Certificate in Inclusive Classroom Teaching
Certificate in Inclusive Classroom Teaching
When you hear the phrase “inclusive classroom teaching,” what images do you conjure in your mind? If you are familiar with inclusive education, you might picture a classroom where intellectual and academic abilities are bolstered and reinforced regardless of the student’s identity or background. Teachers can further enhance their student’s learning environment through a caring and mutually respectful setting where each child has choices, clear expectations, and a collaborative approach to the curriculum. Do some of your students have special needs or disabilities? Are a few of your students learning English as a second language? Perhaps you have students that prefer a personalized learning environment or need differentiated instruction to keep up with their academic gifts. The inclusive classroom model allows students of all needs and abilities to receive a superior education while simultaneously empowering the teacher to maintain an equitable and efficient plan for teaching their curriculum. Through this method of instruction, you won’t miss a beat!
While you may be considering all the benefits of creating an inclusive climate, how will you know where to begin? Fortunately, there are numerous resources, strategies, and tools to make the transition to an inclusive classroom. Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne has created the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate, which allows you to explore course options.
Some of the pertinent topics covered within this certificate include multicultural education, teaching gifted and talented students, educating those with special needs and disabilities, mainstreaming and inclusion tactics, building success for English Language Learners, understanding Common Core, RTI and RTI2 interventions, and much more! The Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate will provide you with courses that offer up-to-date content and resources so you can feel confident in your ability to reach the needs of all your students.
Benefits of the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate
While many topics covered might seem overwhelming at first, putting them together to create an inclusive classroom is not out of reach, even if you are only beginning to make changes to your teaching environment. You will find that the courses offered as part of the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate cover many subjects with which you are already familiar. You will now be able to hone in on the skills you already possess and develop new procedures to make impactful changes for the benefit of your students.
The Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate, offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, is a 15-semester credit certificate that educators can tailor to their needs. Teachers will find that many course offerings within this certificate will allow them to hand-select the most relevant and applicable courses to their specific environment.
When K-12 educators and school administrators enroll in courses applicable towards a certificate, they will experience the flexibility and convenience of enrolling in independent-study courses while earning graduate, non-degree semester credit for an accredited university. Students will also find that they can enroll in the required 15-semester credits at once or take courses one at a time to work towards their certificate. There is no deadline for earning a certificate.
How the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate Works
All courses offered within the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate are self-paced and independent study. Textbooks are included, and they are mailed to the student regardless of the format selected. Like all certificates offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, this certificate is the university’s acknowledgment of the extra effort you have invested in improving your professional skills to support and mentor your students. Earning a certificate from an accredited institution may also boost your professional career by helping you meet qualifications for promotions, salary advancement, or license renewal/ recertification*.
*The University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Certificates offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne are not designed to fulfill any specific district or state requirements. Students are advised to check with their school district or state department before enrolling in a course.
Each 15-semester credit certificate program features an extensive list of current three-semester credit and one-semester credit courses. Professional Development Courses encourage students to finish as many certificates as they need. However, each designated course may only be applied towards one certificate, even if that course is applicable towards more than one certificate.
Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate Course Offerings
The 15-semester credit Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate currently includes the following courses:
The Multicultural Classroom: This course covers topics such as second language learners, equality in classroom assessment, multicultural curriculum strategies, and the relationship between culture and social behavior.
ABCs of Effective Mainstreaming and Inclusion: Educators will be better prepared to teach children with learning differences, maximize each student’s strengths, and more confident in their ability to meet the multitude of challenges that accompany mainstreaming and inclusion.
Creating a Mindful Environment: The mindful individual understands how to experience the world in the present, is open to new information, and is aware that situations can be viewed from more than one perspective. This course covers the concept of mindfulness in many real-life situations and within the context of academic instruction.
The Differentiated Classroom: Dividing time and resources to effectively instruct students of diverse backgrounds, readiness levels, skill levels, and ways of learning is one of the most difficult challenges faced by educators. By focusing on research, theory, and examples, this course will help educators bridge this gap to meet the needs of all students.
Achieving Success for English Language Learners: This course will focus on modern strategies for the K-12 teacher to enhance the learning of English Language Learners. Presented in a user-friendly format, students will learn a wide range of effective teaching strategies to help English Language Learners understand content materials as they develop their speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills.
Understanding Autism: This course discusses the exciting developments in research, education, and treatments that have emerged in recent years. Topics covered include the history of autism, special education policy, the neurological basis of autism, and autism throughout the life cycle.
Teaching Gifted and Talented Students: What is giftedness? How can educators meet the unique academic and social needs of gifted and talented students? This course covers the educational implications of giftedness and provides classroom strategies and techniques for engaging exceptional students.
Educational Procedures for the Mentally Handicapped: Exceptionalities, both mental and physical, bring distinctive challenges to the classroom. This course offers positive ways to help educators understand the needs and motives of special needs children, as well as management strategies to help them reach their full potential.
RTI and RTI2: Revitalizing K-12: These education strategies revolutionize schools by helping students succeed, academically and behaviorally, in ways that no legislation has ever done. This course offers accurate and accessible reference tools, giving educators the strategies they need to provide students with high-quality instruction and effective interventions.
Teaching the Latino Student: Enhancing cross-cultural communication, understanding differences between home culture and school culture, and increasing parent involvement are just a few of the many topics covered in this timely course.
Child Behavior Disorders: Behaviorally disordered, emotionally disturbed, or socially maladjusted are terms often used to describe troubled children. In addition to explaining behavior and conduct disorders, this course gives an in-depth view of conditions that affect learning and academic performance while providing tools and solutions to help these students succeed.
Psychology of Exceptional Children: This course will familiarize educators with the unique problems of children who have health, academic, emotional, behavioral, sensory, and physical exceptionalities. It provides information on diagnoses, observable traits, and instructional strategies to support each learner.
How to Register
All the courses applicable to the Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate can be completed online or through an emailed PDF format. They are open to anyone to register at any time during each semester. After completing each course, students will earn graduate, non-degree semester credit on an official transcript from the University of La Verne. Once the required 15-semester credits are completed, students will automatically receive their mailed Inclusive Classroom Teaching Certificate at no additional cost beyond the course’s cost. No application is required.
Registration for classes is fast and straightforward and can be done online or over the phone. Courses are offered on a rolling basis during three semesters, and you may begin as soon as you are ready!
The Semester dates are:
Fall: September 1 – January 31
Spring: February 1 – May 31
Summer: June 1 – August 31
Whether you are teaching in person, online, or a combination of both, you can create an inclusive learning environment for your students. Now is the time to select courses that will allow you to brush up on your knowledge and skills about inclusive instruction to create a classroom climate that will promote a high level of student achievement.