How do good teachers become great teachers? One way is by enrolling in quality professional development courses that expand and update their skills, providing cutting-edge theories on how to approach education and practical methods for putting them into play in the classroom.
Fresno Pacific professional development courses offer that opportunity. With years of experience and thousands of graduates, the online professional development courses offered by Fresco Pacific can significantly improve a teacher’s skills and help achieve salary and promotion goals.
So why take an online Fresno Pacific professional development course? The following offers six reasons, all of which offer benefits for ambitious teachers who want to boost their careers.
Program Accreditation
To receive credit from most school districts, teachers must earn their continuing education credits from an accredited institution. Teachers also want schools that are regionally accredited. Fresno Pacific University meets that criteria. The university is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, an accrediting agency serving California, Hawaii and the Pacific region.
Applied Content
It’s one thing to learn theory, which is important. But understanding how to apply theory to real-world classroom situations is equally important. As a teacher wrote in the NEA Higher Education Journal: “Theories die if they remain disconnected from practice; practice uninspired by theory is lifeless.” Fresno Pacific places emphasis on offering teachers methods to put theory into practice, which is they have to motto: “Learn it today and teach it tomorrow.”
Flexibility
Online courses allow teachers a great deal of flexibility in how they approach their continuing education. There are no start dates. Teachers can enroll 24 hours a day, 7 days week, 365 days a year. They then can learn at their own pace and never have to visit the campus. This is an extremely important aspect of continuing education for teachers trying to expand their expertise while also working a full-time teaching job.
Completion Time
Teachers can also finish courses in whatever time frame is best. For example, the courses can be finished in as little as three weeks or take as long as a year. This is another way that online courses allow teachers to fit in their education around busy personal and professional schedules.
Graduate-Level Credit
Some professional development courses allow teachers to earn college credit toward a master’s degree. Teachers can also earn certification in certain subject areas, including technology in the classroom, coaching for excellence, digital innovation and restorative strategies for the classroom. There are also hundreds of independent studies courses that teachers can take to further develop their skills.
Years of Experience
Fresno Pacific emerged as a leader for continuing education and professional development for teachers more than 40 years ago. The university was among the first in the nation to focus on the continuing education and professional development needs for teachers. They focused on creating courses that would keep teachers up to date on new teaching strategies and techniques. The creation of online learning courses has expanded the school’s ability to reach as many teachers as possible.
Fresno Pacific professional development courses offer teachers a way to make important strides forward in both their classroom skills and their career goals.