Instruction Courses

Building Effective Parent-Teacher Partnerships

When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but also throughout life. In fact, the most accurate predictor of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student’s family is able to create a home environment that encourages learning; express high expectations for their children’s achievement and future careers; and become involved in their children’s education at school and in the community. Researchers typically agree that parent should be partners in the education process. This helps children do better in school andContinue Reading

Building Blocks for Understanding Mathematics: Grades 3-5

This course examines topics that build on students’ firm foundation of counting and number sense, basic addition and subtraction, place value, and the ability and confidence to apply their knowledge to solve important problems. Along with a discussion of content topics essential for mastery in grades 3-5 and research-based strategies used by successful teachers to ensure that mastery, this course presents information about how the preadolescent brain learns and how this should influence instruction.  Five components address these topics.  Component One:  Teaching Mathematics to the Preadolescent Brain.  It seems reasonable that efforts to teach are consistent with how the brainContinue Reading

Foundations for Understanding Mathematics: Grades K-2

What are the issues that commonly cause students’ natural abilities and love for mathematics to fade to difficulty and dislike?  This course will examine the skills and concepts that form the foundation for understanding mathematics.  In addition, it will examine the elements of instruction that have been found to nurture young students’ innate mathematical curiosity, confidence and ability.  Three components describe the content and pedagogy essential for instruction at these early grades.  Component One:  Counting.  The first component builds from a child’s innate ability to distinguish quantities and to react when the number of objects in a small collection hasContinue Reading

Coaching

This course addresses one of the most important changes in role and focus in education today: the emergence of the instructional coach. While the importance of coaching is obvious, many individuals selected to serve in the role of instructional coach are known for their experience or reputation as an experienced and successful educator, yet receive very little additional training in the competencies specific to successful coaches. There are four broad objectives for this course: To define the role of an instructional coach and place it in the context of professional learning and school improvement To build an understanding of theContinue Reading

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Side by Side Paraeducator Course 2

Side by Side: Part 2 This course serves to establish paraeducators as essential partners in providing quality services to students in schools. This course focuses on three critical skills that enhance the value of the supports and services provided to students and to their teachers. They are: Adapting instructional materials to increase student access to and success within the curriculum Providing meaningful assistance that is focused on student needs and is not stigmatizing and recognizes six levels of support that offer a continuum of assistance from most to least intensive and intrusive; and Creating a positive learning environment for allContinue Reading

Algebraic Reasoning

  This course is designed to build content knowledge of special education teachers providing instructional services to students in the areas of Algebra and Algebraic Reasoning. It may also be used as a review for general education mathematics teachers or paraeducators who may be supporting struggling students in the general education classroom. This course will sharpen your algebraic reasoning and skills to work with and communicate your algebraic thoughts to others. There are four components to the course. Component 1: Linear Algebra. This components will sharpen your thinking about topics in linear algebra. You will work with the different waysContinue Reading

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Collaborative Teaching 2

This course is a continuation of the Collaborative Teaching: A Marriage of Talents and Temperaments, which gave you the skills to build your collaborative teaching partnership. This course specifically focuses on collaboratively planned and taught lessons. The planning process in many cases consists of two phases. The first or initial phase involves drafting the actual lesson. The lesson is activity-based, rigorous as it relates to content standards, challenging and relevant to engage the learner, and inclusive so all students have the opportunity to learn and be successful. The second phase of the planning process involves the dialogue that occurs betweenContinue Reading

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Math Basics for Middle School

With the shift to inclusive philosophies and integrated practices, special education personnel, collaborative teachers, and paraeducators alike recognize that their roles are not static and are based on individual student needs. The emphasis now is on increasing the quality and amount of in-class support offered inside the general education classroom. This course provides educators insight on what skills students need to be successful in math at the middle school level as well as provide strategies on how to support student learning in this content-specific setting. Course Objectives Develop an understanding of foundational math skills at the middle school level AddContinue Reading

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Side by Side

There are approximately 700,000 paraeducators working in the nation’s public schools and additional thousands working in private schools today. These individuals represent a major resource in improving student achievement and building stronger and more effective schools. Yet, there is a consensus across many educators that this resource has never been adequately trained and prepared for the important roles they play. Similarly, most teachers are not prepared to supervise, train, and monitor their paraeducator partners. Course Objectives Describe the roles of the paraeducator and distinguish between the roles of a teacher and a paraeducator Discuss the importance of the paraeducator asContinue Reading

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