ED A5106 Unleashing the Teacher of the Year Within: Tips, Tools and More for effective Educators. This interactive and practical course takes the educator from the first day of class through the end of the school year, providing a wide variety of methods and materials to add to the teaching toolkit of each participant. Learn innovative ways to manage a classroom, involve parents, connect to the larger community and more! ED A5111 Assisting Students with Loss, Death and Grief Issues Not only death, but losses caused by divorce, broken friendships, failures and moving on can cause severe suffering. Designed to help educators deal with various aspects of loss and bereavement issues and the effects on students and classroom settings. The concepts of death, how a childs grieving process differs from an adults and the emotional difficulties following painful events which often result in post traumatic stress will be expolred. Emphasis on the patience, understanding and support needed in the emotional healing process in an educational environment as well as customs, cultural differences and bioethics are covered. ED A5112 Creative Instructional Strategies Using Humor in the Classroom In this activities based class, participants will try creative instructional strategies using humor. These strategies can be adapted to various curriculums and will concentrate predominately on upper elementary, middle and high school levels. Research about the use of humor in the classroom as a learning tool will be discussed. Participants will be introduced to brain research that supports the concept that students retain more when information is presented in ways that promote fun and laughter. Additional topics include: an exploration of creative, educational websites; the importance of humor in relieving stress; the relationship between laughter and good health, and how to add humor to some of your lessons using pop culture. ED A5113 Contemporary Sexuality Issues in Education Designed to provide educators with an overview of contemporary issues, this course covers major methodological and theoretical approaches to the study of human sexuality. Emphasis will be placed on how these issues affect and are affected by values, behaviors, education and lifespan development. Topics will include: gender, sexual orientation, healthy lifelong sexuality and sexual education. ED A5114 Inclusionary Education: Developing a Classroom Environment for all Students This course is designed to provide classroom teachers with pertinent information needed in the exploration of issues related to inclusion. Through a multi-media based format, educators will gain a better understanding of special needs students and examine strategies and modifications that can enhance learning for all students in the inclusive classroom. ED A5116 HIV/AIDS Education: The Educator's Role for the Future of America The medical, emotional, social and legal aspects of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the American classroom will be discussed. Topics include: HIV transmission and prevention, psychosocial issues associated with HIV/AIDS treatment strategies, testing procedures and HIV/AIDS education strategies. Empahsis will be placed on exploring the impact of HIV/aids on a variety of communities, especially young people. ED A5118 Domestic Violence and Abuse: Preventative Strategies for Educators Curriculum and program development, teaching strategies and preventative strategies will be explored for implementing in K-12 classrooms. Materials used in this course will address: personal safety education, sexual abuse prevention education, children living in violent homes, persons with developmental disabilities, adolescent and young adult victims of sexual assualt, definitions for harassment vs. assault, elder abuse and more. ED A5141 Differentiated Instruction: One Size Really Doesn't Fit All So what is a teacher to do? Differentiated instruction is a philosophy that allows teachers to reach the needs of today's diverse learners. This course will give teachers some of the tools that will help them challenge the high ability students as well as learners with a variety of learning needs. This course will explore practical ideas on how to differentiate content, product, process and instructional strategies. Curriculum compacting, flexible grouping and various academic alternatives will be didscussed. ED A5144 Connecting Creativity to the Curriculum K-12 This course will explore the key concepts of creativity and critical thinking skills. Strategies will be presented that will help the educator further develop the concept of creative problem solving as an integral part of the curriculum. Techniques for extending their students' thinking across content areas will result in a more enriched curriculum as well as original, unique and unusual products for performance based assessments. ED A5153 Where the Law Meets the Schoolhouse Gate in the 21st Century From school prayer (explored by the Supreme Court in 2000 in the context of a football game) to teacher liability, this course will expose the K-12 educator to the intricacies of school law. Education cases from the Supreme Court dealing with subjects as diverse as viloence against women and mandatory student fees will be viewed through the prisim of the history of school law and analyzed with a focus on the future directions of school law. To paraphrase the famous language of the Tinker decision; "Students, teachers and administrators do not abandon their rights upon entering the schoolhouse gate; however, unless they are careful, school law might make them feel that way!" ED A5155 Developing and Implementing Student Mediation Programs This course introduces the process of and skills necessary for peer mediation within a classroom setting and encourages teachers and administrators to explore mediation and conflict resolution with the goal of introducing such programs into their schools. Where programs already exist, strategies to make them more successful will be shared. ED A5158 Introduction to Sign Language in the Classroom This course is designed for terachers with limited or no prior knowledge of sign language. Students will experience various signing systems including American Sign Language (ASL), Signing Exact English (SEE) and Pidgin Sign Language (PSL). Through music, video, manual practice and role play, participants will develop an awareness of the hard of hearing/deaf culture, build a functional signing vocabulary and improve total communication skills, within hearing and non-hearing teaching environments. ED A5159 Those Left Behind: Working with Students of Incarcerated Family Members The arrest and incarceration of a parent or sibling can have a profound effect on a child. This course will examine financial dislocation, family dysfunction and the great social and emotional pain expressed by those children, who are often victims of the criminal justice system. ED A5160 Juvenile Justice and the American Classroom An overview of the American Juvenile Justice system will be explored and critiqued, making application to the educator's role in the system. Current trends relating to incarcerated juvenile offenders, dependent children and juvenile offenders certified as adults will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on students that are involved in the Juvenile Justice System and how they can manage in the mainstream education setting. The need and value of alternative educational settings wil also be discussed. ED A5161 From the Playground to the Courthouse: An Educator's Guide to Sports Law & Society This course designed for educators working in Pennsylvania schools at all grade levels will explore how the world of fun and games is impacted by the law. Physical education and sports in our schools have been subjected to great scrutiny in recent years and much of that scutiny has