Online

Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) online courses keep you up-to-date with strategies and learning theories.

COURSES:

Educational Administration

EDAU 9319 Leadership for Contemporary Schools

Principals who treat students with respect promote good communication skills and help create a positive school culture. This course addresses ways to help contemporary school leaders adjust to their changing roles.

EDAU 9327 Leadership: Effective Critical Skills

This course examines the critical skills that are important for educational leaders. These skills include communicating effectively, problem solving and decision making, resolving conflict, and building highly effective teams.

EDAU 9338 Dimensions of Learning: Observing Teachers

This course is ideal for administrators and central office curriculum specialists interested in sustaining classrooms and schools that promote effective learning principles—principles reflected in the five Dimensions of Learning. This course teaches how to observe and support these principles using a variety of strategies.

EDAU 9660 Leadership: Becoming a Leading School

In this course, participants will discover which strategies, when honed, can enhance a leader's competence. Participants will explore Douglas Reeves's research on leadership characteristics that contribute to improved student achievement, and specific 21st century leadership skills all leaders should possess.

Classroom Management

EDCU 9314 Bullying: Defining the Problem

This course focuses on the three components of an effective bullying definition and the effect of bullying on students and others within the community.

EDCU 9315 Classroom Management: Teacher-Student Relationships

This course asks participants to think about classroom management as a way of interacting with students. It suggests that cooperation and enthusiasm for learning are not things that teachers build in students; rather, they are behaviors and attitudes that teachers help students recognize within themselves. The course presents strategies that emphasize helping students discover that they want to be cooperative, active learners.

EDDU 9316 Classroom Management: Building Effective Relationships

Classroom management is often used as an all encompassing term to refer to how teachers physically organize their classrooms, determine schedules, and deal with discipline issues. The term usually implies one-sided action in the form of control—it's what the teacher does to manage materials, time, and children. The burden is placed entirely on the teacher. This course presents a broader conception of the term, one that takes into account the dynamic, ongoing relationship between teachers and students and between students and students.

EDCU 9317 Classroom Management: Managing Challenging Behavior

This course offers strategies to help teachers look at behaviors more objectively, perhaps even from the student's point of view. By understanding the student, the teacher can shift the focus from controlling the student to teaching the student personal responsibility, allowing the student to become a self-regulated learner.

EDCU 9318 Conflict Resolution: An Introduction

This course introduces teachers to the concept of conflict resolution, its value in a school environment, and the many ways to handle it. It will help teachers understand how they can—and why they should—emphasize conflict resolution in the classroom and, if feasible, throughout the school.

EDCU 9359 Understanding Student Motivation

This course explores the importance of finding out what motivates children and the ways that educators can put themselves in each student's shoes to frame the learning process around that child. Participants will define motivation within the context of the classroom, understand how a sense of belonging affects student motivation, and explore ways to build competence.

EDCU 9648 Understanding Student Motivation Challenges

This course addresses the conditions that foster student motivation and how to meet students' needs to enhance motivation in the classroom. Participants will explore strategies to cope with challenges and addresses ways to provide productive and positive choices for students.

EDCU 9667 Classroom Management: Models and Tools

This course addresses the conditions that foster student motivation and how to meet students' needs to enhance motivation in the classroom. Participants will explore strategies to cope with challenges and address ways to provide productive and positive choices for students.

EDCU 9668 Bullying: Taking Charge

This course investigates how an engaging curriculum can help eliminate most classroom management challenges. Participants will explore why it's important to give students a voice in the classroom, along with the strategies for doing so. In addition, they will examine several classroom management models as well as opportunities to adapt them for individual situations.

Teaching Methodology

EDDU 9308 Professional Development: It's a Process, Not an Event Registration Form

Participants will learn how to monitor the programs closely with the collection of formative data and then adjust the programs as needed to make them as effective as possible. Learn to ensure that adult learners increase their understanding and skills and can use what they learn in the workplace.

EDDU 9309 Substitute Teaching: The Basics

This course introduces the basics of effective substitute teaching that include the use of a sub pack, the value of preparation, and activities appropriate for any age group or subject. In completing this course, substitute teachers are helping to ensure that the absence of the students' regular teacher doesn't result in a lack of learning.

