when forming and sustaining learning communities in schools and districts. By collaborating with classmates, participants learn what a professional learning community can accomplish and how the collective intelligence of an effective team is more powerful than working individually. Collaborative leadership, open communication, and a collective focus on results are explored in detail. At the end of the course, participants will have the skills necessary to form highly-productive PLCs in their schools and districts. They will also have a greater understanding of group learning and how team building strategies lead to student achievement.

Cultural Competence: A Transformative Journey equips experienced and beginning K–12 educators with the knowledge, awareness, and skills to work in today’s diverse classroom settings for the end goal of student success. Participants will be given opportunities to critically examine how privilege and power impact educational outcomes and to understand the role of educators as agents of change for social justice. Learners will use the framework of knowing yourself, your students, and your practice to better understand their role in student achievement. Diversity will be explored through multiple perspectives, providing participants with insight into how their own cultural lens impacts their relationships with students and families.

Learn how you can help provide your students with an education fit for tomorrow. This course introduces participants to existing frameworks for 21st century skills developed by enGauge and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. In particular, the course focuses on the importance of information literacy, adaptability, and risk taking skills. In addition, participants will learn important multimedia skills and how to share their creation through read/write Web tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and social networks. The course covers new metrics and means of evaluating student work, as well as the need for organizational change in order to integrate these skills into existing educational institutions. For the culmination of the class, each participant will plan a student project that meets curricular goals and helps to develop 21st century skills.

Developing Online Facilitation Skills is a Performance Learning Systems® online course that focuses on the principles and best practices of successful online facilitation on any learning platform. Participants will practice specific online communication skills with multiple tools, manage assessments and feedback appropriately, analyze and solve problems, and create a plan of action for teaching their next online course. Through class activities, practice course simulations, collaboration with colleagues, and dedicated coaching from the course facilitator, participants will gain the necessary tools to nurture a reflective online learning community.

Differentiated Instruction for Today’s Classroom is a Performance Learning Systems^® online course that equips experienced and beginner K–12 educators with the essential knowledge and skills to implement differentiated instruction (DI) successfully in their own classrooms. As a widely respected, research-based instructional approach, DI provides teachers with effective, manageable strategies for meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population within the context of today’s challenging standards-based curriculum. In a highly interactive learning environment that models the DI principles and processes, class members will gain expertise in understanding and implementing a broad range of strategies associated with three essential, distinguishing components of DI: first, the teacher’s role as guide and facilitator in a classroom environment specifically designed to support self-directed student learning and teacher-student collaboration; second, the interdependent nature of assessment and instruction in a DI classroom; and third, the implementation of specific instructional strategies to adapt the curriculum content, processes (activities), and products to provide students with entry points to learning that match their readiness, interests, and/or learning profiles.

A new generation of learner is entering classrooms with a different focus and learning style than their baby boomer or Generation X teachers. This Net-Generation has grown up under the influence of video games, instant access to web-based information, powerful handheld gadgets and constant connectivity. They value technology, experiential learning, working in teams, and social networking. This course examines the learning styles, expectations and technical acumen of the Net-Generation and explains the implications for classroom learning environments. During the course you will learn the key differences between the generations and how those differences can be bridged through sound instructional design techniques. You will also learn how to leverage the gadgets, games and gizmos of these students to create pedagogy that meets their needs and transfers knowledge from teacher to student.

Discover the strategies and best practices of successful online facilitation in order to engage diverse learners, support various learning styles, and handle conflict constructively. Learn how to manage assessments and feedback, analyze and solve problems, and create a plan of action for teaching in an online learning environment.

Foundations of Literacy: Beginning Reading explores the components of early reading defined by the National Reading Panel and the International Reading Association. Students will build a knowledge base for each component and then apply that knowledge within a classroom setting. Several modules will include brief discussions on compatible informal assessments. Students will construct a portfolio of teaching strategies for each component. At the end of the course, students will construct a final capstone lesson plan which will incorporate each early reading component for use in the classroom.

