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Program overview

The Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration (CVTI) supports excellence and innovation in transition programming for current and former members of the armed forces.

As a service member in transition, you may face barriers reaching your potential in accessing higher education and beginning meaningful careers, despite the many effective programs offered to this population by the Department of Labor, Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program, and other programs offered by the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. With this in mind, the CVTI is dedicated to creating free courses that will help to break down those barriers to your successful transition. Currently we are offering three courses to meet these demands, with more courses on the way. While these courses are created for veterans and active duty service members, they are free and available for all.

Attaining Higher Education is a course designed to facilitate the successful transition of active duty service members and veterans to postsecondary education, whether at a two- or four-year college for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or even graduate school.

University Studies for Student Veterans helps orient veterans to the norms and expectations of the college classroom, along with offering strategies to ease the transition, to help achieve academic goals, and to allow students to optimize their college education.

Find Your Calling: Transition Principles for Returning Veterans will focus on the development of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and intellectual character strengths as they relate to making a successful career transition from military service to the civilian workforce. The course content is meant to provide you with a framework for an iterative process of self-reflection and the development of practical skills that enables you to make career choices that better align with your values, ambitions, and continued service. Ultimately, this course helps you answer the question: What should I do next?

What will you learn

  • General and detailed information about colleges and universities.
  • Foundational academic and study skills for achieving academic success in college.
  • Strategies for more effective reading, writing, test preparation, and time management.
  • Practical tips and strategies for making a successful military-to-civilian career transition.
  • A framework for how to begin thinking about and exploring new career opportunities.

Program Class List

1
Attaining Higher Education

Course Details
Prepare to transition to college using intentional decision-making. Aimed at active duty service members and veterans, with this course you will learn about the college admission process, including financial aid, to help you choose a right-fit college.

Course Duration

5 weeks total

Time Commitment

3 - 5 hours each week

Price

$.00

2
University Studies for Student Veterans

Course Details
This course helps veterans transition smoothly from military service to college, and helps them maximize their success once they arrive.

Course Duration

6 weeks

Time Commitment

3 - 4 hours each week

Price

$49.00

3
Find Your Calling: Career Transition Principles for Returning Veterans

Course Details
This course provides military veterans with a useful roadmap to transition more smoothly from military service to a new and meaningful civilian career.

Course Duration

6 weeks total

Time Commitment

1 - 3 hours per week

Price

$.00

Meet Your Instructors

Beth E. Morgan - Pearson Advance

Beth E. Morgan

Director of Higher Education Transition and Partnerships at Columbia University Born in Quantico, Virginia, Beth grew up in a Marine Corps family and was raised around the world, living for periods of time in Hawaii, Germany, and Korea. Professionally, Beth has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, for several non-profits, as a consultant, and on staff at major universities throughout the United States, including Colgate University, Princeton University, and the University of Southern California. Prior to joining the Center for Veteran Transition and Integration at Columbia University, Beth worked most recently with the non-profit Service to School as Executive Director and previously directed the Marine Corps Leadership Scholar Program (LSP), both of which assisted transitioning service members and veterans with admission to undergraduate and graduate programs. Beth has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University.

R.J. Jenkins

Curriculum Designer at Columbia University Before joining the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration as a Curriculum Designer in 2016, R.J. served as an Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where he directed the Academic Resource Center and served as the lead instructor for University Studies, a transition course for first-year, non-traditional students. An award-winning teacher, R.J. has advised college students at Columbia, Cambridge, and Harvard Universities, and has taught courses in English and American literature, literary history, close reading, academic skill-building, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. R.J. holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and anthropology from Columbia University (2003), a Master of Letters in English literature from the University of Cambridge (2005), and is currently pursuing doctoral work in English literature.

Skip Bailey

Senior Advisor to the Director of Educational Financing at Columbia University William ”Skip” Bailey has been a financial aid administrator for more than 34 years. He has been managing financial aid for non-traditional students at the School of General Studies (GS) for over 20 years. Previously he administered financial aid at multiple colleges including the University of San Diego and the University of Michigan. A degree in education from Michigan State University and lots of experience has provided Skip with the tools he uses every day to assist students at GS with the myriad issues involved with college financial aid.
Tanya Ang - Pearson Advance