EDDU 9322 Substitute Teachers: Creating an Effective Training Program

This course identifies characteristics of an effective substitute teacher program, investigates several model training programs, and introduces alternative methods of finding and training substitute teachers.

EDRU 9333 Dimensions of Learning: The Basics

The purpose of this course is to explore the process of observing for Dimensions of Learning. Its central goal is to provide ideas and strategies for observers involved in all aspects of implementation, including assessing the extent to which techniques and practices are already in operation in the classroom or school and monitoring implementation progress.

EDDU 9336 Paraeducators in Your Classroom

This course gives educators a chance to consider their own ideas about supervision and see the contributions paraeducators and other adults can make to children's education. Participants will also have an opportunity to create a plan for training and working effectively with the paraeducators.

EDAU 9339 Multiple Intelligences: The Basics

This course introduces the theory of multiple intelligences. Participants will explore each intelligence area, create a personal intellectual profile, and be asked to consider how an understanding of the multiple intelligences theory can guide instruction so that student learning is enhanced.

EDDU 9340 Multiple Intelligences: Implications for Leadership

This course explores the benefits of a multiple intelligences focus, considers elements of implementation, and reviews leadership perspectives. Participants will also learn how to deepen understanding of ways to hone effective leadership traits, thus enhancing student learning.

EDDU 9341 Multiple Intelligences: Strengthening Your Teaching

The course reviews the theory of multiple intelligences, teaches how to design lessons using the multiple intelligences as a backdrop, and explains how understanding the multiple intelligences can greatly strengthen literacy instruction and improve the literacy skills of students.

EDDU 9343 The Reflective Educator

This course is a personal guide for laying the groundwork for participants to pursue and maintain their own development and professional leadership as an educator. Participants will consider their strongest beliefs, values, and questions about their role as an educator––and then act on them.

EDDU 9349 Your First Year of Teaching: Surviving and Thriving

This course is designed to help new teachers succeed in their first year of teaching. Although college coursework has prepared teachers for many of the experiences they'll encounter during this first year, much of what they'll face may not have been covered. This course will help prepare new teachers for the realities and challenges of the classroom.

EDDU 9356 Understanding by Design: An Introduction

This course offers a clear and accessible introduction to the Understanding by Design (UbD) program. Staff developers, in particular, can use it to introduce the framework to their district. Additionally, districts can use the course content to audit their existing curriculum management system using UbD principles and strategies.

EDDU 9357 Understanding by Design: The Backward Design Process

This course provides an overview of the principles of Understanding by Design (UbD) and will guide participants in applying the design principles and strategies associated with the UbD framework. Participants will use the three stages of backward design to create an actual unit, critique units using evaluation criteria, and apply UbD principles to improve school-based and district curriculum.

EDDU 9358 Understanding by Design: The Six Facets of Understanding

This course explains why teaching for and assessing understanding can be both challenging and critically important. It then explains each of the six facets in a separate lesson. Each lesson reinforces the relationship of the six facets to the backward design process, including how educators can use them to identify desired results and improve assessment tasks and activities.

EDDU 9361 What Works in Schools: An Introduction

This course addresses the three major categories of factors Marzano identifies as having a high correlation with students' achievement: school-level factors, teacher-level factors, and student-level factors. This course will help participants to understand and apply the insights and strategies identified by Robert J. Marzano in the best-selling ASCD publication What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action.

EDAU 9362 What Works in Schools: What Schools Can Do To Improve

This course begins with an overview of the 11 factors Robert J. Marzano summarizes in his groundbreaking work What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action. Marzano also identifies five school-level factors that make a statistically significant difference in student achievement. The course includes suggestions about how to use them to improve schools and districts.

EDDU 9649 Substitute Teaching: More Strategies

This course investigates what's needed to become an effective substitute teacher—from classroom management, to teaching strategies and working with special-needs students. The lessons explore the difference between reactive and proactive discipline strategies and identify cognitive, affective, and organizational accommodations.

EDDU 9651 Partners in Schooling: For Parents

In this course, participants will learn the value of parental involvement in schooling, identify six types of parental involvement, and explore strategies for maintaining effective two-way communication.

