Creating a Culturally-Conscious Classroom Environment is designed to provide TK-12 educators with resources and tools to create learning environments conducive to culturally-responsive learning and teaching with the purpose of improving student achievement by minimizing bad behavior. The course aims to support educators in enhancing class culture, academic discourse, and peer relationships by increasing cultural sensitivity and awareness. To support educators, the course will help guide educators in building classrooms with the focus on improving educational equity. The first part of the course will focus on defining educational equity and self-reflection; educators will explore their own identity markers and implicit biases how they impact their own pedagogy and learning environment. The second part of the course will focus on defining what it means to be culturally responsive and exploring and understanding your own student needs in order to create a culturally-conscious classroom.
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Number of Units: 3.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours
Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for TK-12 educators with a diverse student population or with the need to expand student thinking through an equitable and culturally-responsive lens who would benefit from the course by learning how to address gaps in cultural understanding and creating an environment for students to learn from one another.
Course Format: Online Self-Paced*, to be completed within the set dates:
*Online Self-Paced courses are a perfect blend of accessibility, convenience and flexibility for you to control your learning pace. Your instructor will provide feedback via written responses on your assignments and final project. Grades are based on assignments and completed projects. You have up until May 21, 2023 to complete and submit your course assignments. Please pace yourself to allow enough time for instructors to respond to your submissions. Course completion date will reflect May 21, 2023 on transcript for all participants that successfully meet the completed course work due date deadline.
Instructors: Various experienced and qualified K-12 educators. See individual course sections.
Technical Requirements
We highly recommend that you view the entire course upon enrollment (beginning March 18, when it becomes available for student view), including instructor announcement regarding their grading schedule to help you successfully pace yourself.
Once you have enrolled in your course, log in to your account to access the course Welcome Letter, which includes directions on how to access the Online Orientation and your online course.
Enrollment: February 7 – April 17, 2023
Course Format: Online Self-Paced (within given dates)
Refund Policy: To receive a refund*, students registered prior to March 20, 2023 must drop the course through MyPCE@USD student account portal before midnight on the third day of the course (March 22, 2023). Students enrolling between March 20 and April 17, 2023, who wish to receive a refund, must drop the course through MyPCE@USD student account portal before midnight on the third day following your enrollment. *All refunds of the course tuition will be returned less a processing fee of $50.00. No refunds will be issued after applicable deadline for any reason.
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Our online self-paced courses are similar to online fixed-date courses, but are designed to give you a six-month period from time of enrollment to complete all assignments. Like fixed-date courses, online self-paced courses are asynchronous, meaning that you can work on your assignments anytime; the difference being there are no assigned due dates in self-paced courses. Your instructor will provide feedback via written responses on your assignments and exams. Grades are based on completed projects, assignments and exams.
How is the self-paced course structured? Like fixed-date courses, online self-paced courses are asynchronous meaning that you can work on your assignments anytime; the difference being there are no assigned due dates in self-paced courses. The content is divided into learning modules. Each module will cover one or more topics. Within each of the learning modules, you can expect the following components:
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