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Instructor: DR. JOSEPH KAPLAN   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Kaplan. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Developed as an alternative to traditional behavior modification approaches to changing student behavior. Although the course discusses and supports several behavior modification techniques, it goes beyond the boundaries of this approach. Teaches how to assist students in retaining their thinking so they may break old thought patterns that lead to many aberrant behaviors. Teaches how to motivate students to be their own agents of change. Teaches teachers how to train students to recognize, evaluate, and respond to difficult interpersonal, classroom, school, and social situations with limited outside intervention. When students learn how to retrain their negative thought process and become better problem solvers, it takes the pressure of remediation off the teacher and places it on the student where it belongs.
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Provides information on such issues as definition, history, treatment and even some referral sources that may be accessed. The four sections are: 'History, Definitions, Assessment, and Special Education', 'Medications, Stimulants, Resources and Gaining', 'Curriculum Modifications and Study Skills', and 'Interventions, Functional Assessment, Reinforcements and Punishments.' These four sections should give you a firm understanding of ADD, its diagnosis, possible causes, assessment, and the laws surrounding the disorder. This may also help you understand why students with ADD have behavioral problems in the classroom and other school settings.
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Instructor: MARREA WINNEGA   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Winnega. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace.The first chapter is on the diagnosis of autism and Asperger's; it gives a clear picture of the characteristics that define these disorders. The second chapter of Autism and Asperger's Disorder is 'Behaviors and Techniques.' This chapter discusses ways in which individuals with autism or Asperger's are different from other learners. The third chapter is 'Communication and Language' where you will be given information about the prerequisites of communication, the components of speech and language, and the profiles of nonverbal and verbal children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The final chapter covers 'Special Education.' You will learn how to use visual supports, schedules and calendars to help autistic or Asperger's children monitor their time and program more effectively and independently. You will learn to use the strategy of 'first/then' to help children finish important daily tasks before moving into pleasurable free-time activities.
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace.The first two chapters explain why we choose to view student behavior as a kind of unspoken language. These chapters provide a framework for understanding why certain students react to teachers, aides, peers and society in such dysfunctional, disruptive behavioral patterns. These chapters should give you a firm grasp on how to begin interpreting students' behavior into an understandable language. Chapters 3 and 4 describe intervention strategies, which we refer to as 'clubs.' We will present twenty intervention strategies that remediate difficult student behavior. How and when an intervention strategy is used goes a long way in determining its effectiveness. These strategies are designed to be effective when used with the new framework of understanding presented in the previous chapters.
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Instructor: JOAN HALVERSTADT   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Halverstadt. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Designed to help classroom teachers, school counselors and other educational personnel gain strategies to reach and teach students who have been affected by child abuse or neglect. Participants will learn the signs and symptoms for the three types of abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) and the four types of neglect (physical, neglect, emotional, and educational). Explore how abuse and neglect affect a student's learning, cognitive brain development and social-emotional development. The short- and long-term consequences of neglect as well as the social and family causes will be reviewed. The educator's role in the intervention and prevention of child abuse and neglect will be discussed.
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Instructor: PEGGY RAPP   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Rapp. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace.Welcome to Drugs & Alcohol in Schools, an interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course, designed to give you a more comprehensive understanding of alcohol, drugs, and their influences in your classroom. Drugs & Alcohol in Schools provides a contextual framework for understanding what students may be experiencing through their own substance use or the impact of substance use around them. The course provides a basic historical perspective of substance use along with descriptions of biological, psychological, and social factors that comprise the disease of addiction. This program will help you better understand a multitude of complex dynamics that contribute to this biological and social phenomenon.
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Instructor: DARCIE DONEGAN   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Donegan. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. This course is designed to help educators, para-professionals and child caregivers observe and assess and various aspects of children's development and programs. Participants will learn the components necessary for strong observation skills, such as self-awareness, objectivity, confidentiality and ethical guidelines.
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Instructor: AUMONY DAHL   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/Online; INSTRUCTOR: Dahl. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. This course, Program Planning, has been divided into four chapters. The first chapter will discuss numerous considerations for planning and implementing a comprehensive, research-based curriculum for young children. Various perspectives on the history and theory behind early childhood education and child development will be examined, in addition to discussing various forms of diversity among children. We will also discuss what curriculum is, and identify guidelines presented by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) for appropriate curriculum for young children through eight years of age. We will take an overall look at the basic steps for creating an appropriate curriculum, planning a daily schedule, and creating lesson plans and activities for early childhood programs. In addition to focusing our attention on appropriate curricular approaches, we will touch briefly on several curricular approaches to avoid.
