Blogs Teaching Channel has some courses you really love: Trust, Humor, Praise and Connection for Meaningful Relationships with Students, A Moving Body, Thinking Brain, Learning to Learn… and we love them too! Every time we write a course, we know you are spending hard-earned time and money to get an exceptional graduate-level, degree-eligible course, and we take that to heart.
Every catalog has its bestsellers and its hidden gems. While courses like Anxiety Awareness and our AI offerings naturally draw plenty of attention, there are some equally worthwhile courses tucked into our catalog just waiting for the right educator to discover them. These courses have a lot to offer, and we think it’s time to help them step out of the shadows.
I feel it’s my responsibility to coax them into the light so I can share them with you.
I know, not all heroes wear capes. *blush*
The following are fantastic courses that are just waiting for their time to shine:
5300: Learning by Choice
This course does what other courses do not: makes it all about you! Did you know you can earn graduate credit for reading a specific text, attending a training, watching a documentary, and/or traveling? You tell us what you’d like to do, and once approved, you can make this course your Choose Your Own Adventure (with our syllabus, of course). This is our version of Independent Study, and we cannot wait to support you.
5314: Making Mistakes Meaningful for Students AND Teachers
Step into a world where you and your students are not only encouraged to make mistakes, but to also thrive from those mistakes. In this course’s text, author M. Colleen Cruz, states: “You believe, and probably say to your students, that mistakes are a natural part of learning…how much do your curricular choices, teaching methods, and student behaviors reflect this belief?” (xi) Dig in and learn how taking risks, fear, and self-care all have to do with growing from mistakes, and examine how you can build a classroom that is (truly!) mistake-friendly.
5369: Igniting Student Discourse Through Discussion, Debate, and Academic Conversation
These days, having positive discourse with and between students can be challenging. It’s critical that we help students develop these skills, which can also strengthen active listening, empathy, conflict resolution, collaboration, civic engagement, and so much more! This course will help you to differentiate between contentious topics and controversial ones (hint: you want the contentious ones!), set norms, choose questioning styles, and teach claim, evidence, and reasoning to have productive conversations! Give this one a try – there are so many resources to set you and your students up for success!
5377: Digital Projects to Ignite Authentic Learning
If you are looking for ways to engage your students with technology– this is it! Project-based learning, video creation, student documentaries, storytelling…if it’s digital, it’s here! With this course, you have the opportunity to create exemplars for projects that will meet students where they are and pique their interest. At the same time, you can learn how to produce your own digital creations to amplify your own instruction. With a text to guide your learning, you’ll be well on your way to providing students with new and engaging ways to demonstrate their learning!
5382: Building a Sustainable Teaching Practice
Often, the workload for teachers is so vast; doing so much can only last so long before hints of burnout begin to rise. Text author Paul Emrich France understands this and has developed ways to make your teaching day feel more sustainable. Begin by ensuring your lessons engage students so they retain more information. Then, explore ways to hit multiple standards in a lesson, anticipate challenges, and create routines that are more flexible than fixed. Amid everything that feels overwhelming, you’ll learn how to own and celebrate your successes for all that’s going well! This could well be the life raft you need to continue loving your job.
The courses above represent just a few topics that could boost engagement and confidence in learning and teaching. Look into taking one– it will be worth it, I promise!
Betsy Butler (she/her) is a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in English, a Master’s in Education, and has been teaching since 1992. Betsy uses her three decades of teaching experience to write and revise our courses while selecting the perfect accompanying texts. Her specialty areas include ELA, special education topics, behavior management, and mental health.
Fun Fact: Betsy’s daily conquest is solving the New York Times crossword puzzle!
