Survival Kit for New Teachers - Pass Christian University

Survival Kit for New Teachers Feel a little trepidation before entering your classroom? You're not alone! Whether you’re already teaching, a newly credentialed graduate, or a substitute looking to transition to full-time, this course will provide you with proven tools, tips, and tricks to make your early years in the classroom a breeze.

Teaching is a balancing act, and it requires a blend of subject expertise and classroom skills to reach all of your diverse learners. In this informational and interactive six-week course, you'll learn the particulars of running a motivational classroom that will feel like home to your students.

You'll find out how to write winning lesson plans, reach diverse learners through differentiated instruction, communicate clearly, plan memorable events, and most important, keep stress at bay so you can feel good about going to work every morning.

Much like a virtual mentoring program, Survival Kit for New Teachers will provide you with benefits gained through many years of firsthand classroom experience.

Recommended Courses:

Students who enrolled in Survival Kit for New Teachers were also interested in the following courses:

Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom

Solving Classroom Discipline Problems

Survival Kit for New Teachers

An Introduction to Teaching ESL/EFL

Teaching Science: Grades 4-6

The Creative Classroom

Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Do you ever stop to think about what inspired you to teach? Whether you’re a brand new teacher looking for your first job, or a teacher with a year or two behind you, join us as we take a look at the inspiration behind teachers of excellence. In our first lesson, you'll learn to draw on your inspiration as you face the academic (and not so academic) challenges ahead.

Friday - Lesson 02

Preparing your first classroom can be daunting if you don’t have an action plan. From color theory to desk arrangement and bulletin boards, do you know how you want to stimulate your students visually? In this lesson, you'll find out the best ways to bring that touch of home and warmth to your classroom.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

If you’ve ever wondered exactly how to fill those six hours you’ll spend teaching, look no further than creative, engaging lesson plans. In today's lesson, you'll discover the differences between full and condensed sets of lesson plans, and you'll learn how to build student excitement with a strong anticipatory set.

Friday - Lesson 04

You may not know it yet, but differentiated instruction is probably second nature to you. It’s all about modifying your curricular objectives to meet diverse student needs. In this lesson, you'll find out how to use interest centers, cubing, and tiering as easy methods of differentiating instruction in your class.

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

Not so long ago, special needs students were relegated to different classrooms with their own teachers. Now it’s becoming more and more popular to include them in the regular classroom. This brings a host of new learning challenges and opportunities. In this lesson, we'll explore common special needs, IEPs, and smart ways to incorporate diverse learning objectives into your teaching routine.

Friday - Lesson 06

Did you know that you shouldn’t have more than five classroom rules? Are you prepared in the event of a fire drill? If you’ve been searching for the right rules, routines, and organization tips to make your classroom flow smoothly, look no further. This lesson will show you a bunch of time-saving tips that will help you add order to your classroom.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

The key to teaching is building strong relationships between school and home. This starts with your students and ideally extends across the campus, into the home, and out to the community. Today, you'll learn tactics to win students, engage parents, and impress the school as you set an example as a strong communicator.

Friday - Lesson 08

One of the biggest classroom dilemmas is how to handle discipline and rewards—striking that balance between overreaction and fair play can be tricky. Luckily, you can use your communication skills to bridge conflict and turn classroom problems into teaching opportunities. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do just that.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

Writing assignments and tests is never a thrill, even when you know exactly what learning you want to measure and how you want to do it. Today, you'll discover the power of rubrics, tests that account for a wide range of student diversity, and creative assignments that bring out the best in all your learners.

Friday - Lesson 10

Does the thought of public speaking make you cringe? It’s natural for new teachers to be nervous about milestone events like Back to School Night, parent-teacher conferences, and field trips into the community. However, with planning, organization, and a little bit of homework on your part, you’ll be able to pull off smooth events that look like they were planned by a pro.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

We all reach a burn-out point some time in those first few years. In this lesson, you'll learn to build balance in your life so that the job will never overwhelm you too much. From classroom strategies to make your life less hectic to after-hours relaxation tips that help veteran teachers let loose, you'll learn the best ways to keep stress at bay.

Friday - Lesson 12

When you’re ready to advance your career to the next level, you’ll need to showcase not just what you’ve done, but what you’re ready to do in a new classroom. It has to do with how you package your skills. In our final lesson, you'll discover what administrators are looking for and how to wow them with your creativity.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Tracey Birch.

As an educator who has worked with students as young as four and as old as 12, Tracey Birch started practicing Differentiated Instruction before the term was coined. After completing a master's degree in education, Birch taught in varied school settings, from private to public schools and across multiple grades. She currently serves as the Middle School Lead Teacher at a public junior high school.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).

Student Reviews:

"Best class I have taken online! LOVED IT and will be able to use all the ideas. Thanks!"

