Toward Higher Ground Sample Course Activities

Toward Higher Ground Web-Based Professional Development Course

Toward Higher Ground

Building character and increasing academic achievement by teaching self-respect, self-discipline, and responsibility

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Introduction
Objectives
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Sample Activities (you are here)
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Sample Course Activities

The Toward Higher Ground program is highly interactive, both with instructor Jim Kestner and with other participants. Those who enroll have the opportunity to post to electronic bulletin boards, participate in chat sessions, and submit documents and responses for which they receive detailed feedback. For those with high-speed Internet access, video and audio clips from Jim Kestner and others enrich the experience (alternatives are offered for participants with dialup or other connections not conducive to streaming media). Here are a few selected examples of activities from course modules:

Module 1: Research: Participants review studies and articles ranging from empirical research to practical advice, with options to explore topics of particular interest to their type of community, grade level, and/or content area. They share reactions to what they discover, learning not only from the research, but also from Jim and their fellow participants. A sample scenario challenges participants to put research to use in a hypothetical situation, and different responses help participants find ways to translate course research into practice in their own settings.
Module 2: Assessment: Participants complete a survey, then compare results with others. Introspection and direction from Jim help participants understand how to adapt assessment instruments to their own schools.
Module 3: Planning: Participants critique a planning instrument to identify areas for improvement, then use a template to create their own action plans for implementing course concepts in their own schools.
Module 4: Implementation: Participants respond to scenarios of implementation plans that have and have not proven successful, identifying the keys to success as they attempt to implement their own plans. Participants interact with each other and Jim to develop their own list of keys for program implementation.
Module 5: Sustainability: Working from a customizable template, participants develop and receive feedback from Jim on a sustainability plan that they take away to ensure long-term benefits to teachers, parents, students, and the community. Participants have the option of sharing contact information with and/or participating in ongoing electronic communication with past, present, and future course participants, developing a community of like-minded practitioners devoted to making a difference with their students.

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