| Professional Teachers Program |
Teachers Network, a non-profit organization that leads the field in teacher professional development - by teachers for teachers - is offering the Professional Teachers Program. The program provides high-quality materials as well as online courses to sustain, support, and further develop the professional skills and knowledge needed by all mid-career to veteran teachers.
Enroll in Teachers Network's Professional Teachers Program Online Courses on ten topics crucial to teachers. All courses are conveniently available online from a teacher's home or school computer.
Receive our Professional Teachers Handbook - written by teachers, for teachers. The chapters directly correspond to the content in the Professional Teachers Program Online Course Series.
Also receive our Professional Teachers Program DVD-Rom series for both elementary and secondary classrooms. Directed by an Emmy-award winning producer, these videos feature experienced, outstanding teachers in action, in their classrooms.
Have access to all the rich resources available on teachersnetwork.org - the #1 award-winning education website, by teachers, for teachers - proud recipient of the Association of Educational Publishers' Distinguished Achievement Award for Best Portal in Technology.
Licenses for these courses are available to school districts and/or universities for purchase. School districts and universities grant professional development credit for those who complete the optional assignment. For more information, contact Peter Paul at ppaul@teachersnetwork.org.
Courses Available for the Professional Teachers Program
| Maximizing Student Achievement through Classroom Management (Elementary) This course will help elementary school teachers learn about a variety of resources and best practices to help manage their classrooms to promote student achievement. The focus will be on both effective prevention as well as intervention approaches with the goal of maintaining a classroom environment suitable for teaching and learning. The elements of a well-managed classroom will be examined: elements include students who know what is expected of them, materials that are stimulating, accessible, and differentiated, and teaching methods that are appropriate to the students' learning styles and needs. Additionally, components of effective teaching, including time management, consistency, and motivation, will be discussed. |
| Maximizing Student Achievement through Classroom Management (Secondary) This course will help secondary school teachers learn about a variety of resources and best practices to help manage their classrooms and promote student achievement. The focus will be on both effective prevention as well as intervention approaches with the goal of maintaining a classroom environment suitable for teaching and learning. The elements of a well-managed classroom will be examined. Elements include students who know what is expected of them, materials that are stimulating, accessible, and differentiated, and teaching methods that are appropriate to the students' learning styles and needs. Additionally, components of effective teaching, including time management, consistency, and motivation, will be discussed. |
| Strategic Lesson Planning and Aligning Standards, Curriculum and Assessment Without a plan, it is difficult for teachers to succeed. A quality plan needs to take into account short-term planning (What am I going to teach today?), medium-range planning (What are the goals for my unit plan?), as well as long-term planning (How does today’s lesson fit into the annual goals for my students?). In addition to planning curriculum, teachers must account for the individual needs of their students, their varied learning styles, the physical layout of the classroom, availability of materials, push-in and pull-out programs, unexpected events, and myriad other factors. What do teachers want their students to know when they are ready to leave their classrooms? What skills will they need to become successful, productive citizens? As teachers attempt to align curriculum, assessment, and instruction, they must begin by looking at the big picture and finding the overriding ideas set forth by their districts’ standards. By thinking about the end result and envisioning various levels of proficiency, they begin to define their instructional goals. Only then can they determine appropriate assessments. |
| Develop Partnerships with Families, Find Resources, and Become a Reflective Professional This self-guided course will provide you with a variety of ideas that you can adapt to your needs. From working with families and identifying numerous resources to discovering best practices followed by experienced professionals, you will discover tools of the trade to enrich your teaching experience. Families are defined in many ways. During this course, we will use the term “families” to include all adult caretakers who are responsible for each child’s well-being. |
| Teaching Methods for Diverse Learners People learn differently. How you learn depends on your physical ability, your environment, and your talents and interests. Everything you learn is first perceived through your senses and is processed based on your intelligences. For example, when students have to explain a new concept, one may choose to draw a picture, another to write about it, and yet another may discuss it with peers or an adult. People are born with relative strengths and weaknesses. Teachers need to use the students’ strengths to aid in learning while developing the weaker areas. |
| Adolescent Literacy Across the Curriculum Middle and secondary school teachers observe that many of their students do not have adequate literacy skills to succeed academically, but few have an understanding of how to best support literacy development within their specific course content. In this course, participants will learn best practices that promote and support adolescent literacy in the contemporary urban classroom. They will implement research-based instructional strategies in their classrooms that support student understanding of subject matter, and differentiate instruction to address the diverse cultural, linguistic, social, and emotional needs of adolescents. Middle and high school standards and performance objectives are specifically addressed. This course will provide a variety of adaptable resources. |
| Teaching Positive Social Skills to Students This course is designed for those teachers who are interested in exploring methods of improving the social competency of their students, and infusing their classrooms with a positive, effective environment. You will be examining the social traits and skills students need to become productive members of our classrooms and society. In addition to the materials developed by teachers, for teachers, you will be using free Web resources that have been selected as most valuable for educators. I hope that you will find the materials interesting, and the assignments thought-provoking and relevant to your teaching. At times you will be asked to implement a specific activity in your classroom. It is suggested that you read ahead on the syllabus so that you may plan accordingly. |
| Balanced Literacy in Action This course will help participants learn how to create a classroom environment that supports effective literacy instruction for all learners. The components of balanced literacy, including the readers’ and writers’ workshop models, are explored. Creating effective mini-lessons and holding meaningful conferences to drive instruction will be an integral part of the course. Both formal and informal assessment instruments will be examined, including running records and the use of miscue analysis to interpret students’ use of the cueing system. Teachers will explore and share techniques that analyze various assessments and differentiate instruction to ensure that all learners are considered, including struggling readers and English Language Learners. |
| Balanced Literacy Part 2: Writer’s Workshop In this course, you will learn how to create a classroom environment that supports effective writing instruction for all learners, including struggling writers and English Language Learners. According to teacher Miriam Bissu, “The writing workshop model enables the teacher to provide a supportive environment in which young writers feel safe enough to take risks in the course of applying their learning about writing. An important part of the program is establishing a community of learners who respect their work and the efforts of others.” This course explores the components of the writer’s workshop with attention paid to creating effective mini-lessons and holding meaningful conferences. Both formal and informal assessment instruments will be examined in order to improve planning for differentiated instruction. Participants will share their analyses of children's texts to identify anchor texts that can be used to model writing. Participants will also develop one piece of their own writing through the writing process. |
| The Special Education Student in the Inclusion Classroom This course focuses on the legal and civil rights of special education students. The course offers strategies to deal with various behavior management and academic issues. Models of team teaching and classroom strategies to differentiate instruction are presented that can improve outcomes for both special and general education students in the inclusion classroom. Participants will learn the components of the IEP and its use as a tool to set goals and structure planning to improve student achievement. |