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Instructor: DARCIE DONEGAN   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR:Donegan. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. This course is an introduction to the study of child development from conception to age 6. We will study child development chronologically. Each chapter contains additional handouts or attachments that cover specific topics from the chapter in greater depth. They are provided for you to read, ponder and apply to the early childhood educations setting in which you work. Some of the topics are intended for you, as the professional, whle others are intended for you to pass on to parents, when appropriate. After completing each chapter you will be required to take an examination, and pass it with a score of 70% or better in order to move on to the next chapter.
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Instructor: BOB PILLAY   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Pillay. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. This course is designed to further develop the conceptual and technical skills required by teachers to help them identify their educational goals and implement meaningful instructional strategies for effective learning by students with special needs. The focus of this course will therefore be on assessment for instructional programming. The course will outline procedures for designing or selecting, administering and interpreting, a variety of informal assessment measures typically used in schools. The use of a range of informal assessment measures in the academic and social skills areas will form the core of the content to be covered. The presentation of assessment information in an acceptable format to parents and teachers will also be addressed.
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Instructor: AUMONY DAHL   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Dahl. You can register for the course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Welcome to Family-Centered Services, an interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course, designed to give you a new perspective on serving the needs of young children and their families. In this course you will learn what is meant by family-centered services as it applies to diverse systems of care, gain an understanding of family diversity, and explore the major stress factors facing families today. We will discuss the theoretical basis for family-centered services, as well as reflect on current research and best practice. Family-Centered Services will also examine the role of early childhood educators and explore ways to build partnerships with parents and create communities of care-for the benefit of our children, and ultimately society as a whole. This course is designed for anyone working with young children and their families: child-care providers, early childhood educators, and health care or social services providers, to name a few.
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Instructor: CANDYCE REYNOLDS   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Reynolds. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools will discuss definitions and the personal, social, and legal ramifications associated with sexual harassment, bullying, and cyber-intimidation. The course will address what we know about these troubling areas. We will then explore preventative strategies as well as how school staff can address these issues when they occur. A clear understanding of what constitutes harassment and the harmful effects of harassment on people and institutions is essential to providing a safe and inclusive school environment for all.
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Instructor: FLORAH LUSENO   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Luseno. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Chapter 1 will focus on the definition of key concepts related to including students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Chapter 2 will focus on the continuum of placements school systems can use, the federal definition of students entitled to special education services, and the process educators can use in determining whether these students can be educated in the regular classroom. Chapter 3 will focus on the role and responsibilities of special and general educators in providing special education services to students educated in inclusive classrooms. Chapter 4 will focus on the role and responsibilities of special and general educators in structuring the classroom environment and controlling students' classroom behavior. Information pertaining to factors that may result in inappropriate classroom behaviors, functional assessment and strategies educators can use to increase appropriate classroom behavior and decrease inappropriate classroom behavior will be covered.
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Instructor: MELISSA BANDY   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Bandy. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Designed to help you achieve a better understanding of infant and toddler mental health, child development, and strategies you can use to promote positive relationships with children and their families. This course provides information that will help you to understand and identify your role as a child care provider, educator, and early childhood professional. Infant and Toddler Mental Health will provide you with research-based information on child development, attachment, temperament, and curriculum. This course also lists resources for both teachers and parents who would like more help or information about infant and toddler mental health.
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Instructor: BOB PILLAY   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Pillay. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. An interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course, which provides an introduction to the field of Learning Disabilities for special education teachers, general classroom teachers, integration teachers and related professionals, especially those working in the areas of language, psychology and counseling. This course will cover diverse theoretical approaches, lay the foundations for sensitive and appropriate assessment and evaluation of students, provide directions for program planning and implementation, indicate the importance of and the need for a close, positive partnership with parents (or alternative caregivers) and consider ways for ensuring that the home-school axis is effective and meaningful. It will also consider some major trends and unresolved issues in the field of Learning Disabilities.