Tanya Ang

Vice President of Veterans Education Success at Columbia University Tanya is the Vice President of Veterans Education Success and has more than 17 years of experience in higher education. She has worked at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and also served as the Director of Veterans Programs at the American Council on Education. Prior to joining ACE, Tanya worked at two universities including working as an Administrative Analyst for the Vice President of Student Affairs Office at California State University - Fullerton and as Associate Registrar at Vanguard University where most her work focused on the non-traditional student including military and student veterans. She was the certifying official at her institution for student veteran GI Bill benefits and worked hand-in-hand with the various offices on-campus to ensure students received the benefits and the support they needed to successfully navigate their academic career. In her current role, she works to ensure military-connected students have access to high-quality education to achieve their long term career goals. Tanya is the first in her family to graduate from college, and earned her BA in Communications at Biola University and an MA in Organizational Leadership at Vanguard University.

Sara Remedios

Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University Sara is Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where she directs the Academic Resource Center and oversees all academic and learning initiatives. Before coming to Columbia, she worked to restructure the CUNY Pipeline Honors Program, a program dedicated to assisting exceptional undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in gaining admission to doctoral programs. She is also an accomplished teacher. Dean Remedios holds a B.A. in English and political science from Washington University in St. Louis (2009), an M.Phil. in English literature from the City University of New York (2014), and a Ph.D. in English literature from the City University of New York (2016).

Josh Edwin

Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University Josh is Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies. His teaching experience at Columbia includes University Studies, academic writing classes, one-on-one writing support, and creative writing workshops for veterans. He has also taught at a public high school in Atlanta and an English language school in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to teaching, he has published widely as a poet, translator, and reviewer. He holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Emory University and an M.F.A. in poetry and literary translation from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Michael Abrams

Executive Director - Center for Veteran Transition and Integration, Marine Corps Veteran at Columbia University Michael Abrams joined the Marine Corps shortly following the September 11, 2001 attacks and served on active duty for eight years, which included a deployment to Afghanistan with an infantry company as the artillery forward observer. After leaving active duty, Michael attended New York University’s Stern School of Business graduating with an M.B.A. in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. While attending business school, he founded FourBlock to help bridge the gap between returning service members and the business community. The program is a university accredited, semester-long course that educates and prepares transitioning veterans for meaningful careers in corporate America. FourBlock is in nearly twenty cities across the country, educating and serving hundreds of transitioning veterans each semester. Michael is now serving as the executive director of the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration. The newly established center of excellence is dedicated to creating and supporting evidence-based programming that enables returning service members with reaching their academic and career potential.
William Deresiewicz - Pearson Advance

William Deresiewicz

Best-Selling Author, Award-Winning Essayist at Columbia University William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist and critic, a frequent speaker at colleges and other venues, and the best-selling author of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. He taught English at Yale and Columbia before becoming a full-time writer in 2008. Bill has published over 250 essays and reviews. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper's, The Nation, The New Republic, The American Scholar, and many other publications. He has won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, and a Sydney Award; he is also a three-time National Magazine Award nominee. His work has been translated into 17 languages and anthologized in more than 30 college readers. He has spoken at over 80 colleges, high schools, and educational groups and has held visiting positions at Bard, Scripps, and Claremont McKenna Colleges. Bill’s previous book is A Jane Austen Education. He is working on a book about how artists are making a living in the new economy.  

Sheena Iyengar

World-Renowned Expert on Choice, S. T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia University Professor Iyengar has taught courses in leadership and entrepreneurial creativity. Her research addresses the implications of offering people, whether they be employees or consumers, choices. She has examined choice in a multitude of contexts ranging from employee motivation and performance in a global organization, Citigroup, to chocolate displays at Godiva, to the magazine aisles of supermarkets, and to mutual fund options in retirement benefit plans. Professor Iyengar received the Presidential Early Career Award for her ongoing work in examining cultural, individual, and situational factors that influence people's choice-making preferences and behaviors.

Sebastian Junger

NYT Best-Selling Author, Documentary Filmmaker at Columbia University Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of THE PERFECT STORM, FIRE, A DEATH IN BELMONT, WAR and TRIBE. As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a special correspondent at ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world, and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award. Junger is also a documentary filmmaker whose debut film "Restrepo", a feature-length documentary (co-directed with Tim Hetherington), was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Course Overview

The skills you learned in the military will go a long way toward helping you succeed in college, but if you’re looking for some extra support – or an academic tune-up – then you’ll find it in this course. We know that the culture of higher education is different from the culture of the military in meaningful ways, and we also know that one of the keys to excelling in college – especially for student veterans – is learning to navigate these differences successfully, right from the very start.

