Timothy Berry

Excellence in Teaching
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 09/22/2021

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This course will provide an overview of career readiness including information and activities that may be incorporated into your courses. This course, which forms Part I of a two-part series, provides details about four specific career readiness skills: critical thinking/problem solving, verbal/written communications, teamwork/collaboration, and information technology applications. Additional thoughts and resources will also be provided to allow you to consider multiple ways to assist students in developing these skills in your courses.
Virtual reality (VR) lessons can be implemented in all subject areas, and this course is designed to get teachers thinking about how it can be used in their classrooms. VR can be a nice addition to the teaching toolkit, but some resources, including hardware, will be needed. In this course we use the Meta Quest 2 headset by Oculus, but the results will be similar if different headsets are used. Various software applications will be shared that teachers can acquire for little or no cost.
This introductory course covers the essential roles of a teacher and the competencies required to be a successful instructor in an educational institution. Proven techniques and strategies for planning and preparation are presented and discussed. In addition, the course offers effective methods for conducting the first class meeting and delivering course content. This course provides a solid foundation for new instructors and serves as an excellent refresher for more experienced instructors.
The instructor is the real key to student retention at any educational institution. Instructors must keep focused on student motivation and retention each and every day of class. Developing strategies for retaining students throughout the entire training sequence is both complex and rewarding. All instructors should have the goal of seeing all of their students successfully complete their class. This course helps you reach that goal by helping you to understand your students and use proven motivation and retention techniques to keep them enrolled and engaged in the learning process.
Educators work with students who want to learn specific skills that will lead to fulfilling careers. As educational instructors it is our job to help each student to achieve this goal. Just as you may have a particular style of teaching that you prefer, your students have preferred ways of learning. This course will help you to identify the different learning styles of your students so that you can adjust your instruction to better accommodate them. Good teachers also regularly monitor the effectiveness of their instruction by assessing their students’ learning. This course will examine several aspects of assessment including how to create good tests, how to ask effective questions and how to get your students to actively participate in their learning by asking questions themselves.
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 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.
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 begins by identifying the two most significant issues that influence the motivation of adult students: security and autonomy. The course explains how increasing students' sense of security can enhance their 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 and planning evaluations. The course concludes by comparing and contrasting extrinsic and intrinsic motivators and by suggesting a variety of "miscellaneous motivators" 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.
The purpose of this course is to provide instructors with a very basic introduction to the concepts of soft skills and emotional intelligence (EQ). It is designed especially for new instructors in career schools who have little or no training in educational techniques and who are unfamiliar with the basics of emotional intelligence. The course provides a comparison of hard and soft skills, including people skills and workplace behaviors. Ten important soft skills are discussed in detail and the relationship between EQ and soft skills is explained. The course concludes with tips and suggestions to help instructors enhance their soft skills and EQ.
Generation Y students are often associated with their use of technology. While technology is an essential part of their lives, there is much more to know about Gen Y learners. This course gives a profile of Generation Y learners and how they relate to other generational learners in the classroom. Strategies are given for engaging Gen Y students in the learning process while building on their abilities to use social networks, portable media and personal interaction. Instructors of Gen Y students are given methods that can be used to help them develop the critical thinking and interpersonal skills needed for many of todays careers.
Service learning programs help students take their knowledge and skills out of classrooms and labs into community settings enabling them to use critical thinking and problem solving abilities. This course provides information about the advantages of using service learning as a teaching tool while enhancing the growth of students. Implementation steps are covered so participants will be able to make service learning a part of program offerings as well as providing career opportunities for students.
Planning Effective and Efficient Instruction provides new and experienced instructors with practical ways to design and deliver learning experiences that establish an environment that facilitates learning. The course summarizes important academic concepts while providing specific strategies for planning lessons, reaching learners, asking questions and assessing student mastery of the course and program objectives.
Cultural diversity includes a wide scope of differences. While we plan instruction to meet outcomes that are usually supporting a set of pre-determined standards, instructors are faced with a high level of diversity in every class group. It is important for instructors to be aware of diversity and strive to include every student, regardless of difference, in their learning community. This requires intentional planning and accessible instructional design that includes all students and empowers every student to succeed.
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.
