Online Professional Development

 General Information

The first class meeting for each of the workshops will be at Westfield State College, to review how to use this online program and to hear about the course outline. The other 8 hours will be spent, at your convenience, with specific assigned activities and due dates. Those who have previously enrolled in our online workshops and feel comfortable with WebCt can choose to not attend the first session.

Each participant who completes a workshop will receive a minimum of 10 PDPs.

The cost for each workshop will be $100.  This fee can be paid with a purchase order or by a check made payable to Westfield State College.

Using Writing to Improve Learning in Chemistry

This ten-hour on-line course will explore ways low stakes writing in the Chemistry classroom can improve learning of key concepts, differentiate instruction and prepare students for more formal writing assignments such as lab reports.  Teachers will have the opportunity to experience and discuss a model lesson using writing to learn in a lesson on Acids and Bases.  Teachers will then work together to share other ways to integrate writing into other content areas of a chemistry course, explore current research and theory on writing to learn, explore successful classroom strategies, and develop their own writing to learn classroom lesson.

Instructor: Mike Thompson, High School Chemistry Teacher

Integrating Arts into the Content Areas 

This ten-hour on-line course will explore ways to integrate the arts into content areas.  Teachers will have the opportunity to experience and discuss a model lesson integrating music and theater arts into a 5th grade social studies unit on Immigration.  Teachers will then work together to share other ways to integrate arts into content areas, explore current research and theory on arts education, explore successful classroom strategies, and develop their own arts integration project.

Instructor:  Anne White, Art teacher Amherst Public Schools

Registration Information

Teachers who wish to participate in online professional development offerings may register online or by calling the CENTER at 572-8159 or 572-8065.  The registration form can be mailed or faxed to the CENTER, Westfield State College, 577 Western Ave., Westfield, MA  01085.  Fax:  413-572-8187

The first class meeting for each of the workshops will be held at Westfield State College to review how to use this online program and to learn more about the course outline. The other 8 hours will be spent, at your convenience, with specific assigned activities and due dates.

Each participant who completes the workshop will receive a minimum of 10 PDPs.

The cost for each workshop will be $100.  This fee can be paid with a purchase order or by a check made payable to Westfield State College.