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College of Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Professional Development Micro-Credentials Offered

►Navigate to our Postsecondary Instructor Micro-Credentials page to learn more about our project and how the professional development mini-courses work!

The project is funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and is designed to serve educators in postsecondary institutions in the state of Texas. A funding requirement from the THECB is that enrollment in these professional development mini-courses is limited to educators employed by Texas public institutions of higher education. For educators employed by Texas public institutions of higher education, enrollment is free during the funded period of the project (2022-2023).

Through a process of surveying Texas educators associated with the College Academic Success Programs (CASP) conference and CASP discussion forum, focus group meetings with our advisory board, and the research and discussions of the Postsecondary Instructor Micro-Credentials (PIM) team, we are developing topics for our PD offerings between June 2022 and August 2023; about half of those will be run twice during that time. Our process is to hire experts in those areas to further develop the topics into focused professional development offerings; those experts then become the facilitators of the PD mini-courses.

The schedule is below; click on each title for more information about each PD mini-course. Until a PD mini-course is opened for registration, all information is subject to change. Registration for each PD mini-course opens 3-4 weeks before the PD mini-course begins.

PD Mini-Course(s) Currently Running

  • The 2022-2023 PIM Professional Development Project has completed. Please see below for the mini-courses offered during this time frame.

PD Mini-Courses Completed:

 

Critical Literacy

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Amber Sarker

This professional development mini-course is an opportunity for educators to learn more about the concept of critical literacy and apply this concept to their teaching. After an initial meeting discussing several critical literacy frameworks and assignments, you as educators will choose a framework and activity to incorporate into a course you teach. Possible activities include rewriting literature with a different lens or perspective and discussing how power and access impact understanding. This professional development mini-credential course concludes with a session to debrief collectively, share ideas, and participate in another critical literacy activity that can be adapted for future use. 

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please check your spam/junk folder or contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

 

Asset-Based Frameworks for Equity and Justice in Postsecondary Teaching and Learning

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Jeanine Williams

Equity and justice in postsecondary teaching and learning requires educators to acknowledge, respect, and leverage the diversity that they and their students bring to educational settings. Such diversity includes languages, literacies, identities, histories, and cultures–vast and varied ways of knowing, being, and doing that are invaluable assets to teaching and learning. This professional development mini-course is an opportunity for educators to explore various asset-based frameworks such as culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogy, and racioliguistically just literacy and learning. More importantly, this PD mini-course will provide time for critical reflection, shared learning, and meaningful collaboration as participants develop plans for incorporating one or more of these frameworks into their current work with students.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

After completing the registration form, registrants receive a confirmation email that provides additional course information, including the Zoom link for the first synchronous session. If you have not received that confirmation email by the end of the next business day after registering, please check your spam/junk folder for the email. If the email cannot be located, please contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Balancing Reading and Writing in the Integrated Reading and Writing Classroom

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Amarilis Castillo

One challenge that integrated reading and writing instructors may encounter involves effectively balancing reading and writing instruction in each class session. This professional development mini-course is an opportunity for educators to develop two or more lesson plans that provide opportunities to integrate both reading and writing into each lesson. Research-based pedagogical frameworks, including sociocultural and multiliteracies theories, will be presented as foundations for building lessons that include various reading and writing skills and strategies. Whether planning for a stand-alone integrated reading and writing or a Corequisite class, emphasis will be placed on developing lesson plans for immediate implementation by educators.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please check your spam/junk folder or contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Cultivating Growth Mindsets through Active Learning in Math Corequisite Courses

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Theresa Hoang

Many students falsely believe that they will never be good at math or that they are just not a math person. This professional development mini-course addresses these misconceptions by examining growth mindsets and discussing effective ways to share growth mindset beliefs with students.  In addition, this mini-course will demonstrate how to use active learning strategies to cultivate growth mindsets in math corequisite courses. Participants will construct strategies that they can incorporate into their current work with students and reflect on their plans and experiences.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please check your spam/junk folder or contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Using Assessments in the Classroom

Monday, April 3, 2023 - Friday, April 21, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Amber Sarker

This professional development mini-course focuses on the pedagogical use of assessments in the college classroom, including using varied classroom assessment techniques and feedback approaches to support students' learning. We will also discuss some of the more philosophical elements of assessment: why and how are we assessing students? Are we getting the most out of our assessments? Are students given an adequate opportunity to demonstrate understanding? Participants will have the opportunity to create or repurpose a pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. Additionally, participants will have an opportunity to interrogate how to provide feedback on assessments to encourage students while helping ensure students learn from potential mistakes.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Monday, April 3, 4:00-5:30 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, April 21, 9:30-11:00 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please email us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Navigating Texts across Disciplines

Monday, May 22, 2023 - Friday, June 9, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Jodi Lampi