EDDU 9652 Multiple Intelligences: Designing a Classroom Environment

In this course, learn about the theory of multiple intelligences as well as ideas and suggestions for ways to integrate it into the classroom. Participants will reexamine the use of learning centers through the lens of the multiple intelligences; learn how to redesign the classroom to incorporate the different intelligences and create an environment for all of them to thrive.

EDDU 9659 Learning Theory in the Classroom

This course explores several influential teaching models and discusses the role of personalization through the incorporation of learning and teaching styles into the educational paradigm. Participants will investigate the strengths and weaknesses of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

EDDU 9662 Formative Assessment: The Basics

This course defines formative assessment and discusses how to use it in the classroom. Participants will explore how to provide meaningful feedback and consider how students can be active in the assessment process. The course features perspectives of educators who have worked extensively to improve assessment in schools.

EDDU 9664 Dimensions of Learning: Observing Students

This course is ideal for administrators and central office curriculum specialists interested in sustaining classrooms and schools that promote effective learning principles—principles reflected in the five Dimensions of Learning. The central goal of this course is to delve into the Dimensions of Learning program by observing these techniques within the learning organization through several essential questions that are addressed throughout the course.

EDRU 9669 The Brain: Developing Lifelong Learning Habits

The exercises and activities in this course will help participants learn how to establish positive teacher-student relationships; create safe and affirming learning environments; and help students develop helpful learning habits.

EDDU 9670 Achievement Gaps: The Path to Equity

This course explores the many factors that contribute to unequal patterns of achievement among different groups of students. Although educators can address some of the issues that affect students' readiness to learn, it will take a network of concerned people and institutions to help students overcome other barriers to academic achievement.

English Language Learning

EDDU 9329 English Language Learners in the Mainstream

This course aims to prepare teachers to work more effectively with English language learners in mainstream classes. Among other goals, participants will learn how demographic changes affect schools, the importance of culture when teaching ELL students, and supportive strategies that can be implemented in any classroom.

Computer/Technology/Software/Games

EDDU 9329 English Language Learners in the Mainstream

This course is designed for the educator who is familiar with and uses technology, but who understands that the use of technology in the classroom will need to change if teachers are to help all students become technologically literate. The lessons investigate what good technology use looks like in the school environment and reviews emerging technologies.

Language Arts/ Reading/Writing/Literacy

EDLU 9321 Literacy Strategies: Creating an Effective Secondary Reading

This course is designed as a literacy road map to guide educators at the secondary level on the important journey toward 100 percent literacy for all students. Participants will consider characteristics of effective literacy leadership, explore literacy strategies in content-area instruction, and consider the connection between ongoing professional development and literacy improvement.

EDLU 9332 Literacy Strategies: Improving Comprehension

This course introduces teachers to strategies that they can use to help struggling readers. The course also gives teachers an opportunity to synthesize what they learn and create a program that will assist them in helping their struggling readers.

EDDU 9344 Six Research-Based Approaches for the Elementary Classroom

This course provides participants with six research-based components of a balanced literacy program that any elementary teacher can use to build literacy skills and increase content knowledge. Participants will learn to integrate the six research-based components into their literacy instruction.

EDLU 9347 Literacy Strategies for Learning

This course will help participants understand why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them and provide teaching strategies in the content areas. Participants will consider the rationale for building literacy skills and learn several strategies relevant to different content areas.

EDLU 9654 Literacy Strategies: Social Studies

This course explains why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them, with a focus on strategies for teaching social studies. Participants will also explore the common misperception that a lack of reading skills is the root of failure in content-area courses.

EDLU 9655 Literacy Strategies: Science

This course explains why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them, with a focus on strategies for teaching science. Participants will also explore the common misperception that a lack of reading skills is the root of failure in content-area courses.

EDLU 9656 Literacy Strategies: Phonemic Awareness and Vocabulary Building

This course will share strategies that have been effective in helping students learn to read. Participants will define phonemic awareness and phonics, explore strategies that help K–12 students, and learn about the importance of early identification.

EDLU 9657 Literacy Strategies: Mathematics

This course explains why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them, with a focus on strategies for teaching mathematics. Participants will also explore the common misperception that a lack of reading skills is the root of failure in content-area courses.

