Jerry Dzerens II

Excellence in Teaching
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 06/06/2023

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

Since the inception of career education, it seems employers have consistently claimed that students lack so-called soft skills. Although there's no universal agreement on what to call them, the term represents a set of skills (including things such as teamwork and communication skills) regarded as essential for long-term success in the workforce. ACCSC refers to these types of skills as essential workforce skills. This course will help institutions adopt a framework for high-quality career education programs, holistically integrate essential workforce skills into their programs, enhance students' development and demonstration of them, and prepare to achieve Essential Workforce Skills (EWS) Programmatic Certification.
This course is designed to assist personnel at all levels of an educational institution in the understanding of the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ("Title IX") as amended on August 1, 2024, and the Clery Act as amended in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ("VAWA"). These laws require that all individuals in an educational institution understand and comply with the laws in terms of what is prohibited behavior in relation to sex-based harassment and/or sexual violence, and what steps are to be followed when such prohibited conduct occurs. This course gives the participants information about the laws, as well as procedures to follow, to provide for the rights of all individuals under the laws. It also provides additional resources to assist educational institutions in continuing to build and strengthen their Title IX and VAWA policies, procedures and training throughout the year.
This course provides methods and techniques for managing students and class activities. We start by reviewing the steps instructors need to follow as they introduce a class to new students. We then discuss strategies to effectively deal with unfocused and challenging students. The course ends by describing common mistakes made by instructors and ways to avoid them.
This course shows instructors how to develop a comprehensive approach to effective and efficient instruction. From preparation for the classroom to selection of instructional delivery methods, the course provides effective ways of planning instruction to help instructors keep the content focused and the students engaged. We also cover the steps to set up a complete evaluation system that will work in all settings.
This course provides methodologies and examples to help instructors increase content retention and application by students in need of support. The course starts by covering the skills needed by instructors to be clear communicators. We then discuss ways instructors can become effective in monitoring students and using student groups as learning tools. The course concludes by covering techniques and strategies to instruct diverse learners, including learners with disabilities.
Retention is an issue, and what happens in the classroom is a critical factor influencing a student's decision to stay or go. The classroom environment may be hurting your students' view of the quality of your programs. In this course, you will learn tips and techniques to deal with environmental influences such as your role as the instructor, the classroom, the interactive activities, the support materials, and the sequence of instruction as well as other subtle influences. You will learn to view the environment from the student's perspective to increase your teaching effectiveness and student retention.
This course covers the different ways individuals learn and apply new knowledge. We start by covering the steps the brain goes through as it processes new information, and how knowledge is stored and retrieved. We then discuss how intelligence is measured and how learners process information through the use of multiple intelligences. Moving from theory to practice, the course shows instructors how to use the learning needs of students to increase knowledge acquisition and retention. The course includes a number of easy to implement strategies to help students retain and use new content.
This course will inform you of how careful lesson planning can help to ensure increased student engagement. Proper lesson planning will enable you to teach effectively and efficiently, and ultimately help students meet learning objectives. The information in this course will provide the framework for instructional development enabling you to properly structure a detailed, well thought-out lesson plan.
Outstanding teachers serve their students by guiding them through their coursework and motivating them to complete program requirements. Instructors at educational institutions are often faced with high stress resulting from heavy teaching loads and limited time. When teachers cannot manage their own time and stress, they cannot fully serve the needs of their students. This course will show instructors how to manage time and stress in their lives and teach some of these skills to their students.
This course provides an introduction to the concept and philosophy of active learning, and describes a variety of methods to help instructors "activ-ate" their class. The course includes active learning examples that utilize both critical and analytical thinking skills. We also identify the risks that may discourage instructors from using active learning strategies and offer suggestions for managing them. A three-step method is suggested for developing an active lesson, and a comprehensive model is offered as a guide for creative active learning strategies.
This course is intended to offer a practical explanation of how an instructor’s behaviors and choices can influence the motivation of students. It is not intended to be a theoretical or academic treatise about motivation. Module 1 offers useful tips that may help instructors to motivate students. Students’ security and autonomy are described as they influence motivation during instruction, questioning, activities, and evaluations. This is followed by a discussion of how motivation can be improved by enhancing students' sense of autonomy when making assignments, selecting instructional methods, implementing classroom procedures, and developing evaluations. In Module 2, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are defined and compared. Finally, a variety of "miscellaneous motivators" are offered for instructors to consider.
This course compares and contrasts four styles of classroom management. The course includes "virtual visits" to animated classrooms where participants observe four instructors who exhibit different management styles. The style that is preferred by most students is identified and described, and suggestions are offered on how instructors can modify their personal style to increase their effectiveness. A four-step model for developing successful classroom management strategies is presented and is followed by a discussion of a practical, behavioral approach to classroom management. Characteristics that foster good discipline in the educational institution and in the classroom are listed and explained, and tips are offered that can improve both institution-wide and classroom discipline. Finally, a number of scenarios involving common discipline problems are described.
