Teachers, we know how busy you are! You’ve got a full-time job and maybe even a family at home to take care of. You’re expected to complete professional development training every year. Never in a million years did I think I’d be taking a year off from school. Throw in medical issues and two surgeries and here I am. Maintaining a teaching license generally requires professional development credits. Most teachers are familiar with the process of attending workshops or seminars to earn these credits. However, what if there was an easier way to get the credits you need?
ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI) offers online training courses that are self-paced and can be completed on your own time. Whether you’re at work, at home, or anywhere else with internet access, CCEI’s courses are the perfect way to complete your PD hours without having to worry about attending scheduled in-person training. With over 150 courses to choose from, you’re sure to find something that interests you.
The most seamless PD ever
CCEI offers high-quality courses that are convenient for busy childcare professionals. You have up to one year to complete the training. That means you can throw on your pajamas and complete it at your own pace. This was the perfect option for me with so many in-person conferences on the decline and not receiving PD at my school. With CCEI, you can access your course materials from anywhere that has internet access. Taking courses online is also a great way to fit professional development into a busy family schedule. Enrolling with CCEI is a quick process. After choosing the best product category for you, you will be prompted to enter your personal information.
Choose the right professional development course
The best part is taking the first step. You have so many options to choose from and you will want to take them ALL. I decided to sort by the time and chose from there. This is perfect for those that only have an hour or less to work through the course. You can watch, take a break and come back to it at a later time. I decided to sign up for LIT103: Making the Most of Read Alouds and CCWI350: The Developmentally Appropriate Classroom.
In true teacher fashion, I made a list of the top five I knew I was very interested in. This helped me to narrow it down a lot. The search and filter helped me to look through all of the ones that may be relevant to me. Goodbye, overwhelm. Being able to look at age ranges was also extremely helpful. Primary students are SO different from all other students and I wanted to be sure the courses I signed up for were just right for K-1 students.
Get started quickly
The two courses that I signed up for came with handouts. They were perfect to fill in and take notes with. Be sure to set aside time each week to complete the coursework. If you have a higher number of credits you need, be sure to hit your goal by doing the work each week. Allow yourself time to absorb the material. Learning new information takes time! Be patient with yourself and trust that if you put in the effort, you will be successful in mastering the material. Each slide had bite-sized pieces of information. I was able to take in what I was being told and then easily move on to the next part.
Making the Most of Read Alouds
I loved how the LIT103: Making the Most of Read Alouds course included a poll at the very beginning. It made me do an immediate reflection. I won’t spill the beans on what the question is, but it definitely focused my brain immediately on the topic, read alouds. If you are new to teaching, I highly recommend this one. This training dives deep into the WHY. As teachers, sometimes we know we are supposed to do certain things, but we are not sure of the why. This breaks down the important skills and different literacy components that are taught with read alouds. There are sections on phonological awareness, oral language, and how important vocabulary is when thinking of read alouds.
Included in this amazing information-packed training, you also receive a TON of links. The best use of these is to create a folder in your bookmarks, save them and refer back when needed. I stayed here for a good bit reading all the materials. You will learn how to choose an appropriate book, what to do before reading, during reading, and last but not least, what to do after you finish reading the book. Hint: You never just stop and then you’re done.
CCEI Site Features
My trainings felt very interactive even though it was just me and my computer. There were questions after every few slides that helped to keep me on task. I loved that video examples were also included. Hands down my favorite part was the walk-through of planning for a read aloud. They used the book Rainbow Fish and it definitely helped to see the bigger picture that sometimes we are forced to do on our own. You will not want to finish these in one sit down. You will want to digest the information, reflect and then come back for more.
If you’re a teacher looking for an easy way to earn professional development credits, look no further than ChildCare Education Institute. With hundreds of courses to choose from and the convenience of self-paced, online learning, CCEI is the perfect solution for busy educators. You can get started with a free trial course, CUR128: Engineering Explorations in Early Childhood. New users can access this course until 9/30/22. Click here to get started with your free course!