been in litigation in the courts. This course will explore the historical developments that have given rise to the current situation, focusing in on three main areas of study: negligence, contracts and constitutional issues. Students will receive sports law cases, hypothesize sports law scenarios, compare and contrast current and suggested school sports law policies and discuss historic and current trends in the sports law filed. ED A5162 Crisis in our Schools: An Educator's Handbook for Safe Schools This course provides educators with practical skills and ideas they will find personally and professionally helpful in preparing and developing strategies and materials for dealing with various crisis that may arise in the school community. Utilizing a case method approach, this course will challange participants to examine their attitudes and expand their knowledge of a range of crises that impact students and schools today. Specific concerns from bullying prevention to managing the aggressive child will be addressed. All class participants will learn art therapy, explore the role of student assistant programs, experience a mock expulsion hearing and complete a certification course in Management of Aggressive Behavior. ED A5208 Computer Applications for Teachers This project based course for teachers serves as a broad based introduction to using a personal computer. The program is designed to introduce teachers to the computer applications Micorsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Internet Explorer. Upon completion, teachers will leave with usable projects and forms specific to their classes. Prerequisite-the ability to use the keyboard and mouse. ED A5209 Mean Boys and Girls: A look at Bullying Prevention in the Schools Recent studies show that more than three quarters of students surveyed say that they have been bullied, joined in bullying another, or been both victim and perpetrator during their time at school. Many educators are looking for a simple fix, a way to "bullyproof" the school environment, yet research in the field and the experience of experts suggest the problem is much deeper and more entrenched. This course will provide educators with a broad view of the problem, beginning with the standard definitions of bullying and exploring the issue through various subsets, from gender to race. This class will look at legal attempts to control bullying behavior and will explore the impact of bullying both in the school setting and beyond. ED A5316 Sign Language II: A Workshop in Conversational Sign Language This course offers educators the opportunity for practice and development of existing signing skills. Participants will expand their signing vocabulary through demonstration, music and interactive practice. Students will improve manual skills by interpreting a variety of literature and by engaging in classroom-related dialogue. Individual interpretive project required for completion of course. Prerequisite: Grade of ‘A’ in Introduction to Sign Language in the Classroom. ED A5713 Building Character: Service Based Learning in the Classroom This course will explore the concept of character education as it applies to service learning as well as charcter building activities that can be used in the classroom. The concept of service learning will be intorduced in detail along with exposure to various service learning organizations. Many ideas will be shared on how to connect real life experiences (service learning), character building and civic responsibility with a teachers cirriculum. ED A5878 Music Influence on Youth This course will explore the youth music culture and the many genres of music. Participants will review recent research relating to music, music videos and their effect on children's attitudes and behavior. The importance of jewelry, graffiti and slang terminology will be communicated throughout the course. How much influence does the music culture have on our society? Does music cause or effect behavior? These are just a couple of the issues to be expolred through discussion, activities and classroom presentations. ED A5984 Diversity in the Classroom: Making it Work Teachers in grades K-12 are challenged by an ever changing and diverse school community. Students will examine components of diversity, culture, gender, learning styles, sexual orientation and disabilities. Through cooperative group activities, multi-media materials and literature, this course will assist teachers in developing and awareness of and respect for diverse cultures. Emphasis on ways to promote sensitivities, tolerance and understanding in the classroom and school. ED A5985 We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution Public schools were originally created to inculcate the values of citizenship in our representative democracy, but the pressures of high stakes testing and the needs of 21st century society have pushed traditional civics classes from the curriculum (and those who suffered through poor versions of such classes feel no loss). This course explores what it means to be a citizen in our nation’s third century, looking at both the sources of and developments in rule of law. Expert speakers and an interactive curriculum including mock trials and law and justice role plays, will show how teachers in every subject at every grade level can-and should-promote civic learning in their classrooms. From rules for kindergarten classrooms to the latest court cases, this course will educate participants about our democratic values and how to teach them. ED A5986 Protecting Students from Online Exploitation & Victimization While the internet is a valuable educational tool, predatory criminals have discovered it to be an excellent medium for seeking out victims and exploiting them for sexual gratification and other criminal means. Common techniques used by internet criminals will be explored as an exercise in awareness. Intervention and prevention strategies will be presented and discussed through a variety of creative exercises. ED A5987 Understanding and Helping Abused, Neglected and Abandoned Children Child welfare rules created during the 1970's have not kept pace with our changing society. Education is an essential component of the effort to prevent child abuse and neglect and to reduce the consequences to abused and neglected children. This course will present up to date information from professionals in the areas of law enforcement, child protective services, foster care, mental health, medical, legal and social services. The issues of the mandatory abuse and neglect reporting required of educators will be clarified. The educators role in identification of characteristics and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorders and trauma will be explored. Individual research will be done on identifying community resources. ED A5988 Current Drug Trends and Youth Prevention Programs This course will overview current drug trends in the Deleware valley. Participants will review drugs of the past and how the youth drug culture has changed. The course will also review drug and violence prevention programs for your classroom. Materials will be used not only to outline and to show examples of the current drugs, but also trends in youth crime associated with drugs and violence in our area. ED A5990 Creating Safe Spaces: Addressing LGBTQ Issuess in Schools It is critical to create safer spaces for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (lgbtq). At the same time, lesbian and gay parents are increasingly represented in our schools. While values differ regarding homosexuality, all educators agree that respect and safety are qualities that are needed in our schools. This course is intended to help educators develop the awareness, background knowledge, and skills to create safer spaces for all the students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.