This course aims to help you do just that. First, the course will orient you to the norms and expectations of the college classroom. The quicker you know what is expected of you, the quicker you can start learning. Second, the course will offer you strategies to ease your transition, to help you achieve your academic goals, and to allow you to make the most of your college education.

While this course is open to everyone, the content has been tailored specifically for student veterans currently pursuing higher education, active duty servicemembers who aspire to start school or return to school soon, and higher education professionals who work to support student veterans at their schools. If this sounds like you, and if you’re ready to learn how to make your transition easier and more successful, then we hope you’ll join us.

What You’ll Learn

  • Foundational academic and study skills for achieving academic success in college
  • Strategies for more effective reading, writing, test preparation, and time management
  • Proven tips for students taking STEM and other technical courses
  • Metacognition and academic mindset

Veteran Transition: Academic Excellence and Career Readiness

Transition from active service to college and the workforce

Attaining Higher Education
University Studies for Student Veterans
Find Your Calling: Career Transition Principles for Returning Veterans
3 4 months in total 2 - 4 hours each week
Complete Program $99.00
Program Details

Meet Your Instructors

R.J. Jenkins

Curriculum Designer at Columbia University Before joining the Columbia University Center for Veteran Transition and Integration as a Curriculum Designer in 2016, R.J. served as an Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where he directed the Academic Resource Center and served as the lead instructor for University Studies, a transition course for first-year, non-traditional students. An award-winning teacher, R.J. has advised college students at Columbia, Cambridge, and Harvard Universities, and has taught courses in English and American literature, literary history, close reading, academic skill-building, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. R.J. holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and anthropology from Columbia University (2003), a Master of Letters in English literature from the University of Cambridge (2005), and is currently pursuing doctoral work in English literature.

Sara Remedios

Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University Sara is Associate Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies where she directs the Academic Resource Center and oversees all academic and learning initiatives. Before coming to Columbia, she worked to restructure the CUNY Pipeline Honors Program, a program dedicated to assisting exceptional undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds in gaining admission to doctoral programs. She is also an accomplished teacher. Dean Remedios holds a B.A. in English and political science from Washington University in St. Louis (2009), an M.Phil. in English literature from the City University of New York (2014), and a Ph.D. in English literature from the City University of New York (2016).

Josh Edwin

Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University Josh is Senior Assistant Dean of Students at Columbia University’s School of General Studies. His teaching experience at Columbia includes University Studies, academic writing classes, one-on-one writing support, and creative writing workshops for veterans. He has also taught at a public high school in Atlanta and an English language school in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to teaching, he has published widely as a poet, translator, and reviewer. He holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Emory University and an M.F.A. in poetry and literary translation from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

About this course

Designed for those who are new to elearning, this course will prepare you with strategies to be a successful online learner.

The edX learning design team has curated some of the most powerful, science-backed techniques which you can start using right away and on any learning platform.

This course will help you answer the following questions:

  • How do I take notes during live or recorded instruction? What’s the difference?
  • What’s the point of discussions and how should I participate in them to get the most value?
  • What can I do if I have trouble concentrating or lack time to complete assignments?
  • What is the ideal study environment?

What you’ll learn

  • Self-care techniques that will help you maintain a healthy mind for effective online learning.
  • Time management with the help of some common technology.
  • Key learning strategies backed by research from edX partners.
  • Build strong connections with fellow learners and your instructors.
  • Setup your work area in order to focus and be a successful online learner.

Meet your instructors

Nina Huntemann

About Me

Nina Huntemann is Vice President of Learning at edX. In this role, Nina drives edX’s instructional and pedagogical strategy to maximize the capabilities of the edX platform to improve learner outcomes. Nina has over 15 years of college-level teaching, program administration, and faculty development experience. Prior to joining edX, she was an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University in Boston where she taught courses and published research in digital media studies. Nina received her Ph.D. in communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Outside of work, Nina enjoys cycling, baking, and hiking with her Welsh terrier, Penny.

Ben Piscopo

About Me

Ben is a senior learning designer at edX. He has over 10 years of experience in both academia and industry, building a diverse resume that includes lecturing at international colleges, authoring a series of innovative phonetic textbooks, and consulting for the British Council on a high-stakes English exam. Ben has an advanced degree in Learning and Knowledge Management Systems from the Rochester Institute of Technology. When he isn't dreaming up new learning experiences, he is planning his next trip to Asia, or enjoying a steaming cup of high-mountain tea.