This course introduces the participant to teaching students with disabilities in the environment of an educational institution. It provides descriptions of the physical, sensory, mental, psychological, and learning disabilities most likely to be encountered, as well as the effects these disabilities have on students and their learning. The course also introduces participants to accommodations and strategies that may help to support students with disabilities and foster their academic success.
Instructional planning and delivery is undergoing dynamic changes with the availability of technology and expanded avenues through which information can be provided. Instructors need to be aware of how they can expand their instructional formats to include the latest technology and learning theories. This course provides information about the different forms of learning and how they can be implemented into classrooms and laboratories. Other topics covered in the course include different strategies for learning including transformative and cooperative methods as well as collaborative and experiential methods that help to engage learners.
The classroom in an educational institution is often more than just chairs, books, and a white board. Frequently the learning takes place in a lab or shop environment, where the traditional rules of classroom management and teaching may not always apply. This course covers the instructional techniques necessary for the non-traditional classroom, including strategies for teaching to each student's individual learning style. In addition, this course describes strategies for assessing student progress. Safety guidelines and considerations for specific lab and shop environments are identified.
Experiential learning is intended to extend students' educational experience beyond the traditional classroom setting. It is a structured, student-centered way to integrate curriculum-based educational experiences utilizing practical applications and active involvement. This course discusses strategies for extending the curriculum into the workplace. Information is provided on how to educate the internship site and how to create useful forms and processes for documenting and implementing successful internships. This course describes the different roles of the institution, the student, and the internship site. It will identify ways to supervise students, as well as ways to evaluate and assess student success at internship sites.
As opportunities for education become more prevalent, educational institutions must compete to increase, or even maintain, their student enrollment levels. More and more institutions are adopting the strategy of treating students like customers in order to be successful. This course will review the characteristics of adult learners and determine the reasons adult students leave the institution. It will discuss the concept of interacting with students as though they are customers and how the students-as-customers concept relates to the instructor and the classroom. This course will also describe the methods and techniques of effective communication. Included are guidelines and techniques for advising and mentoring students.
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.
Stress is something that is present throughout all workplaces in the world. It is often something that cannot be avoided, but instead, must be properly managed. Burnout on the other hand, is something that is less frequent, but far too prevalent. Burnout can cause even the best worker to slow down in productivity and quality (often dramatically). Throughout this course, we will discuss stress, burnout, and many of the causes that you may notice on even a daily basis. We will discuss how to appropriately handle and mitigate stressors, and how to lessen the risk of burnout occurring.
Crisis management begins with creating and implementing a plan of action that can be executed efficiently and quickly. As an educator, it will be important to recognize signs of crisis in yourself, fellow coworkers, and even students on campus. If you are an administrator, it not only takes a keen eye to recognize signs of crisis in yourself, but this also applies to recognizing crisis in others around you. In this course, you will explore the various aspects of a crisis, how to identify individuals in crisis, and how to appropriately respond to those individuals to improve the overall situation.
The purpose of this course is to build cultural competency in instructors who teach students from diverse backgrounds. This will include a review of critical terms, ideas, and real-world case studies, providing instructors and administrators with useful information and takeaways they can apply to their practice. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of cultural competency and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your institution. In addition to lecture videos, resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize Journal and Learning Activities, which will continue to be useful after successful completion of the course.
This course will explore the field of gamification and the way that gaming and gaming elements have come to impact our everyday lives, and can improve our courses. Focusing on easy-to-implement concepts, this course will help you to begin utilizing gamification elements to increase learner engagement and motivation, and increase overall student success. 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, possible resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize the Journal and Learning Activities.
Your degree of success as an online instructor relies heavily on several factors, among which are your level of preparedness before the date on which the course is launched; your ability to make a smooth transition into the roles and responsibilities associated with teaching in an online environment; and the effectiveness and efficiency with which you manage learners, instructional transactions embedded in the course as well as the learning environment. In this course, you will learn how to project your authority and presence into the e-learning environment, build a relationship with each learner, promote and nurture learner participation, provide informative and constructive feedback in a timely manner, minimize attrition, manage communications, manage unacceptable behavior and resolve disagreements.
This course outlines the main characteristics of "dynamic" course design for blended instruction and highlights effective teaching methods that facilitate the learning process. Participants in this course will be able to customize the design principles and methods presented here to suit their individual professional context.
