Online Courses

Introduces students to the wide range of diversity that exists in schools today. Explores diverse learning styles and students' needs, and connections to cultures, communities, and family values as well as student support through trauma informed care. Provides theoretical underpinnings and contemporary perspective on critical issues, professional practices, and state and federal laws influencing the teaching of students with diverse learning needs, including specific learning disabilities (SLD) such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and auditory processing disorders. Note: Field experience required.

Introduction to testing, measurement, and evaluation related to instruction, the construction and use of teacher-made tests, a survey of standardized tests, test interpretation, and basic statistical procedures.

EDUC 542U

This introductory course addresses the effects of language acquisition theories and learner development on instructional planning and practice and builds upon the relationship of foreign language program models and language outcomes. Participants will become familiar with the state standards for foreign language learning and recognize the connection between the state and national standards.

This course examines the social, emotional, and psychological aspects of gifted children, adolescents, and adults. The course reviews current literature on affective growth and potential adjustment issues such as self-concept, self-acceptance and understanding, peer relations, and perfectionism. Family relations and potential sources of problems such as underachievement and career and college planning are also included. Classroom adjustments to facilitate development will also be reviewed.

Exploration of the value and impact of building social, emotional, and behavioral skills to create a resilient classroom environment and enhance instructional effectiveness. Topics include an overview of resilience and social-emotional competence, best practices for skill instruction and acquisition, integrating social-emotional skills into instructional planning and delivery, promoting school-wide generalization of these skills, and applying them to support student agency, mental well-being, and college/career readiness. Content is grounded in research and incorporates practical strategies for implementation to support professional growth in all Virginia uniform performance standards for both in-service and newly licensed teachers. The course will use a variety of resources and instructional strategies to provide participants with real-life applications of their learning.

This course emphasizes techniques of improving instruction through application of research on effective schools and models of instruction. Topics covered include foundations of leadership, leadership for curriculum instruction and assessment, leadership for supervision and professional development, leadership for communication and community partnerships, and leadership for organizational management.

Covers the short story in a global context, examining the ways authors from a variety of eras and cultures have approached short fiction. From the dark romanticism of Hawthorne to the magical realism of Marquez - and many stops in between - the course features works with a broad range of themes, styles, and techniques, all to demonstrate the ways that short fiction has been a unique laboratory for literary experimentation and innovation. The course places an emphasis on class discussion.

ADED 301U

Introduces a rhetorical approach to the techniques and types of communication in professional contexts, including correspondence and reports. Designed to strengthen skills in effective business and professional communication in oral and written modes across multiple media. Prepares students to write professionally for audiences within and outside a corporation or nonprofit enterprise.

Course covers the social science of weather forecasting as it relates to information delivery. Asks how people perceive and whether they react to the forecasts they read or hear. Addresses how providers of that information can maximize the effectiveness of their messaging of risk and calls to action, particularly during life-disrupting or life-threatening weather events.

Description TBA

NPS 501U

Relies on scholarly research to ignite discussion and debate on the value of the "dark side" paradigm, a metaphor used to examine immoral,abusive, dysfunctional, destructive and criminal dimensions of interpersonal communication. Topics include infidelity, bullying, intimate partner abuse, jealousy, stalking, child abuse, parent abuse, deception, and secrets.