Minnesota Relicensure PACKAGE #2

“Your courses fit my needs perfectly.
They were ideal for someone who does not
have a great deal of flexibility, and I learned a lot.”

The Minnesota Relicensure Package #2 is one of two packages that meet the five Minnesota relicensure requirements:

• Accommodation & Differentiation
• Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies
• Reading Instruction
• Mental Health
• Technology

Enrolling in the package saves you $46 over enrolling in the five courses individually.

Cognitive Skills – Understanding Learning Challenges (Accommodation & Differentiation)

The U.S. Department of Education, and others indicate that weak cognitive skills are the source of over 80% of learning problems.

In this course you’ll come to understand the answer: students approach each task with varying learning tools. These tools are called cognitive skills, and these skills determine the quality, speed, and ease with which individuals learn and perform.

This course provides methods for detecting students with weak cognitive skills and tools to strengthen those skills. Teachers will receive understanding, as well as ways to apply development techniques in the classroom. The online class is fun and interactive and includes information about new brain research and how it can impact today’s classrooms.

Introduction to Autism (Mental Health)

Most people today know someone with autism. People on the autism spectrum are in our classes, our neighborhoods and our families. Whether you know a little or a lot about autism, this course will give you useful information about the autism spectrum.

Although everyone on the autism spectrum is an individual, this course outlines a constellation of developmental differences common in autism that lead to the key concerns of social and communication issues.

A person with autism experiences the world in a different way. They think and remember events differently. They react and communicate differently. By understanding the how and why of these differences, you can become one who gains insight.

Understanding some of the different issues people with autism must face can help us to be more understanding and improve our interactions. By understanding how students with autism function, we can make more informed choices in education and care and, maybe most importantly, we can assess our own automatic hard-wired responses that might occur when someone is truly different.

By understanding the underlying components of developmental differences in those on the spectrum, teachers, parents and others can reframe their own preconceived expectations and help support the learning and behavior for those with autism. Learn to more clearly understand the world from the perspective of someone with autism.

Tackling Tough Text (Reading Instruction)

In this course you will learn how to give your students in grades 4-12 the tools to “tackle tough text” and to become successful readers and learners. In teaching, there is a shift of focus that takes place at around 4th grade where literacy instruction changes from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” It is a known phenomenon that a number of students who did quite well in the primary years struggle with this new type of reading. Students reading at their frustration level find it to be well, frustrating. Teachers in all subject areas discover that using the Reading Comprehension Checklist helps students tackle tough text. Empowering students with this unique tool proves to alleviate frustration and increase achievement. This course is based on the proven research by Sue Klund, Reading Specialist and Quality Teaching Network expert.

Technology in the 21st Century Classroom (Technology)

Technology has become an integral part of our life and learning patterns in the 21^st century. The internet, blogs and smart phones are some examples of tools that we use to grow in our knowledge and understanding. Using technology like this in the classroom requires more than knowing how to use the tool. Teachers need to understand the role of technology in the learning process, and the principles behind integrating it in a way that it promotes learning without it being a distraction.

This course teaches concepts and ideas behind using technology in the classroom. It also helps teachers to understand the various skills that students need to develop in order to use technology in the most effective way. It equips teachers to help students use technology intelligently and responsibly.

Transformative Classroom Management (Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies)

What makes a teacher successful in one school is the same thing that makes a teacher successful in the next school. It is true that all students are unique and group dynamics, cultural backgrounds, and experiences vary — sometimes dramatically. But for the most part, sound ideas get positive results and unsound ideas get mixed results at best.

Not all ideas sold in the marketplace of classroom management strategies lead to desirable results. In fact, many of the most popular ideas result in more harm than good. For that reason, parts of this course are devoted to explaining why many of the most popular ideas in use today are flawed, and what to do instead.

This course is a synthesis of what’s effective in the area of classroom management. It builds on extensive time, real experiences of teachers, observations of hundreds of classrooms, research and the best ideas put into successful practice.

Click on the button below to register in this course.

25 clock hours

$149

Please note that completion of the package courses only address the five topics required as part of Minnesota relicensure requirements. Contact your continuing education committee, human resources department, state department of education or other licensing resource for complete details on your relicensure requirements.