Summer Academy for Educators

Effective teachers plan instruction that meets the needs of all students.  You will learn how to choose appropriate assessments for students so that they can move forward in achieving their learning targets and demonstrate their understanding.  This course is for K-12 teachers in all content areas and will provide you with a foundation for sound assessment practices and tools to differentiate assessments in your classroom.

Letter grade.

Tiering is a foundational tool for meeting the needs of all students, but the time involved with creating tiered activities can be daunting.  In this course, you will get targeted instruction and practice with tiering activities based on comprehensive pre-assessment.  The course will provide you with a set of basic, user-friendly templates, numerous tried-and-true ideas, and extensive feedback.  The goal is to de-mystify and streamline the process.

Graded S/U.   

From the basics of opening an account and creating a document to the more advanced features of one of the most popular online collaboration tools available, you will experience how Google can be a powerful tool in the classroom.  In this dynamic online course, you will learn about multiple methods of online instruction, complete mini-lessons / activities and practice the skills to create a final project utilizing these tools.  Final projects will relate to your course of study, content standards and classroom needs.  The ultimate goal is to put the wealth of Google resources to the best use for you and your students by creating a project you can put into action within the first few weeks of school. 

Graded S/U.   

This course will examine various visual media utilized in education and training. Effective use of visuals is critical for successful course development and implementation. Topics include visual literacy, selection options, production, purchasing, ethics, and evaluation. 

At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:
· Understand how visual communication strategies, literacy, rhetoric, and effective visual   media can contribute to improved learning.   
·  Utilize the necessary components to propose and plan the preparation of visual media for print, web, video, learning maps, kiosk, DVD, and e-learning modules.
·  Select and integrate empirically collected data in the planning of visual communications in a learning strategy.
·  Evaluate the effectiveness of visual media and the strategies used in their design and implementation.
·  Effectively communicate with regard to purchasing commercial services for the development and implementation of a learning module.

General Topics include:

Visual Literacy and Visual Literacy Standards for Education 2012
Understanding how student perceive objects, interpret and learn from them
           Visuals and Learning Theory
Connections between the type of visuals used for different learning models and strategies.                      
           Evaluation of media used in learning
Preparation and types of graphics used in learning modules
           Planning for using visuals in a learning module, Visual Design Model
Insights and techniques of creating interactive media
           Project Management and Costs of Developing Interactive Media projects
           Ethics of Utilizing Visual Media

This course is for teachers in grades 4 - 12 and will cross all content areas.  We will identify the powerful teaching methods that enhance student learning and will explain how to implement them in today's classroom.  You will learn seven best practices of teaching that, research has shown, are highly effective in these times of rapid change in education.  An in-depth look at methods that matter will help you to provide instruction in your classroom that is meaningful, authentic, interactive, and relevant to life.  We will explore ways to rebalance and invigorate the ingredients of any classroom - students, time, space, materials and experiences - so that you will be ready to apply them to your own teaching when the next school year begins.

Graded S/U.

This course will provide PK-12 teachers with ways to incorporate content (common core), fieldwork, and service into the curriculum and instruction through experience-based learning inside and outside classrooms.  You will visit Expeditionary Learning schools virtually and design an in-depth investigation to be implemented with your students.  This course will be hands-on and involve active pedagogy and in-depth self- critical reflection.  It will allow you time to be creative to plan engaging, meaningful learning experiences for your students.

Graded S/U. 

Explore some of the most exciting 21st century technology tools for the classroom!  This course will provide an opportunity to discuss and examine some of the latest technology policies, devices and tools available for education.  We will discuss the BYOD (bring your own device) policies implemented in various school districts and the effects on teachers and classrooms.  We will also engage with tools such as iPads, Edmodo, Google tools and various Web 2.0 tools for improving teaching and learning.  If you are interested in engaging with 21st century tools for your classroom, this course will help you get started!

Letter grade.

Dramatic Hollywood presentations of the criminal investigations process distort the role of forensic science and create unrealistic career impressions in the minds of students.  This two-day course presents a more grounded view of police investigations, as well as a survey of the types of investigative careers available that do not lend themselves to television plots.  An overview of basic crime scene techniques, interview and interrogation, forensic examinations, and follow-up investigations is presented.

Graded S/U. 

Bullying, a longstanding problem in our schools, has been the subject of increasing attention in recent years.   This course is for K-12 teachers who are interested in learning more about bullying behavior and intervention practices.  The course will include discussion of: (1) the nature, types, and prevalence of bullying; (2) common characteristics of bullies and their victims; (3) warning signs that a student is engaging in bullying or is being subjected to such behavior; (4) the short-term and long-term consequences of bullying (for both bullies and their victims); and (5) intervention strategies for teachers and school administrators.

Letter grade.  

Designed specifically for 7-12 educators, this course is taught in BGSU's Active Learning Classroom, test-bed for emerging technologies and learning space design.  The course content is divided into three learning units: exploration of learning space design, teaching with tablets, and development of effective electronic research behaviors.  The two-day format allows you to delve into these units and to develop a project plan for you to implement in your classroom.  The course will be highly interactive, stress experimentation and application, and facilitate peer exchange of information.  The instructors will seek profile and interest information from you in advance of the course in order to focus the learning units.

Graded S/U.