This professional development mini-course addresses disciplinary literacy, including how to support students' successful navigation of texts in a variety of content areas.  To understand how disciplinary literacy characteristics require different approaches to reading, we will start by exploring examples of the various literacy demands student face across their coursework.  Next, we will apply disciplinary literacy as a framework for understanding how to read texts based on disciplinary characteristics, how to choose textbook reading strategies appropriate to the disciplines, and finally, discuss how these disciplinary reading approaches are tied to critical thinking and assessments.  We will end by developing ideas and supporting participants in developing their own self-assessment of their courses’ literacy demands, which will allow participants explicit ideas on how to offer explicit instruction to engage students in conversations about how to read within their respective disciplines.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Monday, May 22, 12:30-2:00 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, June 9, 2:00-3:30 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please email us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Embedding Learning Strategies into Curriculum

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - Friday, June 16, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Leta Deithloff

Through this professional development mini-course, you will consider the most efficient and effective ways to integrate general learning objectives into co-requisite, student support, and other college courses. Ultimately, we will consider what academic tasks learners need and embed this whole-student knowledge into daily instruction. After an initial session identifying current student profiles (who are they in this moment?) and aligning these descriptors with realistic, attainable learning outcomes, you as educators will create activities that incorporate both semester and daily outcomes into an existing course. You will also consider how and when to include strategy transferability into everyday practices. This mini-course concludes with a debriefing session that celebrates participant ideas, addresses lingering questions, and analyzes a final real-world example with immediate classroom implications.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Tuesday, May 30, 12:00-1:30 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, June 16, 3:00-4:30 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

After completing the registration form, registrants receive a confirmation email that provides additional course information, including the Zoom link for the first synchronous session. If you have not received that confirmation email by the end of the next business day after registering, please check your spam/junk folder for the email. If the email cannot be located, please contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Supporting students in an English classroom

Supporting English Language Learners Beyond the ESL Classroom

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 - Friday, July 7, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Meagan A. Hoff

Language plays a crucial role in learning, and as our communities become more linguistically diverse so do our classrooms. Effectively supporting language learners in college starts with cultivating linguistic awareness. In this professional development mini-course, we will examine theory-driven practices to support language learners in college classrooms and learning centers. We will examine common myths and misconceptions about language learning and learners, and how they may inform common teaching practices. In addition, we will take time to discuss asset-based strategies for supporting language learners in your current courses.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Tuesday, June 20, 1:30-3:00 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, July 7, 11:30-1:00 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

After completing the registration form, registrants receive a confirmation email that provides additional course information, including the Zoom link for the first synchronous session. If you have not received that confirmation email by the end of the next business day after registering, please check your spam/junk folder for the email. If the email cannot be located, please contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Building Community in an Online Environment

Friday, June 23, 2023 - Friday, July 14, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Carlton Fong

It’s not always easy to develop camaraderie and collaboration in a virtual learning environment. If you are interested in frameworks, approaches, and strategies to build students’ sense of community, this professional development mini-course will provide theory-driven and research-based teaching practices to enhance students’ sense of belonging. This mini-course includes a time of collective reflection on how belongingness practices can be effectively and efficiently adapted for the virtual learning environment.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Friday, June 23, 10:00-11:30 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, July 14, 10:00-11:30 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please check your spam/junk folder or contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.

Fostering College Student Motivation and Self-Regulation

Monday, July 17, 2023 - Friday, August 4, 2023

Professional Development Facilitator: Dr. Taylor Acee

Student motivation and self-regulation are essential to college learning and achievement, yet they remain underemphasized in postsecondary curriculum and instruction. This professional development mini-course is designed to address this gap by translating theory and research into practical, brief, and easy-to-implement, instructional strategies that can be implemented in college classrooms to improve student motivation and self-regulation. The strategies discussed can be applied in online, hybrid, and face-to-face classrooms. This mini-course provides time, scaffolding, and interactive collaboration as participants actively develop and begin implementing simple evidence-based plans to enhance their future students’ motivation and self-regulation in college and beyond.

Phase 1 - Synchronous Online Meeting #1: Monday, July 17, 10:30-12:00 (Central)

Phase 2 - Asynchronous Independent Project Work, via Canvas

Phase 3 - Synchronous Online Meeting #2: Friday, August 4, 1:00-2:30 (Central)

Note for participants who are registered for this mini-course but unable to attend a synchronous session: the synchronous sessions will be recorded and posted in the mini-course canvas site for you to view so that you can still complete the requirements for the digital badge.

Registered participants in this mini-course will be sent Canvas login information and Zoom links for the synchronous meetings prior to the start date of the mini-course. If you have not received that email by the day before the mini-course begins, please check your spam/junk folder or contact us at: PIM_Project@txstate.edu

Registration closes when the PD mini-course is full or one business day prior to the start of the mini-course, whichever comes first.