Robyn Belair

About Me

Robyn is a Learning Designer at edX with over 16 years of experience in higher education and education technology. She has developed fully-online and blended courses for undergraduate and graduate programs, learning experiences for students with cognitive disabilities, and coached faculty to be better online instructors. Digital pedagogy, accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are of high importance in her work.

About this course

Based on the National Gallery of Art’s popular Art Around the Corner professional development program for teachers in Washington, D.C., this five-unit online course provides everything you need to begin creating a culture of critical thinking and collaboration for any classroom, subject, or level. You do not need an art background or museum access to successfully integrate the course materials into your teaching. Your willingness to experiment with new teaching practices is all that is required.

The strategies presented in this course are adapted from Artful Thinking pedagogy, developed by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. You will explore three thinking dispositions, using eight thinking routines that are easy to understand and implement with STEAM curricular content.

  • Starting with the disposition of observing and describing , you will learn how to guide your students in slowing down, using their senses, and communicating impressions of what they see in a work of art…and in other things.
  • Next, the routines used in the disposition of reasoning with evidence ask students to make hypotheses about the art and support their arguments with observations.
  • Finally, the questioning and investigating disposition challenges students to hone their natural curiosity by expressing their wonderings and formulating open-ended questions.

Throughout, you will discover the power of art to develop your students’ inclination, motivation, and ability to think deeply.

When you enroll, all the resources you need for your classroom to strengthen critical thinking by using art will be immediately available. We recommend spending a few hours learning and practicing each section before progressing to the next.

The online course environment features over 20 videos and interactive tools:

  • a zoom tool to examine works of art at full resolution
  • polls to compare your thoughts with those of other participants
  • discussion boards where teachers around the world share ideas, plans, and results
  • authentic lesson demonstration videos that model routines led by real classroom and museum educators with students of varying ages, with corresponding downloadable lesson plans
  • interview videos on topics like using thinking routines with emerging language learners and making accommodations for all learners

Participating with a global network of educators who, just like you, want to hone their abilities to teach critical thinking skills and explore arts integration will be an added bonus to your course experience.

What you’ll learn

  • How to use Artful Thinking Routines to strengthen thinking.
  • How to facilitate meaningful conversations in your classroom using art for artful learning and artful teaching.
  • How to help learners of all levels develop more discerning descriptions, evidence-based reasoning, and meaningful questioning habits.
  • Key strategies for using content information to push original thinking deeper.
  • Exciting, immersive activities for any type of classroom.
  • How to use online teaching resources from the National Gallery of Art, including downloadable Artful Thinking lesson plans

Meet your instructor

Julie Carmean

About Me

As a Museum Educator and Coordinator of Professional Development for Art Around the Corner partnership programs at the National Gallery of Art, Julie plans and facilitates professional development for classroom teachers and museum educators on-site and online, teaches in the galleries and studio, and writes curriculum and educational resources. Formerly, she taught elementary students in Title I and Arts Integration schools using Artful Thinking routines, designed and instructed graduate-level education courses, and coached online courses. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and received her master’s degree in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She believes that making the arts accessible to all students contributes to each one reaching his or her highest potential.

About this course

Whether you’re new to teaching online or are looking for new teaching strategies to implement in your online class, our goal is that you find value in this carefully constructed experience we’ve designed for you. This learning experience is adapted from ASU’s flagship workshop for ASU Online faculty, called “Master Class for Teaching Online”.

In this self-paced experience, you’ll learn about topics that are recognized to be effective in online teaching, yet they really can be applied in any modality. So if you’re teaching remotely, in a hybrid format, or in a traditional classroom, our goal is that you’ll learn something new that you can apply immediately.

Even though this is an on-demand and self-paced resource, we encourage you to join the community forums created specifically for this experience. You will have an opportunity to contribute by sharing your own ideas and philosophies around provided prompts. It’s a great way to connect to a broader teaching and learning community and to the knowledge and experiences that reside with your fellow participants.

This course is NOT edX platform training. It is designed to facilitate peer sharing of strategies for designing and teaching online courses.

