Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)
ED101Effective Teaching Strategies
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.
ED102Student Retention Methods
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.
ED103Student Learning and Assessment
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.
ED104Class Management Strategies
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.
ED105Instructional Planning for Student Success
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.
ED106Enhancing Student Learning
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.
ED112Influencing Student Motivation
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.
ED113Managing the Adult Classroom
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.
ED114Questioning in the Classroom
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.
ED116Critical Thinking Processes and Applications
The majority of careers require the ability to think critically and problem solve at one level or another. Employers seek individuals who can think independently, propose solutions, and solve problems. The content in this course provides the foundation for critical thinking and demonstrates how people with different interests, abilities, and aptitudes approach problem solving. The course covers the different kinds of intelligence and how they impact critical thinking, for a broader understanding of how people process solutions to problems. It concludes with step-by-step instructions for helping students develop and refine their own critical thinking skills.
ED117Teaching Gen Y Students
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.
ED128Practical Applications for Adaptive Learning
This course will provide you with an overview of various practical applications regarding adaptive learning. Adaptive Learning (AL) is the use of the technology to individualize learning. This course will provide practical information about integrating technology in learning, models of adaptive learning, and the evaluation of adaptive learning.
ED130Teaching Students with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Students (both veterans and non-veterans) with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are enrolling in career education in increasingly larger numbers. Instructors need to have a basic understanding of what PTSD is and how it impacts the lives of students. This course covers what PTSD is and the characteristics that students with PTSD may display. In addition, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is discussed as many students enrolling in career education have both PTSD and TBI. Instructional strategies to support the learning of students with PTSD and/or TBI will be discussed and examples given. Participants will also be given sources where they can gain additional insight into how to support the learning of students with PTSD and/or TBI.
ED132Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
Students with learning disabilities are enrolling in career education at increasing rates as a result of successful interventions and supports provided during their elementary and secondary schooling. This course describes the characteristics of students with learning disabilities and how having a learning disability impacts their learning process. As reading and comprehension is the essence of learning, it is important that instructors be knowledgeable in ways to support students with these learning challenges. Specific strategies for working with these students will be offered, to enhance the engagement and learning success of students with learning disabilities.
ED137Cultural Diversity: Including Every Student
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.
ED142Military Veterans: Integrating Veterans into Post-Secondary Classes
This course examines the various challenges veterans face when attempting to pursue courses of study following military engagements and service. While no instructor can possibly identify with every aspect of a veteran's experience, it is possible to become more aware of some of the challenges facing veterans as they reintegrate into civilian life. This course also examines effective instructional strategies in design and delivery to facilitate the success of veterans in a post-secondary environment.
ED201Students with Disabilities in the Classroom
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.
ED205Enhancing Students' Professional Skills
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.
ED206Teaching in the Lab and Shop Environment
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.
ED209Students as Customers
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.
ED404Building Cultural Competency in Instructors
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.
EL101Designing and Developing Online Courses
This introductory course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to create successful online courses, whether for faculty-supported distance education delivery or as a supplement to classroom instruction. You will learn to design and develop online courses that have structural integrity and navigational simplicity with a focus on student-centered learning and intellectual interaction. The course covers various learning activities that are supported in an e-learning environment and describes the typical components of an online course. We will provide you with the media strategies and course design methodologies that will allow you to develop online courses in an effective and efficient manner.
EL102Online Teaching Techniques
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.
EL103Teaching Online: A Student-Centered Approach
This course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to author, teach, assess, and revise successful online courses. You will learn to develop a course framework with consistent modules. Constructing an online community and a dynamic syllabus are important in helping you communicate with students. You will also learn how to develop an assessment plan including self- and peer-assessment as you progress through the course. No online course is complete without a comprehensive revision cycle. This course will walk you through the process of "closing the loop" to create a complete revision and improvement plan for your online course. We will provide you with ideas for student-centered learning, with activities and intellectual interactions using a variety of technology tools.
EL105Online Language: Communicating with Students
This course will provide you with information to help you effectively communicate with students and encourage communication among students in an online environment. You will learn the importance of facilitating instructor-to-student (I2S), student-to-instructor (S2I), and student-to-student (S2S) communication. Technology tools play a vital role in the communication process and several are discussed in this course. In addition, discussion is also provided to help you further understand how to manage and measure communication in an online course and help students communicate effectively.
EL106Evaluating Student Learning in Online Courses
This course will provide you with the knowledge to effectively evaluate student learning in an online environment. Technology tools play a vital role in the evaluation process and several are discussed in this module. Discussion will also be provided to help you further understand how to complete formative and summative assessments, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of objective and subjective assessments. Value-added assessments are also discussed in light of how they can be completed and provide feedback for course revision.
EL107Designing Dynamic and Technology-Rich Learning Environments
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 have an opportunity to customize the design principles and methods presented to suit their individual professional context.
EL108Preparing Students to Become Good Online Learners
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.
EL111Assistive Technologies for the Online Learner
This course will provide you with the basic foundations of assistive technology and its use in the online learning environment. As a greater number of students with disabilities are entering online education, this course will prepare online faculty to meet their unique needs. You will learn about the obligations and legal responsibilities under U.S. federal law. In addition you will explore ways of assisting students with disabilities to succeed in the online learning environment. We will help you identify the appropriate tools, introduce you to universal design, and provide strategies that can make your online course accessible to those with disabilities. Online accessibility is beneficial to all of your learners!
EL112Workload Management Strategies for Teaching Online
This course will provide you with strategies and techniques to help you reduce your workload in the online environment. The course begins with an overview of good principles for education and questions to consider prior to developing Workload Management Strategies (WLMS). This course also provides WLMS for teaching online, communicating and collaborating, and revising your online course.
EL201Online Communication: Engaging and Retaining Online Learners
Research shows that supportive working relationships between students and institutional personnel are vital to student retention. For online students, these relationships are especially essential in preventing a sense of isolation and detachment from their academic experience. Because interactions with online students are most likely to occur via phone and email, developing retention-supporting relationships can be challenging. This course teaches online communication strategies that foster connection and engagement with online learners. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of (a) retention and attrition research, (b) online learning, and (c) technology's unique role in both the relationship-building process and the online student experience.
LS101Do You Manage Or Lead?
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.
LS103Your Leadership Impact
Beyond understanding the role of the leader, the ultimate effectiveness and impact of a leader takes into consideration the followers and the situation, too. This course defines leadership impact and explores the Interactional Framework for Leadership.
LS105Your Leadership Toolkit
Get ready to add a number of skills to your toolkit as you develop as a leader! This course focuses on increased self-awareness in communication styles and learning; developing deeper understanding through empathic listening; and motivating through innovation.
ML113Team Management
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.
ML117Presentation Skills
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.
ML134Career Management
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.
ML136Stress Management
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.
RT101Improving Retention through Timely Intervention
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.
RT102Orientation and First Week Activities to Increase Retention
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.
RT103Implementing Successful Student Retention Strategies
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.
RT104Best Practices to Enhance Student Retention
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.
RT105Raising the Bar to 'First-Class' Customer Service
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.