Professional Development Series

Professional Development Series (PDS) listings contain non-degree courses, workshops, and seminars designed for individuals in public/private education, business, government, and other career areas. Teachers can use course offerings for Virginia Department of Education license recertification or for insight and preparation in the National Board Certification process. Questions about PDS courses should be directed to the Evening and Weekend Program. Questions about National Board Certification Courses should be directed to Dr. William McConnell, Director of Teacher Education.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES COURSES (PDS)

NB1 Professional Development and Pre-Candidacy for National Board Certification (4 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Teachers will investigate best-teaching practices across the curricula and grade levels, K-12. Tailored to meet individual needs, teachers will explore strategies to improve their teaching and to impact student learning while they become familiar with the goals of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This course is not a requirement of the National Board certification process. This is a graded course. Offered every semester and Summer Session.

NB2 Personalized Professional Growth and National Board Certification (1-3 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Teachers engage in a guided study centered on a personal professional development program working from an overview of the candidate process and guided by the mission, goals, and processes of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. They investigate “best teaching practices” across the curricula and grade levels, K-12. Covers portfolio requirements and assessment center exercises, including videotaping your class for NBPTS review, descriptive, analytical and reflective writing styles, NBPTS Assessment Center exercises, and collected student work samples. Skills such as questioning, differentiated instructional strategies, and portfolio maintenance are developed and revised. Pass/fail grading. Offered every semester.

NB2.2 Differentiation in Instruction (1 non-degree sem. hr.)

Instructors will guide and support candidates as they prepare for Component 2 of the National Board Certification Process. Candidates will learn to develop instructional goals, collect and analyze data to assess individual students’ progress toward these goals, and use that information to design and implement instruction to advance student learning. Pass/fail grading. Offered every semester and summer session. May be repeated once within a 5-year period if student submitted component 2 and is not satisfied with the score she/he received.

NB2.4 Effective and Reflective Practitioner (1 non-degree sem. hr.)

This component requires evidence of the teacher’s impact across professional responsibilities as an educator, including involvement with students, parents, colleagues, and community. Participants will examine the requirements and discuss how each might meet those requirements. Pass/fail grading. Offered every semester and summer session. May be repeated once within a 5-year period if student submitted component 4 and is not satisfied with the score she/he received.

NB3 National Board Standards in Your Classroom (1 non-degree sem. hr.)

Designed for individuals who are currently teaching in a classroom setting. Introduces teachers to the mission, goals, and processes of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. They explore and determine their levels of interest in seeking National Board Certification. While the course encourages teachers to seek National Board Certification, it serves as an opportunity for teachers to consider strategies to improve their teaching and to impact student learning. They investigate and demonstrate “best teaching practices” across their specific curricula and grade level (K-12) through use of professional journals and reference materials, production of a professional reading report, designing and executing a content improvement plan, videotaping a lesson, implementing new differentiated instructional strategies, and creating an essay about the videotaped lesson with learning strategy implementation using descriptive, analytical and reflective writing. Pass/fail grading. Offered every semester and Summer Session.

NB4 Take One Candidate Support Workshop (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Designed to fine-tune the skills developed during the PDS-NB1 course. Topics include the Core Propositions, videotaping, effective instructional practices and writing an entry. Included in class discussions is appropriate alignment to national curriculum standards as well as NBPTS standards applicable to the Take One! Entry. Teachers complete the Take One! Entry. Pass/fail grading. Offered every semester.

PDS BIO4 Topics in Biology for Teachers (1-4 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Licensed high school biology teachers explore topics in biology and laboratory activities that promote rigorous study of science. Participants will apply knowledge to engage high school students (especially those in underserved populations) in meaningful scientific inquiry. Prerequisite: teacher licensure in biology. Offered on demand.

PDS NB5 Professional Development for National Board Certification- Completing the Journey (1 non-degree sem. hr.)

Teachers focus on the final details of the portfolio entry and become familiar with the assessment center exercises. Focuses on peer review and collegiate collaboration as the portfolio is prepared for finalization. They investigate content-specific to their certification and the alignment to national standards. Serves as an opportunity for teachers to critically consider strategies to improve their teaching and to impact student learning. Pass/fail grading. Prerequisite: PDS NB2. Offered every spring.

PDS NB6 National Board Renewal Workshop (1 non-degree sem. hr.)

A series of five class meetings to introduce NBCT renewal candidates to the renewal process, provide support as candidates examine their professional growth experiences, and complete their four-part portfolio to demonstrate continued accomplished teaching. Pass/fail grading. Prerequisite: current National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT); approaching ten-year renewal within one (1) year. Offered every semester.

PDS POLS 1 Women and Politics (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Examine women in politics from an international perspective. Teaching in public schools depends on political negotiations; this course illuminates barriers and opportunities for women working in the public sphere. Knowing difficulties and advantages women face allows teachers to equip students with skills, strategies and knowledge to ensure success in a gendered world. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS POLS 2 Media and Democracy (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Explores the political effects of the news media. Teachers in public schools play an important role in students’ development of the skills necessary to become a critical media consumer. Familiarity with media effects improves teachers’ abilities to help students develop media literacy skills, a necessity in democratic societies. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS PSY Abnormal Psychology for Teachers (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Addresses common psychological abnormalities that teachers may encounter in the K-12 classroom. Topics will include depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, and topics requested by participants. Discussion and assignments will center on relevant classroom strategies and personal experiences, which will be tied to psychological literature. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS REC 1 Disabilities in the Media (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Through the use of popular media teachers will explore various disabilities, related challenges and prejudices individuals with disabilities may encounter. Discussion of physical, psychological, emotional, and social disabilities allow for examination of how disabilities, and interactions between those with and without disabilities, are portrayed in the media. Ideal for special education and adapted PE teachers. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS REC 2 Outdoor Experiential Education and Recreation (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

A series of experiences, discussions, and readings about theories, current issues and practices in outdoor education and recreation. Teachers plan, prepare, and implement outdoor experiences based on standards in the field—including strategies to implement kinesthetic learning into their existing and/or new lesson plans and classroom activities. The class will meet on campus as well as local off campus sites to be announced. Entrance fees, parking and transportation are the responsibility of the student. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS SOC 1 Visual Sociology of the Civil Rights Movement (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Documentary films of the civil rights movement in the United States are used to investigate, discuss, and interpret social movement theories such as resource mobilization, framing, relative deprivation, and political process. Content appropriate for Sociology, World History II, U.S. History, and Government teachers. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS ENG 1 Perspectives on American Literature (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Examines the major figures and movements in American letters from the establishment of the European colonies in North America through the present day. Emphasis will be on perspectives helpful in teaching these works in the school classroom. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS ENG 2 African-American Literature (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Examines the fiction, non-fiction, and poetry of African-American authors from the 18th century to the present. Some attention is given to forms of expression other than literature. Offered on demand (summer only).

PDS LATN 1 Teaching Latin Topics for the AP Examination (2 non-degree sem. hrs.)

Students read, translate, and discuss texts and aspects of civilization relevant to the teaching of the Latin Advanced Placement Exam. Prerequisite: teacher recertification. Offered on demand (summer only).