With the current push for academic achievement, teachers need to enter the school year not only prepared to battle students’ “summer slide,” but to be at the top of their own instructional game. Research has highlighted two broad categories for teacher effectiveness: first, the level of knowledge and skills teachers bring to the classroom, as measured by preparation and qualifications, and second, their classroom practices.
More and more teachers view the weeks before school starts as a perfect time for honing those skills and practices. They are not bogged down with grading or lesson plans, and as the school year draws closer, they make the most of their time away from the classroom. Increasingly, teachers opt to attend workshops, conferences and often use online professional training, exclusively or in tandem with their other choices.
A variety of electronic options are available, from facilitator-led sessions to self-paced asynchronous tutorials such as Curriculum Associates’ award-winning Topics In Education courses. The company developed Topics in Education as a gift to the educational community. Participants access the free courses any time, without having to rely on a tutor. The courses provide educators with practical strategies that help to meet today’s classroom challenges, covering topics ranging from motivating students to learn and classroom discipline, to differentiated instruction or integrating the curriculum.
“Preparing for the new school year is essential, especially with the need for schools to do well on high-stakes testing and the looming No Child Left Behind (NCLB) deadline for teachers to be highly qualified,” said Curriculum Associates’ Lauren Armour, national consultants manager and developer of the Topics in Education online training courses. “More and more teachers are turning to self-paced distance learning, or e-learning, because the convenience of online instruction makes it a viable alternative.” The courses, available at www.curriculumassociates.com, were presented the Association of Educational Publishers 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award and were a 2006 CODiE Awards finalist.
Online computer training eliminates travel time and expenses, making it a cost-effective learning tool, even when course fees are involved. Since teachers typically use the summer to pursue personal, as well as professional, interests, self-paced e-learning that is available at any time and anywhere best fits their schedules.
With the power of today’s Web-based technologies, online lessons are not relegated to dry abstract or text-only material. In addition to the regular reading assignments, courses can be bolstered by audio instruction, video clips of teachers or experts explaining or demonstrating their approaches, and downloadable instructional samples and handouts that can be used immediately. In this way, lessons accommodate as many modes of learning as possible.
If facilitators or teachers are not available, courses tend to use interactive lesson reviews to provide the coaching and feedback that course-takers need to keep them involved, allow them to assess their own understanding and learning progress, and further prepare them to begin using the skills that they have been taught.
Online courses are convenient in terms of time and accessibility, and Curriculum Associates’ courses can be referred to time and again because they are free. According to Armour, “Courses like those in Topics in Education can form the basis of teacher collaboration and discussions in more interpersonal sessions. Going online to learn gives teachers a useful perspective on integrating technology into education.” - ARA
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