Questioning can be one of the most effective classroom teaching strategies. However, many instructors are not familiar with the techniques and research findings associated with good questioning. This course begins by comparing and contrasting the major types of questions and their most appropriate uses. Some relevant statistics and research findings are presented, followed by a discussion of four effective questioning practices. The course concludes by offering a few tips and suggestions for instructors to consider.
This course is an overview of a variety of ways in which educators can infuse technology and web resources into every day curriculum, to engage learners and promote collaborative learning. A variety of resources and suggestions are contained within this course, allowing everyone from the novice to the technology expert to take away what is appropriate for them, their students, and the course, in order to integrate 21st century teaching resources and practices in a practical and beneficial manner.
This course will provide you with a basic overview of the background of an innovative instructional strategy called the Flipped Classroom. This instructional strategy is gaining popularity and differs from traditional instructional strategies. This course will discuss the background, driving factors, benefits, barriers, theoretical grounding, how to prepare to flip your classroom, and the components of the Flipped Classroom. The impact on student learning will also be discussed in addition to instructor preparation and the future of the Flipped Classroom.
While educators increasingly use technology in the lab setting, many don't know where to start when trying to use it during didactic instruction. Furthermore, administrators have a hard time rolling out these initiatives. This course will go through the stages of a solid rollout plan to take advantage of available technologies. It will also discuss how to teach with technology as an enhancement to education, not a replacement. This course helps instructors, administrators and support staff to better understand how to use these tools.
As students from different generations are enrolling in post-secondary settings today, instructors are presented with the challenge of how to engage, instruct and relate to these multigenerational learners. This course gives profiles of different generational learners and how they engage in the learning process. Content is shared on how to relate to learners of the different generations and how to use students' life experiences as learning opportunities. As technology is an essential part of instructional delivery, strategies are given for building on the abilities of multigenerational students to use social networks, portable media (given the parameters of school policy), and personal interaction. In addition, instructors are given methods that can be used to help students develop the critical thinking and interpersonal skills needed for career success.
This course explores the different components of student empowerment and the value that it has in learning success. Student empowerment is a necessary component for students as they transition to and through postsecondary training. Content will be presented that will raise awareness of what student empowerment is and how it can enhance the learning process for students. Strategies are given for enhancing the development of student empowerment that can be implemented both online and onsite.
Awareness has grown in recent years that, to be effective today, learning must include more than knowledge and "hard skills," or technical ability. In a world where work is often team-based and project-driven, teaching needs also to encompass attitudes and social competencies. This course will describe ways students can enhance their professional skills across the curriculum. Strategies for teaching effective personal interaction and ways to support student professional growth and development will be discussed. This course will also explain how students can improve their writing skills and computer literacy across the curriculum.
This course highlights the various ways in which learning can be more applied and integrated through the use of online instructional tools and environments. This is the case for all programs, including "hands-on" programs. The process of learning integration necessarily includes other steps in the process and these are explored in this course. These include expanding content, encouraging applied questioning, and analyzing implications. Throughout, the importance of online tools and environments are explored in relation to supporting more integrative and applied learning.
This course will explore the online learning landscape and how to ensure learner engagement remains high, even when working virtually. The course discusses various aspects of online education, as well as discussing techniques for both social and motivational forms of engagement and how to apply them appropriately in courses. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of the topic and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your school. In addition to lecture videos, links to possible resources, and assessments, you will be able to utilize the Journal and Learning Activities. Take advantage of a method that best works for you.
This course explores the critical differences between management and leadership. Participants will be introduced to definitions and myths about each area as well as how management and leadership must coexist for an organization to operate effectively. Participants will explore their own management/leadership tendencies.
In this course, you will learn what it means to be a manager, as well as how to navigate the complex and often stressful transition from individual contributor to a new manager.
Note: This course is closed for new enrollments and will be retired on June 30, 2021.
This course will help you master effective time management techniques. You will learn to analyze how you currently spend your time and pinpoint opportunities for improvement. The course will show you how to plan your time efficiently using scheduling tools, control time-wasters, and evaluate your schedule once it is underway.
This course is a collection of ideas and best practices drawn from the implementation of enrollment growth strategies at over 300 educational institutions nationwide. The course is based on a highly successful in-service training program offered by Dr. Joe Pace, Managing Partner of The Pacific Institute and includes video delivery of Pace's presentations. Filled with practical tips and suggestions, the course also discusses the application of current research results on human behavior and organizational culture to enhance student enrollment and retention. This is a unique course that will dramatically change your perspective on institutional effectiveness.