Category Archives for Curriculum and Instruction Design

Providing Effective Feedback to Foster Student Growth

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Examine the role of feedback in the learning process.
2. Differentiate the key components of effective feedback.
3. Apply best practices and strategies for providing feedback.
4. Develop a strategic feedback plan for an existing unit or project.

Building Your Google Classroom: Distance Learning Your Students Will Recognize

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Demonstrate growth in content knowledge related to teaching assignment and the application of content knowledge to classroom instruction and assessment.
2. Understand scientifically-based practices in teaching and learning, including strategies in literacy education, instructional technology, differentiation of instruction, and apply them to raise student achievement.
3. Demonstrate multiple means of assessing and evaluating student learning and use them to change teaching and learning.
4. Locate, interpret, synthesize, and apply educational research in best practices in teaching.
5. Understand models for professional change, including teacher collaboration, professional learning communities, strategies for mentoring and coaching to facilitate change, and effective professional development.
6. Demonstrate understanding of reflective practice that results in improved classroom teaching and learning, including teacher reflection, use of technology in self-assessment, collaboration for change, and self-management of change.
7. Demonstrate understanding of system and organizational change in education, including models for school change and current research and trends in school change.
8. Demonstrate responsibility for student learning at high levels.
9. Demonstrate responsibility for school reform and leadership in school change.

Gamification in the Classroom

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Examine the positive and negative aspects of gaming.
2. Apply best practices, strategies, and tools for gamifying classroom procedures and lessons.
3. Explore frameworks for gamification.
4. Develop a strategic gamification plan for an existing unit or project.

English Language Learners: 50 Strategies

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

1. Educators will learn about enhancing instruction through planning and visual scaffolding for language support and connecting communication to the real world.
2. Participants will learn how to create language-focused lessons, including read aloud techniques, to support ELL vocabulary building.
3. Educators will be exposed to academic language scaffolding and creating frameworks for language acquisition in skill level groupings while supporting individualized instructional needs.
4. Participants will be presented with dictoglos, GIST, and syntax surgery concepts for manipulating English grammar to comprehend a variety of language forms.
5. Educators will view the DVD 50 Instructional Strategies provided in the back of the book and complete activities to improve teaching techniques for ELL classrooms.

Tomorrow's Technology in Today's Classroom

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Review the variety and ever-growing availability of technological resources.
2. Design and utilize a wiki program.
3. Utilize and customize virtual communication mediums.
4. Discuss with the instructor and classmates varying platforms for student implementation of technological resources.
5. Produce and implement a virtual survey.
6. Create an online classroom using one of the recommended ecourse sites.

Universal Design for Learning

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Discuss the origin of UDL and its adaptation to a set of principles for education.
2. Explore the potential of UDL to positively impact the modern classroom.
3. Identify technologies to address each of the three principles of UDL.
4. Adapt an existing lesson plan to meet the principles of UDL and technology integration.
5. Reflect on the UDL model and its application.

Building Your Blended Classroom: Leveraging Resources to Reach Learners

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Evaluate the potential for online and technology-enriched instruction to engage and teach today’s learners.
2. Identify the major components of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism, and apply these theories to online and blended instruction.
3. Define the roles of an online instructor, and evaluate the importance of these roles.
4. Explore various Web 2.0 technologies and assess their potential as learning tools in an online or technology-rich classroom.
5. Create a unit outline for blended classroom application.

Grant Writing For Educators Made Easy

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Analyze the components to grant writing.
2. Evaluate the specificity of a grantee in accordance with the funding source.
3. Collect the essential data necessary to provide qualifying status of the grantee.
4. Develop the researching skill-set and communication tools necessary to find a funding source.
5. Discuss presentation style characteristics; both desired and detrimental
6. Complete grant applications that meet qualifying standards and monetary limits

Teaching in the Online and Blended Environments

- 3 Graduate Credits -

Course Objectives

From this course, participants will:

1. Evaluate the potential for online and technology-enriched instruction to engage and teach today’s learners.
2. Identify the major components of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and Connectivism, and apply these theories to online and blended instruction.
3. Define the roles of an online instructor, and evaluate the importance of these roles.
4. Explore various Web 2.0 technologies and assess their potential as learning tools in an online or technology-rich classroom.