Professional Educator Diploma in Teaching Adolescent Learners (TAL)

This course endows teachers with essential information about how early and late adolescents develop during the preparatory and secondary years. Theories of human development relevant to these education stages, as well as how students in these stages acquire knowledge in formal and informal settings are addressed. Emphasis is on student diversity and motivation for learning during adolescence.

This course supports teachers in attaining a deeper understanding of how preparatory and secondary students learn and of the pedagogic models and practices specific to their subject area of teaching and learning. Topics include instructional strategies, classroom organizational models, communication skills to enhance active inquiry, collaborative learning, instructional planning, development of reflection skills, problem-solving, and classroom management techniques.

This course empowers teachers with essential knowledge about the different types of assessment: assessment of, for, and learning. Teachers will explore the role of assessment in the learning process. They will be able to identify, differentiate and use assessment strategies effectively. Topics will include, selecting and developing assessment methods; administering, scoring, and interpreting assessment results, using descriptive feedback, using assessment results when making decisions about individual students, and recognizing unethical, illegal, and inappropriate assessment methods and uses of assessment information.

This course will help teachers to explore how the participant's engagement affects academic progress and outcomes as well as having a life-long contribution and results. The course will cover classroom-related engagement areas; cognitive, behavioral, and effective. Topics will include engagement; motivating adolescence; safe and healthy supporting learning environments; technology and inquiry; creativity and critical thinking; parental and community engagement; parental communication and counseling; global citizenship; and related behaviors and attitudes.

This course introduces teachers to innovative techniques for the effective integration of instructional technology in the teaching and learning process to increase student engagement and achievement. The course will enable teachers to use technology as a teaching and learning mean, choose appropriate technological tools based on learners' needs, and design meaningful learning experiences for their students. Topics covered in this course include the role of technology in 21st-century education, student-centered learning, virtual learning environments, online communication and collaboration tools, netiquette, cross-disciplinary integration, open-source education, video technologies, gamification, digital citizenship, and online assessment tools.

This practical course will help teachers to become reflective educators and integrate theoretically acquired knowledge with professional practice. The course will enhance the ability of teachers to utilize reflective, experiential, and pragmatic pedagogic approaches for diverse learners effectively. The course, therefore, aims at upgrading and promoting the facilitation of learning through peer observation, critical friends groups, and cognitive coaching. The 516 course should be the last course of the diploma.