Practical Graduate Courses for Teachers
PLEASE NOTE:
- Wilkes University is now offering classes in Western PA as well as Eastern PA.
- Currently, IWU/PLS classes in Indiana are not available to Kentucky educators.
- PLS is always searching for extraordinary online facilitators to join our instructor cadre.
For more information, click here.
Online Graduate Courses A-L
Action Research for the Classroom™ Online
Explore your instructional practices then develop, conduct, and analyze the results of a data collection plan. As a culminating activity, write an action research report showcasing your findings and how you plan to improve your current practices.
Action Research in the E-Learning Environment™ Online
In the e-learning environment, action research takes on a new dimension as educators integrate technology into traditional research methodologies. Discover online data collection techniques, interpret the data to affect change in the online classroom, and develop a research plan that integrates and makes effective use of e-learning technology.
Blended and Synchronous Learning Design™ Online
This course focuses on two different formats for online learning environments: blended and synchronous. In this course, you will define these environments, understand the development process each one requires, and conclude with considerations for implementing each.
Building Online Collaborative Environments™ Online
Experience the Web as a means of constructing new knowledge through conversation, networking, and collaboration. Harness the power of online technologies like blogs, podcasts, and wikis for student engagement and learning. Focus on currently-available tools and effectively utilizing them for student research, writing, and learning.
Classroom Management:Orchestrating
a Community of Learners® Online
When students are empowered to take responsibility for their own learning experiences, you are freed from constantly dealing with behavioral and organizational issues. Discover and practice skills for orchestrating classroom life and learning so that instruction flows smoothly, student misbehavior is minimized, and learning potential is maximized.
Cultural Competence:
A Transformative Journey™ Online
Discover how your cultural lens influences your relationship with students and families. Explore the framework “know yourself, your students, and your practice” to understand your role in student achievement and as an agent of change for social justice.
Developing 21st Century Literacy Skills™ Online
Examine 21st century frameworks and why information literacy is a critical skill in today’s classroom. Explore multimedia skills, digital storytelling, the read/write Web, metrics and assessment, and the need for organizational and social change as agents for integrating 21st century skills into today’s curriculum.
Differentiated Instruction for
Today’s Classroom® Online
All students can thrive in today’s standards-based learning environment when their teachers know how to apply the practical and effective skills of differentiated instruction. Learn key knowledge and skills to implement differentiated instruction successfully in your own classroom.
Educating the Net-Generation™ Online
Explore the learning styles, expectations, and technical acumen of the Net-Generation. Identify this generation’s key educational and cultural influences then create pedagogy which meets their needs.
Facilitating Online Learning Communities™ Online
Discover the strategies and best practices of successful online facilitation in order to engage diverse learners, support various learning styles, and handle conflict constructively. Learn how to manage assessments and feedback, analyze and solve problems, and create a plan of action for teaching in an online learning environment.
Foundation of Literacy: Beginning Reading™ Online
This course explores the components of early reading defined by the National Reading Panel and the International Reading Association. Students will build a knowledge base for each component and then apply that knowledge within a classroom setting.
Geometry for Middle School
Educators™ Online
Apply research-based teaching strategies designed to develop mathematical literacy and foster logical thinking. Build upon and expand your current understanding of geometry by exploring how lateral thinking, vocabulary, a knowledge of learning styles, an understanding of your state standards, and technology enhance student learning.
Infusing Arts into the Curriculum™ Online
Discover the power of an arts-infused lesson plan. Appeal to diverse learning styles with an arts-infused unit of study which you can use in your own classroom.
Instructional Design for Online Educators™ Online
Instructional design is the process of analyzing learners’ needs and developing instruction that answers those needs. Understand the basics of instructional design, explore philosophies of e-learning, and receive hands-on experience with online delivery and interaction techniques and tools.
Learning to Read: Beginning Reading Instruction™ Online
Centered on scientific strategies aligned with state and national reading research initiatives, this course addresses implementation of a balanced, integrated approach to teaching beginning reading. These specially-designed curriculum resources and teaching strategies enhance the reading process across all areas of the curriculum.
Online Graduate Courses M-Z
Merging Educational Goals and
Interactive Multimedia Projects® Online
Explore ways to incorporate multimedia projects into the classroom. Empower students to move beyond rote learning into problem solving, collaboration, researching, designing, testing, and communicating. You must have a working knowledge of PowerPoint before enrolling in this course.
Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences® Online
Acquire an understanding of Howard Gardner’s intelligences and how to apply them in the classroom. View a multitude of Web sites, experience the intelligences personally, and create lesson plans that can be used immediately.
Reading Across the Curriculum ™ Online
Discover research-based active reading comprehension strategies which you can apply to your grade level or content area. This course emphasizes learning styles, types of text, notation systems, content-area reading, assessments, fluency, motivation, and grade-level vocabulary.