Apply research-based teaching strategies designed to develop mathematical literacy and foster logical thinking. Build upon and expand your current understanding of geometry by exploring how lateral thinking, vocabulary, a knowledge of learning styles, an understanding of your state standards, and technology enhance student learning.

Arts-infusion is a powerful approach to teaching and learning. This course explores the role of the arts in education. It introduces the elements inherent in the four art forms (music, dance, drama and visual arts) and models infusion of the arts disciplines across the curriculum, specifically within Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. Arts-based teaching strategies are described and applied. Participants develop arts-infused lesson plans and the course culminates with the design of an arts-infused unit of study.

Instructional design is the process of analyzing learners� needs and developing instruction that answers those needs. Understand the basics of instructional design, explore philosophies of e-learning, and receive hands-on experience with online delivery and interaction techniques and tools.

Centered on scientific strategies aligned with state and national reading research initiatives, this course addresses implementation of a balanced, integrated approach to teaching beginning reading. These specially-designed curriculum resources and teaching strategies enhance the reading process across all areas of the curriculum.

Explore ways to incorporate multimedia projects into the classroom. Empower students to move beyond rote learning into problem solving, collaboration, researching, designing, testing, and communicating. You must have a working knowledge of PowerPoint before enrolling in this course.

Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences is a Performance Learning Systems® online course that focuses on helping experienced and beginning educators identify and understand the multiple intelligences as a means of creating instructional strategies that meet the needs of today’s diverse classroom. By first examining Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (MI), including the criteria used to validate each intelligence as well as a broad selection of supporting research, participants will become familiar with the characteristics and learning needs associated with each intelligence domain. By using Web-based resources to guide them as they experience and debrief MI activities, participants will gain depth of insight about how MI informs and improves the instructional process from a learner’s perspective. Finally, by applying their growing knowledge and expertise to the lesson-planning process and evaluating the outcome of their implementation efforts, class members will learn how to assess their own students’ learning needs and adapt their instruction accordingly. The instructional process, which combines knowledge acquisition with reflective evaluation and purposeful application, provides participants with a powerful demonstration of the power and potential of teaching and learning through multiple intelligences.

This two week course introduces “Questions for Life™ – a set of questions that you can use to promote your students’ critical thinking and to support course management. The course will help you incorporate questioning skills that include questioning patterns or combinations and other methodologies. Students will practice writing and using questions in discussion in live or synchronous chat sessions.

This course emphasizes research-based active learning strategies which participants will integrate into their grade level and content area classroom to enhance all students' learning. After implementation of these reading strategies into the classroom, participants will be able to plan lessons more effectively, discover how to engage students, deepen students' understanding of content, and prepare them for success beyond the classroom. Participants will discover how to enhance learning by using specific strategies before, during, and after reading. Topics also introduced will include learning styles, multiple intelligences, intelligent behaviors, types of text, text structures, notation systems, assessments, and motivation.

Reading to Learn: Comprehension Instruction is a Performance Learning Systems^® online course that provides K–12 educators with the expertise and tools teachers need to improve reading comprehension in students at all grade levels and in all subject areas. Through the accompanying course CD-ROM, participants will gain access to current research of seven scientifically based comprehension strategies derived from the National Reading Panel’s benchmark study. They will explore explicit classroom-based applications of each strategy and apply each to their own classroom or content areas. As participants come to understand the complex processes related to reading-comprehension success, they will increase their ability to guide students to interact purposefully with text and construct meaning, increasing not only their comprehension but also their motivation and achievement.

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This online course explores the sophisticated skills and habits of mind students need to be successful in post-secondary education, the world of work, and for lifelong learning. Educators will develop a deeper understanding of the terms rigor, relevance, and relationships as they are used in academic settings and will have multiple opportunities to reflect on their own practices, engage with new ideas, and apply tools and processes to use with their students. Student and educator mindsets, methods for increasing rigor, supporting student success through relationship building, connecting engagement to relevancy, and revising units to reflect CCSS are among some of the topics explored during this course.