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. States that receive funds from the No Child Left Behind, Reading First Act need to ensure that teachers are qualified to teach reading. They must have a working knowledge of scientifically validated instructional programs and practices. According to Kilpatrick (2003), the most critical part of the Act is that there must be an increase in teachers' knowledge of the scientific process under which instructional programs are evaluated. Approximately 80% of teachers have little to no background in the use and method of science. What is needed, then, is a training program that allows in-service teachers to learn about science. In other words, we need teachers to become consumers of science and to learn how to think critically about the vast amount of data emanating from real science and from what can be described as 'voodoo science.'
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. The purpose of this second course in this three-course series is to lay the foundation for effective reading instruction. As part of this course, you will learn about the elements of effective instruction. It is important that all teachers have a firm understanding of effective instructional procedures. Teachers benefit, and more importantly, students benefit, both in terms of their behavior and their academic performance. Further, you will learn about the importance of reading instruction and read some sobering statistics on reading performance in this country and what happens when individuals are not proficient in reading.
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Describes the elements of effective reading instruction in some detail. Educational assessment involves gathering, interpreting, and synthesizing information to help teachers make important decisions about student performance (Airasian, 2001). It involves everything from scores on projects, papers, and exams to how children perform on school, district, state, or national evaluations (such as standardized tests). Educational assessment can be teacher-designed or publisher/researcher-based. It can be centered on the curriculum in the school or district, or based on what children across the country should know in a particular academic subject area, such as reading.
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Instructor: MARGIE ARNZEN   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Arnzen. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. An interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course designed to help you achieve a better understanding of the talented and gifted student, methods used in identification, and strategies for instruction of these students in an inclusive classroom. Provides information on the history of the exceptional in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment and identification of these students. Covers major program models and methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of those students identified. The class gives you an understanding of ways to meet the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the regular classroom. This course also lists resources for teachers and parents who would like more information about the talented and gifted.
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Instructor: KAREN LEA   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Lea. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. An interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course, designed to give you the knowledge, tools and dispositions to effectively facilitate a diverse classroom. Help you understand and identify differences in approaches to learning and performance, including different learning styles and ways in which students demonstrate learning. An emphasis will be on understanding how students' learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, disabilities, gender, language, culture, family and community values. You will be challenged to apply knowledge of the richness of contributions from our diverse society to your teaching field.
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Instructor: JOAN HALVERSTADT   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Halverstadt. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace.Help classroom teachers, school counselors and other educational personnel gain strategies to reach and teach students who have been affected by stress, trauma and/or violence. Learn the signs and symptoms of stress and trauma. Explore how stress, violence and trauma affect a student's learning, cognitive brain development and social-emotional development. The short- and long-term consequences of being exposed to stress, trauma or violence, as well as the social and family causes, will be reviewed. Learn the dynamics of domestic violence and community violence. The educator's role in the intervention and prevention of violence will be discussed.
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Instructor: MICK JACKSON   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Jackson. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. The first chapter reviews the history of aggression in America. It explains how we (the country) got to where we are in terms of aggression and violence. The chapter discusses the cost of aggression. It asks the question: Is America Safe? The second chapter deals with how we have learned to be aggressive. It discusses how aggressive thoughts many times become aggressive actions. The third chapter centers on aggression and violence as crimes. It explores arson, assault and crimes of fear. Along with criminal aggression the chapter takes a look at guns and gangs in America's schools; how bullying affects our schools and classrooms; how dress can affect acts of aggression and violence in schools and society. Chapter 4 speaks to working with and raising children to resist violence. It gives suggestions to educators and parents on how to deal with and counteract aggressive or violent behavior. This chapter deals with dating, and how it can be impacted by aggressive behavior and date violence.
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Instructor: MICHAEL SEDLER   (Look up syllabus and additional information)
Location: Online Course
Description: VESi/ Online Class; INSTRUCTOR: Sedler. You can register for this course anytime between Sept. 1 - Dec. 31, 2009 and work at your own pace. Anger management strategies have become an important topic in schools, businesses, homes and communities. Our society is inundated with classes, books and counseling programs that explain various ways to 'manage anger.' Despite our best attempts, aggression and violence are still on the rise. This class will focus on developing new ways of handling violence without getting involved in the typical power struggles. During this course, each person will learn specific strategies and practical ideas to aid in the reduction of school violence. Included in this approach will be an emphasis on safety for students and educators. This course is not attempting to be a 'cure all' or 'fix it' approach, but will aid educators in their ability to develop a safer environment in a school and community. In addition, it will help each person feel more qualified and capable of handling emerging violent behaviors within a school, home or community setting.
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