What you’ll learn

At the completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Contribute to a learning community.
  • Demonstrate proficient edX navigation from the student perspective.
  • Describe key components of online student success.
  • Apply question design principles to facilitate effective and engaging class discussions.
  • Explain the value of implementing the Quality Matters Rubric in course design.
  • Identify instructional alignment using Bloom’s Taxonomy.
  • Analyze various pedagogical approaches for delivering course content online.
  • Describe design and delivery techniques of effective lectures.
  • Prepare content for optimizing instructor presence in an online course.
  • Create a plan for implementing Foundations for Excellence in Teaching Online resources in an online course.

Meet your instructors

Diane Ellison

About Me

Diane has worked in higher education for 17 years; with experience in online learning, faculty development, student mentoring, and 14 years of experience as a faculty member teaching in online courses. She develops learning experiences designed to leverage learning technology, faculty expertise, and instructional design strategies to transform the learner experience. Diane has BA in Communication from Arizona State University, an MBA, and MAED in Instructional Technology.

Renee Pilbeam

About Me

Renee brings over 10 years of instructional design, teaching (face-to-face and online), and faculty development experience in the higher education space to the EdPlus team. She believes deeply in the power that education has to transform people’s lives. Through partnerships with faculty, she works to develop learning experiences that are based in sound learning design, leverages the strengths of the technology, highlights the passion of the faculty, and delivers the impactful learning experiences that learners deserve. In addition to working with faculty to design and deliver exceptional courses, she also equips faculty with best practices and strategies for engaging with learners and teaching effectively online. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Technology from Arizona State University.

Vicki Harmon

About Me

Vicki works in coordination with colleagues to develop and deliver workshops and just-in-time materials focused on the pedagogy of teaching online. Vicki is lead facilitator for ASU Online’s flagship workshop, the two-week Master Class for Teaching Online. She also serves as an Instructional Designer in support of the Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation, and the online degree programs within the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. Vicki has been at ASU for 28 years. She has a Bachelor Degree in Music Education and Masters of Arts from Western Kentucky University.

About this course

In this course, participants will explore research-informed, effective practices for online teaching and learning. By enrolling, you will learn practical ways to quickly move into teaching online, guided by top scholars and practitioners in the field. Each module, you will watch videos and read articles by online learning experts and participate in activities and discussions covering critical topics that will make the online environment a rich learning experience for your students. The instructors will synthesize relevant resources to help those who are new to online learning and those who have experience, but want to expand their skills and provide support for others. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, share practices that have worked well in online learning environments, and receive feedback on your teaching and learning plans.

Given recent global developments related to COVID-19, many have rapidly shifted to move teaching online. For those who have not taught online before, this can be a challenging experience. Fortunately, there is a rich research base, dating back over sixty years, that provides insight and guidance on the key factors that enable successful learning online. This course will support the pivot to online learning by exploring the scientific literature as well as practical actions that enable online success and equitable outcomes for all learners.

While the target audience of the course is postsecondary institutions, this course will be of use to anyone moving into online teaching and learning.

What you’ll learn

In this course, you will learn to:

  • Develop a framework for rapidly moving from on-campus to online teaching
  • Identify and use a range of content creation technologies that support presenting curriculum online
  • Foster interaction online and promote deep engagement between students
  • Implement mindsets of success, supporting students to create and share artifacts of their learning, develop their ideas collaboratively with others, and practice self-regulatory skills through goal setting and success monitoring
  • Discover and use tools and technologies that enable you to perform common classroom actions online, such as assessment, demonstrations, and learning analytics
  • Plan long-term online learning and the return to classroom teaching by adopting the best of the online environment to support in-class learning

Meet your instructors

George Siemens

About Me

George is an author, researcher, and theorist in the field of learning, knowledge management, and technology.

Justin Dellinger

About Me

Justin T. Dellinger is the Associate Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge (LINK) Research Lab in the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has a Ph.D. in K-16 Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and holds a Master's Degree in History. Mr. Dellinger has worked in K-12 and higher education since 2004. His research interests include: Learning Analytics, Learning Pathways, and the History of Colonial Louisiana.

Matt Crosslin

About Me

Matt Crosslin, Ph.D. is a Learning Innovation Researcher with the LINK Research Lab. Matt’s current research activities focus on learning theory, innovation, learner empowerment, and learning analytics. Matt holds a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, a Master of Education in Educational Technology from UT Brownsville, and a Bachelors of Science in Education from Baylor University. His research interests include instructional design, learning pathways, sociocultural theory, heutagogy, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and open networked learning. He has a background in instructional design and teaching at both the secondary and university levels and has been an active blogger and conference presenter. He also enjoys networking and collaborative efforts involving faculty, students, administration, and anyone involved in the education process. Before coming to UTA, he worked in innovative learning centers as well as forward thinking education companies that looked to expand the limits of formal and informal learning.