"Excellent coverage of relevant topics for new teachers. I will refer to the material often. Great internet resources, also."

"Great course! I'm renewing my certificate after 15 years and I really needed to update my knowledge.... Tracey was wonderful! She really cared and responded to us in the discussion area. I would definitely take another class from her (and plan to!)."

"Great course. I really enjoyed it! The instructor had great ideas and experience that I will use in the future. Thank you!"

"Great course, Thanks for all the info!"

"I am going back to work next Fall after taking some time to raise my children. I looked forward to Wednesdays and Fridays so that I could get some great ideas to carry with me."

"I am working as a part-time teacher, trying to get established after graduating in June 2003 and being in many districts as replacement etc. I found this material to be mostly helpful and relevant. I used some classroom rules guidelines on my first day of school and will try some other ideas during this year."

"I brought several of the lesson assignments with me as I interviewed for teaching positions. I was organized and focused because of this course. Your last section on interviews also helped me to understand the interview process better. Next time I try for a job, I will refer back to that section! This course was very helpful!"

"I have enjoyed this course even though I've been teaching for several years. I wish it had been offered at the beginning of my career. Thank you for sharing your expertise and insights!"

"I loved our instructor Tracey Birch's sense of humor and enthusiasm. She makes me feel that I too can be a successful classroom teacher. I also liked the variety of topics covered in this class. I REALLY appreciate the chapter on interviewing. All the ideas provided in this course will be so valuable. I also appreciated being able to see other students' ideas and suggestions."

"Instructor was wonderful! I can definitely tell that she truly loves teaching!"

"I really learned a lot from this course. I am still in school pursuing my teaching degree, so I found the information about the classrooms extremely helpful. I will definitely take more courses to help me when I am ready to start my own classroom."

"I so enjoyed taking this course! I was always looking forward to the next lesson and sometimes wished that I could access it earlier than scheduled. Each lesson was just the right length and held my interest. I would absolutely recommend this class to other beginning teachers, and possibly even veteran teachers!"

"I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I thought Ms. Birch did a great job covering all the necessary topics to make every teacher or future teacher successful."

"I used this course to assist me as a mentor for new teachers in our district. It was helpful."

"I've been home for the last 9 years raising my children. It was a great refresher course. I feel I will be able to slide back into teaching feeling very confident. I loved the class and learned some new information that I will gladly use when I return to the classroom."

"I wished I had had this class during my first year of teaching. Tracey's insights are going to make my next years in teaching much more fun. Thank you!"

"I would be interested in any course Tracey teaches!"

"Loved your course! It is so real-world and I have everything printed in a folder for future use!!"

"Ms. Birch is an excellent instructor. This was the first online course I took, and she made it a very positive experience for me. I actually couldn't wait until she released the next lesson. She kept me very engaged! This course ended up being enjoyable for me! I plan on taking more of her courses."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you this course was a tremendous amount of help in all the right areas. I absolutely will and already have referred this to my other staff members!"

"Thank you Tracey. I learned much more than I thought that I would. The lessons were interesting and engaging. I feel that I got a lot of good ideas that will benefit me greatly."

"The course was informative and helpful, and covered the material I was looking for. The instructor was also very helpful and encouraging. I enjoyed it, and will probably take the instructor's other course in the future."

"The instructor is very enthusiastic, and has a lot of experience in the subject of the course. Tracey has a passion for what she teaches, and she contains a wealth of helpful and useful ideas for new teachers. The course was a pleasure, and a wonderful experience."

"The Survival Kit for New Teachers is a wonderful course. I will definitely be recommending it to the teachers at our school."

"This course is highly recommended for prospective teachers. I enjoyed the contents of the lesson. I felt as if I was really in a classroom."

"This was a great course. Full of vital information that is useful to me NOW. I appreciate the effort this instructor puts into her lessons and her classes."

"This was a GREAT course! I really learned a lot. The strategies and examples were excellent!"

"This was a great course to take for me because I am just transitioning from accounting to teaching. This course has given me the tools and helped me learn what to expect when I enter the classroom for the first time. Thanks!"

"This was a great 'nuts & bolts' course for teachers. I am transitioning into teaching and this helped me to better focus on the day to day issues that teachers encounter in the classroom. Great course! Kudos."

"This was as wonderful course and I would advise any new teacher to take it! Thank you."

"Tracey did a very good job of constructing this course. I found each lesson informative, easy to follow, full of great examples and constructed in a way to really help a new teacher!"

"Tracey teaches an excellent class with wonderfully creative ideas. I enjoyed the class and learned a lot."

"Tracey was probably the best instructor in all respects that I have had in an Ed2Go course. As a professional Accountant becoming an Adjunct Instructor in a college, I found that this course related to most of the challenges, that I believe, I will be facing in the future."

"Tracey, you have quite a repertoire of ideas. You are an amazing mentor teacher. Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions."