Course Description
As an educator, you continuously modify and add to your curriculum, and one of the most common updates involves the development of special projects. For example, perhaps you found a lab or activity you liked that uses materials your school doesn’t have or that are no longer available. So you take the time to revise the materials list and any directions that need revision based on the change in materials. You might also develop a set of modified directions for special needs or ESL students (which were not standard with labs 15 years ago…). Much of the revision time is done outside of school, on your own time–and, as such, is eligible for graduate-level professional development credit. Or you may have a favorite project you like to do as part of your curriculum that you need to bring into the chromebook century. No matter the type of project (and there are countless other possibilities), this course is designed to provide educators like you the opportunity to earn professional development credit for the extra work and effort you invest developing your curriculum through special projects. You can earn up to 3 units of graduate-level credit (1 unit per 5 projects, completed on your own time, that you develop and implement in your classroom). To earn credit, you simply submit a time log documenting time spent developing your activities (outside of professionally paid hours) and samples of your final work for evaluation.
Create five different learning activities or projects (per credit) to implement directly into your curriculum. The curriculum ideas, strategies, or techniques you develop can be tailored to your goals and educational setting.
1 Credit = 5 activities/projects
2 Credits = 10 activities/projects
3 Credits = 15 activities/projects
Suggested activities and projects to help you earn credit:
Educational games, learning activities, PowerPoint presentations, video presentations, worksheets, educational websites, classroom visuals, classroom assignments and projects, bulletin boards, learning centers, anchor charts, assessments, teacher-created books, physical education activities, reflection reports, technology-related activities, storytelling activities, units of study, STEM-related projects, mindfulness-based projects, etc.
Designed for busy teachers like you, you will get up to 6 months to complete your coursework, and extensions are always granted upon request. All curriculum projects you choose to develop will ultimately demonstrate the application of time you invest in professional development experiences, such as research, videos and readings, as you endeavor to accomplish your goals. An additional expectation is to complete a time log that documents the time spent for this course.
Overview of Requirements
1. Develop and incorporate new activities, projects, strategies or techniques (of your choice) into existing or new curriculum: For each graduate-level credit, you will choose and develop 5 different learning and teacher-made activities and/or projects to create and implement. You may always modify, change, adapt or incorporate new ideas throughout the entire course duration.
2. Develop a self-created time log: Create a log to document the effort and time that you dedicate to the process of completing your coursework requirements. You can also document hours for projects created previously by backtracking the date in your log. Your log must be specific and include dates, times, accomplishments and proof. For each graduate-level credit, you will document 15 hours of academic involvement.
Whether you spend time brainstorming, researching, reading, typing, writing, watching educational videos and films for ideas, or constructing visuals, putting together new curriculum & rubrics, you are able to document all the professional time you have invested amplifying and enriching your professional needs.
3. Demonstrate mastery of curriculum enhancement: When all your curriculum goals are finally met, you will submit your final work for evaluation.
*Additional course guidelines, formatting requirements, and information will be provided upon course enrollment.
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.
Completed courses are letter graded and will appear on an official transcript from University of the Pacific, Benerd College. An Official Transcript with your final course grade(s) is available from Pacific upon successful completion of coursework. The course ending date that will appear on your transcript will reflect the date on which your completed coursework was reviewed and graded.
Teacher Friendly Course
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
Upon successful mastery of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify specific learning goals and objectives that you want to supplement through special projects.
- Create five classroom-ready special projects that target specific learning goals and objectives and will engage students in a meaningful learning process.
- Integrate the new projects into your lesson plans and/or presentations.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the special projects in helping students meet targeted learning goals.
Course Includes
- 2 Sections