Course Description: Pennsylvania has undertaken a significant effort to improve its schools through the focused development and deployment of elements, strategies, practices, and resources aligned to the Pennsylvania academic standards. The components of this comprehensive approach comprise the state�s Standards Aligned System (SAS). The components are: Clear Standards, Fair Assessments, Curriculum Framework, Instruction, Materials & Resources, and Interventions. While there are many intangible components, research supports the notion that great schools and school systems have six elements that ensure student achievement: Clear Standards, Fair Assessments, Curriculum Framework, Instruction, Materials & Resources, and Interventions. When schools and school systems use these elements in concert with a common vision, they will experience continuous enhancement and improvement within their schools, districts, and communities. This course examines the six components of a Standards Aligned System (SAS) and provides methods for implementing SAS to enhance student learning, engagement, and achievement.

This course examines the content in the secondary school content curriculum standards and helps students make connections among the higher level courses they have taken in college and the material taught in secondary schools. Students study the content and pedagogy appropriate for teaching high school content curriculum standards. They enhance their familiarity with national standards and the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and examine standards-based teaching and curricula in light of current education research. Students learn that problem solving is central to all of teaching and learning and that it is to be incorporated as a central theme in their own instructional practices. Students also examine research on how adolescents learn presented content curriculum and learn instructional strategies for teaching coursework to children from diverse cultures and ability levels.

This course will familiarize teachers with contemporary gaming technologies, enable them to understand the pedagogical models behind games, and demonstrate how gaming models may be used for learning. Video games provide today’s youth with new kinds of learning experiences—such as leading a virtual civilization or running a virtual guild with hundreds of other participants from around the real world. Through gaming, children engage in complex problemsolving, sophisticated collaboration, and creative expression. However, there is some doubt about the effectiveness of gaming as a learning tool when restricted by old learning models. Today’s youth must contend with this dichotomy: life outside school—open access to information, opportunities for deep expertise, multiple pathways for learning— and the learning inside school—traditional learning models, limited access to technology. With growing momentum, a new generation of educators is embracing games for learning. Some are already using learning games like Civilization, a commerciallyproduced game, in the classroom. Promising research shows that games can—and will— become powerful learning environments for children (Barab, S., Dodge, T. Tuzun, & et al, 2007; Squire & Jenkins, 2003). Using the interactivity inherent in video games but with complex learning models, this new generation of games is becoming readily available.

Strategies for Middle School Science Teachers™ Online examines the methods, strategies, and curriculum of the successful middle school science classroom. Participants will investigate the unique characteristics of the middle school learner and become familiar with a variety of techniques to involve those students in a meaningful educational experience in science. Topics will include effective planning, integrating technology in science, managing and organizing the classroom, utilizing appropriate assessments, questioning and communication strategies, meeting the needs of diverse learners, and connecting the science classroom to the real world.

Gain new techniques to model, teach, and support responsible student behavior while creating a classroom that fosters personal power and self-responsible behaviors. Examine how you can expand your own personal power by encouraging appropriate behavior and empowering students to make good decisions.

This course provides an overview of and an opportunity to review the major concepts necessary to teach algebra to middle school students. Among the several core competencies that students need to develop strong skills in algebra is algebraic number sense. Teachers will have opportunities to evaluate their own mastery of algebraic number sense, develop a stronger number sense, and explore ways to help students enhance their own number sense. In addition, participants will learn the importance of scaffolding concepts for student understanding.

Identify the academic content which English language learners need to compete with native speakers in a consistently competitive global and information society. Design and deliver appropriate language and content instruction for these students.

Learn how to match brain-compatible teaching strategies with learning style preferences while addressing the basic motivational needs of students.

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Discover how digital primary source archives can enhance and improve student learning. Use online resources to access and analyze primary sources, think critically about classroom applications, and develop authentic, engaging learning experiences for students.

In this hands-on writing workshop appropriate for teachers of grades 3 through 8, you will discover content-area appropriate strategies for modeling writing formats, supporting below-grade level writers, engaging all students in writing, and balancing the expectations of writing and content in both formal and informal assessments.