This course will provide you with strategies and techniques to help prepare students for the online environment. To do so, you must also assess your strengths and weaknesses as an online instructor. As you help students assess their readiness for online learning, you are also preparing them for the expectations and realities of the online environment. By identifying students' strengths and weaknesses, you can provide guidance to help them achieve the learning outcomes. This course not only notes the necessary technical skills, it also discusses non-technical skills as well as techniques for successful learning and helping students develop their online persona.
This course will provide you with a basic overview of designing and implementing asynchronous, self-directed online courses effectively. It will review the differences between synchronous and asynchronous online courses. Traditional components of face-to-face courses such as readings, written assignments, and discussions work well in the asynchronous online class environment, but what happens to laboratory assignments and applications? Can they fit into the online course model? Courses which need a lab component, especially the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses, may seem impossible to complete in the online environment. Practical examples of effective online lab situations will be provided in this module. This will assist in promoting student engagement and increasing the student's learning potential.
Focus is essential to effective teamwork. In this course, you learn how to diagnose and overcome common problems - such as poor communication and interpersonal conflict - that can impede team progress. You will also learn to take corrective measures to remove team problems and improve team performance.
This course provides sound advice on preparing and delivering presentations that command attention, persuade, and inspire. It includes rehearsal techniques as well as tips for creating and using more effective visuals. The course also addresses the importance of understanding your objectives and your audience to create a presentation with impact.
In this course, you will learn how to strengthen your coaching skills by using a four-step process to facilitate the professional growth of the employees you coach.
Feedback is an essential component of the communication process. In this course, you will learn when and how to give effective positive or corrective feedback, how to offer feedback upward, and how to receive feedback.
This course will show you how to set realistic goals, prioritize tasks, and track milestones to improve performance and morale.
In this course, you will learn how to manage your career - including how to identify your business interests, professional values, and skills in order to target your most exciting career possibilities.
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.
In this course, you will learn the difference between positive stress that enhances productivity and negative stress that breeds tension, lowers productivity, and undercuts job satisfaction. The course includes strategies for dealing with underlying causes of worry and stress, with tactical advice and coping mechanisms for immediate problem management.
This course provides practical advice for managers in charge of shaping and executing organizational strategy. The course includes tips for analyzing opportunities, challenges, and the potential consequences of high-level action plans. It also addresses identification of broad patterns and trends, creative thinking, analysis of complex information, and prioritization of actions.
How many times have we said “if we’d only known” as a student walks out the door? No one starts classes planning to fail, but unfortunately problems do arise that present barriers to success. Students are good at identifying these problems blocking their path to success, but they frequently don’t have adequate problem solving and communication skills needed to overcome these problems. This course looks at the effect of stress on attrition, the use of tools to identify and help students at risk, and how to develop an institutional culture that shares responsibility for student success across the entire organization.
Building a program to ensure a smooth "hand off" from Admissions to Faculty is a critical component of student retention. Applicants often develop a strong bond with their admissions representative that ends (from the institution's standpoint) once they begin classes. This online course provides practical ideas on designing an orientation program, first-week-of-class and other retention activities that connect the student with faculty, the college and each other that will help you retain and graduate more students.
Owners and directors of educational institutions are always looking for the magical ingredients to improve student retention. There are at least six easy-to-implement retention strategies that can make a difference in whether a student graduates or drops out. These include efficient admissions procedures, great orientation programs, effective mentoring, student friendly classroom involvement, fabulous graduations, and successful placement. Upon completion of this course, participants will have specific easy-to-implement retention strategies to put in place for every area of their institution.
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.
This course uncovers the secrets of today's successful businesses and their strategies of first-class customer service. You will learn the components of first impressions that can help you increase and keep your enrollments. This course will also help you to locate the specific areas of your operations where you can implement an improved customer service plan for your institution - whether it is admissions, student services or academics.
This course uncovers the secrets of today's successful businesses and their strategies of first-class customer service. You will learn the components of first impressions that can help you increase and keep your enrollments. This course will also help you to locate the specific areas of your operations where you can implement an improved customer service plan for your institution—whether it is admissions, student services or academics.
In this tutorial, we'll look at the characteristics of effective and measurable learning objectives. We'll also focus on how we can utilize learning objectives to guide us in selecting teaching methods, learning activities, and assessments that maximize student mastery of the lesson at hand.
This is a private tutorial intended for associates employed by Universal Technical Institute.