Tanya Joosten

About Me

Tanya Joosten, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist, the Director of Digital Learning Research and Development, and co-PI and co-Director of the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is nationally recognized in her work in blended and online learning as an Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Fellow and works to guide strategic digital learning efforts on campus, across the UW System, and nationally as an advisor to the Provost, a member of the University of Wisconsin System Learning Technology Executive Council, and a member of several national boards and committees. Currently, Dr. Joosten leads a national research initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Education working to provide access to research models and methods, facilitating innovate processes of data collection, and encouraging the replication of research across institutions through the DETA Research Toolkit to identify key instructional and institutional factors that influence student success with particular attention to underrepresented students. Dr. Joosten has a background in the social sciences hailing from the field of communication. Her notable keynotes include eLearning Asia, ITC eLearning Conference, and SACS COC President’s event, and her ideas have been highlighted on plenary panels at the UW-Madison Annual Distance Teaching and Learning conference and the OLC International Conference for Online Learning. You can find her ideas and work cited in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, U.S. News World and Report, and more. Recent interviews with Dr. Joosten are available on ResearchInAction and TOPcast available on iTunes. Her book on social media is available from Wiley Publishing, she has authored numerous articles, chapters, and encyclopedia entries on human and social interactions and digital learning, and she often writes invited blog posts and magazine articles for organizations, such as EDUCAUSE, WCET, Inside Higher Ed, and Pearson. Dr. Joosten previously worked as the Director of the Learning Technology Center leading faculty development and engagement initiatives, pedagogical and technological innovation projects, core learning technology oversight, and blended and online program development.

Course Overview

Have you ever wondered why some classroom discussions are lively and engaging and others more like painful interrogations? Why some students always have an answer ready, but others never participate? Why everybody (or nobody) laughs at a teacher’s jokes? What role multiple languages should play in classroom talk?

This course gives classroom teachers at all levels and subject areas the analytic tools to answer these and more questions about classroom communication.

Each lesson introduces fundamental concepts and techniques of classroom discourse analysis, developing an analytic toolkit and promoting critical reflection on pedagogical practices over five weeks.

What You’ll Learn

You’ll explore student engagement strategies including how to identify and analyze:

  • turn-taking patterns and their function
  • question types and their effects on classroom talk
  • the role of intonation, gesture and other subtle cues on interaction
  • types and functions of classroom storytelling
  • types of class participation and their effects

Prerequisites

3rd or 4th Year Undergraduate Students or Graduate Students who are student teaching, tutoring, or practicing teachers.

Meet Your Instructors

Betsy R. Rymes-Pearson Advance

Betsy R. Rymes

Professor of Educational Linguistics at University of Pennsylvania Betsy is Professor of Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She received her Masters degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) from UCLA in 1994 and her PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCLA in 1997.

Course Overview:

All of us carry explicit or implicit theories of learning. They manifest themselves in the ways we learn, the ways we teach, and the ways we think about leadership and learning.

In Leaders of Learning, you will identify and develop your personal theory of learning, and explore how it fits into the shifting landscape of learning. This isn’t just about schools, it’s about the broader and bigger world of learning.

The education sector is undergoing great transformation, and in the coming decades will continue to change. How we learn, what we learn, where we learn, and why we learn; all these questions will be reexamined. In Leaders of Learning we will explore learning, leadership, organizational structure, and physical design.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to define your personal theory of learning
  • What leadership looks like in different learning environments
  • How an organization’s structure reflects its theories of learning
  • How physical and digital design shape learning
  • How neuroscience will affect the future of learning

Meet Your Instructor:

Richard Elmore - Pearson Advance

Richard Elmore

The Gregory R. Anrig Research Professor of Educational Leadership at Harvard University Richard Elmore is the The Gregory R. Anrig Research Professor of Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For the past fifteen years his research and clinical practice has concentrated on the improvement of instructional practice in schools and classrooms, and the development of organizational systems to support those improvements. His current work focuses on the fundamental re-design of learning environments, and the development of leaders and entrepreneurs to create and sustain those environments, all in light of dramatic changes in our understanding of the neuroscience of learning and the exponential growth of digital culture. He was founding faculty director of the Doctor of Educational Leadership (EdLD) program at Harvard.

