Continuing Your Education as a Teacher

Photo by Hadi James

Continuing your education after receiving your teacher’s license can prove to be very beneficial. This helps you maintain your license, improve your skills, and learn about changing trends and technological advances in education. Each state has different requirements that need to be met in order to maintain your license. It’s important to find out what those are and what classes qualify. There are lots of options to continue your education. Here are some that you can check out.

Onsite Courses

Not only can teachers complete graduate-level courses at local universities, but they can also take continuing education courses. These courses are offered at night, on weekends, or during the summer to fit teacher’s schedules. Reach out to universities near you to find out what continued education courses they can offer you.

Online Courses

For busy teachers, it’s difficult to find time outside of school and responsibilities at home to take a course. Luckily, online courses can be taken anywhere and at any time. Some have a set schedule that needs to be followed, and others allow people to work at their own pace. For online course options, check out the following:

• Grand Canyon University
• CE Credits Online
• Armchaired.com
• Arizona State University
• Southern Utah University
• SMART Technologies

Workshops

Workshops allow teachers to focus on specific things that they’d like to learn more about. Some can be completed in one day, but others last several days. For example, JUMP Math is a one-day session for teachers who cover 1^st through 8^th grade. It offers new and interesting ideas for teaching math to their students. EdTechTeacher offers workshops to help teachers improve their classroom technology use.

Other companies that offer workshops for teachers include aha! Process, Pearson ELT, Scholastic Professional Development, and College Board.

Seminars and Webinars

Seminars and webinars are typically lectures by experts on a particular topic in the education field. Teachers can choose ones will help them with their students and subject matter. Here are some of the available options.

• Just Do The Right Thing is a seminar that gives teachers techniques for classroom management and ideas for helping students develop character.
• Seeds of Science/ Root of Reading provides tips for teaching reading to students in 2^nd through 5^th grade.
• The National Council of Teachers of English provides webinars with tips for primary and secondary teachers teaching language arts to their students.

Conferences

Conferences typically last several days with speakers and breakout sessions for teachers to choose from. For example, the Reading Recovery Council of North America holds conferences to provide tips for teaching literacy to elementary school students. The National Science Teachers Association offers several conferences throughout the year to demonstrate tips and techniques for teaching science to students of all ages.

The costs associated with these opportunities vary. Although some of them are free, many of them can cost several hundred dollars. Read about each opportunity and find out whether or not it meets the requirements to maintain your teacher’s license before deciding to complete it. Choose ones that will help you reach your professional goals and improve your teaching skills.