Reading to Learn: Comprehension Instruction™ Online
Explore the best ways to help students construct meaning from what they read. Examine scientifically-based comprehension strategies and learn how to adapt them to your classroom and/or content areas. Assess student progress and learn how to adjust your teaching to become more effective.
Secondary Content Methods™ Online
Examine the content in the secondary school content curriculum standards and help students make connections among the higher level courses they have taken in college and the material taught in secondary schools.
Simulations and Gaming Technologies for the Classroom™ Online
Critically evaluate learning games to determine how they relate to academic content and standards. Identify how particular game mechanics appeal to diverse learners.
Strategies for Middle School Science Teachers™ Online
Design effective lesson plans, integrate technology, manage the classroom, develop assessments, and meet the needs of diverse learners while connecting the science classroom to the real world.
Successful Teaching for Acceptance
of Responsibility® Online
Gain new techniques to model, teach, and support responsible student behavior while creating a classroom that fosters personal power and self-responsible behaviors. Examine how you can expand your own personal power by encouraging appropriate behavior and empowering students to make good decisions.
Teaching Algebra to Middle School Students™ Online
Explore and evaluate the major concepts fundamental to teaching algebra to middle school students. Topics include algebraic number sense, order of operations, linear functions, properties of slope, and an introduction to quadratic equations.
Teaching the English Language Learner™ Online
Identify the academic content which English language learners need to compete with native speakers in a consistently competitive global and information society. Design and deliver appropriate language and content instruction for these students.
Teaching Through Learning Channels® Online
Learn how to match brain-compatible teaching strategies with learning style preferences while addressing the basic motivational needs of students.
Thinking Mathematically: Elementary Edition
This course is designed for elementary school teachers to deepen their knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of K-4 mathematics. Participants will use the NCTM Content and Process Strands as a vehicle for understanding what students need to know and be able to do in math. They will also investigate strategies for developing mathematical literacy and fostering logical thinking.
Using Online Resources to Bring Primary Sources to the Classroom™ Online
Discover how digital primary source archives can enhance and improve student learning. Use online resources to access and analyze primary sources, think critically about classroom applications, and develop authentic, engaging learning experiences for students.
Writing Across the Curriculum™ Online
In this hands-on writing workshop appropriate for teachers of grades 3 through 8, you will discover content-area appropriate strategies for modeling writing formats, supporting below-grade level writers, engaging all students in writing, and balancing the expectations of writing and content in both formal and informal assessments.
FAQs
Please click here to check all online course registration deadlines.
How are online courses organized?
Courses are available on the Internet 24/7, and all interactions take place using the Sakai Learning Management System (except for Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences® Online). A facilitator guides participants through the course — leading discussions, grading assignments, and providing personal feedback. Assignments are due on a weekly basis.
How much time is required for these courses?
The time commitment is comparable to a face-to-face graduate course. Courses run for eight weeks, and participants can expect to spend 6-8 hours per week completing assignments and interacting with classmates through online discussions. (Actual time will vary depending on participants’ individual working styles.) There are no mandatory scheduled meetings; however, weekly interactions are required.
What special software or technology is required?
A basic requirement for taking a PLS online course is to have a working computer with an Internet connection and an active email account. The following technical requirements apply:
- Preferred Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X
- Preferred Browsers: For an optimal experience use Internet Explorer 7 (PC), or Mozilla Firefox 2 (PC or Mac).
Updated versions of Web browsers are free from the following links:
Internet Explorer , Firefox , Apple Safari
- Required Software: Microsoft Word
- Required Web Browser Plug-In: Adobe® Acrobat® or Adobe® Reader™
This plug-in is required to view any of the PDFs within a course. Adobe® Reader™ may be downloaded for free using the following link: Adobe - Please note:
• If using Internet Explorer 6.0, security settings must be set to accept cookies.
• If using Internet Explorer 7.0, please add pls.rsmart.com to your list of trusted Web sites by going to: Tools > Internet Options > Privacy tab > Sites
How much interaction is there between the facilitator and participants?
PLS online courses are highly interactive and community-based. From the first welcome email to the closing self-reflection, the facilitator is an integral part of the course experience. Participants appreciate the warmth, enthusiasm, and expertise of PLS facilitators.
Are these courses accredited?
Yes. PLS partners with more than a dozen regionally and nationally accredited colleges and universities to offer three-credit graduate courses — PLS offers the courses and the college or university grants the credit.
See more Frequently Asked Questions by clicking on a course title to the left, then clicking on its "FAQ" tab.
**Please click here to check all online course registration deadlines.
*Materials sent outside of the U.S. will incur additional shipping and handling charges.