EDLU 9658 Literacy Strategies: Language Arts and English

This course explains why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them, with a focus on strategies for teaching language arts and English. Participants will also explore the common misperception that a lack of reading skills is the root of failure in content-area courses.

Special Needs/Gifted Instruction

EDNU 9334 Inclusion: The Basics

Teachers who already have students with mild to moderate learning disabilities or who teach (or will be teaching) severely disabled students will find this course helpful. Each lesson addresses some of the most common concerns that educators have about teaching students with disabilities––concerns about the effectiveness of inclusion, anxiety about not having enough time or enough training, and fear about the potential disruption to their class.

EDNU 9653 Literacy Strategies: Special Needs

This course explains why it's important for every teacher to become involved in teaching students how to read, write, and comprehend the subject matter being presented to them, with a focus on strategies for teaching special needs. Participants will also explore the common misperception that a lack of reading skills is the root of failure in content-area courses.

EDNU 9661 Inclusion: Implementing Strategies

Each of the lessons in this course addresses some of the more common concerns that educators have about teaching students with disabilities––anxiety about not having enough time or enough training, and uncertainty about the most effective teaching strategies and assessment measures for disabled students.

Instructional/Curriculum

EDRU 9320 Crafting Curriculum: An Introduction

This course provides a broad overview of some guiding curriculum development principles and concepts. Although especially helpful to those who are new to the curriculum development process, it is also a good review for those already experienced in the process.

EDRU 9324 Crafting Curriculum: Using Standards

This course introduces the processes required to successfully implement standards into the curriculum. This course also features a review of the standards movement, an examination of the backward design process, and analysis of teaching strategies that work in the standards-based classroom.

EDRU 9325 Assessment: Designing Performance Assessments

This course focuses on the purpose of performance assessments and how to develop performance assessment tasks. In addition to explaining what performance assessment is, the course models the development of performance assessments that provide students, teachers, and parents with meaningful feedback concerning student learning.

EDRU 9326 Differentiated Instruction: An Introduction

This course is designed to enhance understanding of how to better meet the needs of the many different learners in classrooms and schools. It provides opportunities to examine the characteristics of a differentiated classroom; how to frame instruction around concepts; and some techniques for differentiating content, process, and product.

EDRU 9328 Embracing Diversity: A Look in the Mirror

This course is designed to give teachers the tools they need to create environments of acceptance and harmony in our schools. The course describes the diverse landscape that is the United States and its schools today. Teachers are in a wonderful position to help young people understand that the United States is strong because of its diversity.

EDRU 9330 Assessment: Measurement That's Useful

This course provides the opportunity to think about current assessment practices and learn the key ingredients to any effective assessment. It presents an overview of exemplary assessment and is designed for anyone who is interested in learning about exemplary assessment, or who is questioning their own classroom or school assessment practices and is looking for general ways to improve them.

EDUU 9331 Embracing Diversity: Global Education

This course provides an introduction to teaching using a global perspective. Participants will explore elements of global education, observe how others have incorporated global education into their classrooms or schools, critique classroom-tested lesson plans and units, infuse global education into a lesson, unit, or theme already being taught in the classroom, and explore teaching strategies.

EDRU 9335 Mathematics: Grades 3-5

This course examines six fundamental principles of teaching mathematics effectively in the upper elementary classroom, explores the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) process and content standards, and suggests effective assessment practices.

EDMU 9337 Mathematics: Grades 6-8

This course underscores the belief that mathematics teaching can improve if teachers emphasize understanding rather than simply processes, support relevant activities and lessons, use brain-based strategies to facilitate learning, and combine the use of standards with a sense of mathematical wonder.

EDRU 9345 Assessment: Getting Started with Student Portfolios

This course will help teachers understand the benefits of using student portfolios and will provide them with a solid foundation so that they can start implementing portfolios in their classroom. In creating portfolios, students have the opportunity to become more involved in all aspects of their learning.

EDRU 9346 Differentiated Instruction: Responsive Instruction

instruction that responds to students' needs. With increasing numbers of English language learners, an expanding achievement gap for minority students, more inclusive classrooms, and public pressure to adequately prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, knowing who students are—and how best to teach them—has become a critical issue for educators.