Course Overview

Technology, digital media and mobile access have changed how people learn. Today’s students want to be engaged and self-directed with digital content, available anytime, anywhere. This is a challenge for instructional designers as they create online learning experiences.

As an instructional designer, it’s critical to understand emerging learning theories including Bloom’s taxonomy and constructivism and how they relate to the way people learn in our digitally connected world. This course, which is part of the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters Program, explores the evolution of learning theories from traditional Socratic methods to emerging learning sciences. Additionally, you will explore curriculum design models using performance-based assessments to create effective and engaging learning experiences.

After a solid foundation of how people learn today, you will explore technology’s role in supporting and enhancing the teaching and learning process.

Previous background in teaching or professional development is a plus, but not required. Join us and launch your career as an instructional designer.

This course is part of the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMaster’s program from UMGC. Upon completion of the program and receipt of the verified MicroMaster’s certificate, learners may then transition into the full UMGC Master’s Program in Learning Design and Technology. See the MicroMasters program page for more information.

What you’ll learn

  • To apply learning theories and their impact in the design of online learning
  • Technology’s role in the teaching and learning process
  • Curriculum design and how to apply Bloom’s taxonomy to engage students in the learning process
  • To write effective performance assessments and scoring rubrics

MicroMasters® Program in Instructional Design and Technology

Design and operate the learning platforms of the future

Instructional Design and Technology: Learning Theories
Instructional Design Models
Instructional Design: Digital Media, New Tools and Technology
Instructional Design Course Evaluation & Capstone Project
4 Courses 8 months in total 8 - 10 hours each week
Complete Program $1076.00
Program Details

Prerequisites

Basic experience in word processing and G Suite. A background in teaching, education, or professional development would be helpful but not required.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners from one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. EdX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

Meet Your Instructors

Randy Hansen

Professor and Program Chair, Learning Design and Technology at University of Maryland University College
Dr. Randy Hansen is a professor and program chair, Learning Design and Technology at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Randy’s research interests include innovative online instructional design, technology’s role in engaging learners in the learning process, and design of effective professional learning experiences. In 2015 Dr. Hansen was selected by the Center for Digital Education’s as a Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers. In 2016, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) awarded him a Making IT Happen award. In 2018, Dr. Hansen was recognized by UMUC with the President’s Award for outstanding work and contributions to the university. Currently, Dr. Hansen servers as a member and Treasurer for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors.

Course Overview

This capstone course will feature knowledge, disposition, and performance assessments that examine growth along dimensions critical to the effective leadership of educational innovation and improvement.

Learners will apply knowledge and principles of ambitious instruction, logics of innovation, improvement science, and exemplary cases to case studies of large-scale, practice-focused innovation. In doing so, they will identify and explain strengths in these innovations. They will also identify problems and challenges faced by these initiatives and, then, propose means of organizing and managing in response to those problems and challenges.

This course is part of the Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

What You’ll Learn

  • Applications of improvement science
  • Knowledge of strategies for leading educational innovation and improvement
  • Dispositions essential to organizing and managing educational innovation and improvement
  • Capabilities to construct research-based solutions to core challenges that arise in organizing and managing educational innovation and improvement

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of schools and education systems as well as the political, policy, and public pressures to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students.

MicroMasters® Program in Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement

Become an innovative leader in the classroom

Leading Ambitious Teaching and Learning
Designing and Leading Learning Systems
Improvement Science in Education
Case Studies in Continuous Educational Improvement
Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement Capstone
5 10 months total 2 - 4 hours each week
Complete Program $940.50
Program Details

Meet Your Instructors

Donald J. Peurach

Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at University of Michigan Donald J. Peurach is Associate Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership, and Innovation in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. His research, teaching, and outreach focus on the production, use, and management of knowledge-in-practice among social innovators and those they seek to serve. As such, his work sits squarely at the intersection of educational policy, leadership, and innovation. He is the author of Seeing Complexity in Public Education: Problems, Possibilities, and Success for All (2011, Oxford University Press) and a co-author of Improvement by Design: The Promise of Better Schools (2014, University of Chicago Press). Peurach also serves as a Fellow of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and as a Faculty Associate in the Center for Positive Organizations in the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan). Before pursuing an academic career, he was a high school mathematics teacher and, before that, a systems analyst in manufacturing, healthcare, and higher education. Peurach holds a BA in computer science from Wayne State University, an MPP from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Educational Studies from the School of Education at the University of Michigan.