Course Description
Course participants must complete the on-demand workshop below with Smekens Education in order to participate:
The purpose of this course is to provide you with practical, powerful strategies to support and promote students’ reading and writing, with the overall aim of increasing student achievement on standardized tests. Once you have completed the virtual workshop, consider the implications of what you have learned for teaching reading and writing, and determine how you can apply the strategies in your classroom to realize the greatest student participation and success. Next, you will write a reflection paper detailing what you have gained from the workshop, how it fits into your professional development needs or those of your learners, and how you plan to implement the strategies into your classroom regime. You will then submit your completed reflection, along with your time log, for evaluation and credit.
Upon successful completion of your on-demand workshop, invest time reflecting on your learnings, research and relevant readings. As a student, your practicum requirements will consist of completing a reflection paper to demonstrate the implementation of strategies learned. An additional expectation is to complete a time log that documents the time spent for completing your coursework requirements. The specific requirements concerning your reflection paper and time log are based on how many credits you take per course.
Specifically designed for busy teachers like you, you will get up to 6 months to submit coursework requirements, and extensions are always granted upon request. Opportunities are available across all teaching grade levels, disciplines, and subjects or topics. The overall course objective is aimed at implementing the best practices of education while meeting educational standards set by your school district or state.
*Additional course guidelines, formatting requirements, and information will be provided upon course enrollment.
An Official Transcript with your final course grade(s) is available from Pacific upon successful completion of coursework. The course ending date listed that will appear on your transcript will reflect the date on which your completed coursework was reviewed and graded.
Course Benefits
About University of the Pacific
University of the Pacific, established in 1851, is California’s oldest private chartered university and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
The credits offered are post-baccalaureate, graded, graduate-level semester units of credit, provided directly through University of the Pacific, Benerd College. They are specifically designed to meet the needs of educators for Salary Advancement and Recertification. The credits/units are acceptable where local districts approve and applicable to state licensing where authorized. We always encourage you to check with your employer for acceptability of these credits/units. Course participants are responsible to determine acceptability of these credits for their intended use. Each graduate-level semester credit is equivalent to 15 hours of academic involvement.
Course Objectives:
When teachers leave this 2-day workshop, they will be able to:
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- Identify how today's assessments are different from previous tests.
- Execute lessons to target Kristina's 14 Power Strategies for succeeding on standardized assessments.
- Create a sequence of text-dependent questions that keep students rooted in the text and follow the same progression standardized assessments utilize.
- Tweak your writing-about-reading tasks to mirror the constructed responses on standardized assessments.
- Hone students' habits for citing specific and relevant evidence.
- Prioritize the literacy skills that require explicit instruction.
Course Expectations:
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- Participants will attend the workshop, participating fully in the time provided to collaborate and discuss with colleagues and/or to process the information presented.
- During the workshop, participants will determine specific steps for implementation.
- After the workshop, participants will apply their new understanding to create new lessons or learning experiences or revise and update existing curriculum.
Course Includes
- 2 Sections