EDRU 9348 Student Health Program: Essential Elements

In this course, participants will learn about the link between health and learning, consider the need for a coordinated approach to address student health issues, and examine the eight components of a coordinated school health program— health education; physical education; nutrition services; staff wellness; health services; counseling, psychological, and social services; healthy environments; and family and community involvement.

EDRU 9350 Assessment: Promoting Assessment for Learning

This course shows educators how to shift focus and use assessment for learning. Participants will explore the teacher behaviors that promote student learning and support sound assessment—known as the "Be's." These principles come from the many practices that teachers can adapt to promote assessment to enhance student learning.

EDRU 9351 Mathematics: Grades K-2

This course addresses teaching mathematics to young children effectively in ways that build a child's level of confidence so that he or she can be successful. The first lesson briefly touches on what children need to learn. The other lessons focus on how to effectively teach mathematics.

EDRU 9355 Achievement Gaps: An Introduction

This course explores the multiple causes for gaps in achievement, examines issues that ready children for learning, and considers how to enhance a child's readiness to learn. Learners will explore what it means to strive for equity in achievement by considering the types of learning environments that promote student achievement and ways to measure student achievement.

EDRU 9360 Differentiated Instruction: Using Assessment Effectively

Assessment is more than standardized or summative testing. It is much broader—a photo album to the isolated test's snapshot, an overall view of what goes on in the learning environment. This course identifies ways to use assessment to pinpoint students' learning needs, reflects on some principles of differentiated instruction, and analyzes different ways to use continual assessment to inform instruction.

EDRU 9650 Student Health Program: A Coordinated Approach

This course goes beyond an understanding of the eight elements of a coordinated school health plan and provides support for the coordinated approach. In the course, participants will learn how to structure a coordinated approach, begin to investigate the change process, find resources to support school health efforts, and create an action plan for implementation.

EDRU 9663 Embracing Diversity: Effective Teaching

This course will give participants an opportunity to explore curricula and lessons that focus on tolerance and diversity. Participants will learn about instructional approaches that have been recommended by tolerance professionals and used by teachers. The goal is to help students learn to embrace diversity and respect others.

EDRU 9665 Differentiated Instruction: Learning More

When teachers deepen their understanding of their students and their subject matter, they become flexible with their teaching matters. In this course, go beyond the basic elements of differentiation to investigate the flow of instruction. What does the flow of instruction look like in a traditional classroom? In a differentiated classroom? Participants will review various strategies that will help provide for and support a high-quality learning environment that promotes achievement for all learners.

EDRU 9666 Crafting Curriculum: Beyond the Basics

This course will explore how adopters, evolvers, and developers approach curriculum development while considering what it means to create coherence. Although this course is specifically designed for the more experienced curriculum developer, all participants should find the course interesting as they examine the many issues that surround the curriculum development process.

Non-specific Courses

EDDU 9310 The Brain: Memory and Learning Strategies

The lessons in this course focus on memory and how to relate it to classroom practices. Specifically, the course will explain the two memory systems that have been definitively identified by neuroscience—explicit and implicit—and show how certain instructional strategies may promote particular types of memory formation.

EDDU 9311 The Brain: Mind-Body Connection

This course examines how external factors—such as safety, affirmation, community building, nutrition, physical movement, and even the physical learning structure itself—affect the brain's performance and, as a result, influence learning.

EDDU 9312 The Brain: Understanding the Physical Brain

This course provides a survey of information about the brain and how it functions to make each of us who we are. Participants will explore the physical aspects of the brain and consider its role in emotions, memory, reasoning, planning, and problem solving.

EDUU 9323 Schools as Professional Learning Communities: An Introduction

This course investigates how school leaders communicate and collaborate with all stakeholders to promote the vision of improved student learning. Participants will explore the basic characteristics of a professional learning community and how to establish an environment of reform that facilitates success.

EDUU 9342 Partners in Schooling: For Teachers

This course explores the six standards for parental involvement from the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and investigates ways that teachers can increase parental involvement. Participants will identify their personal attitudes about parental involvement, assess their school's parental involvement program, and explore ways to solicit parental participation in the decision-making process.