The Graduate Professional Development for Educators Program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota designs and delivers professional development courses that are...

Relevant

Participants design teaching strategies and plans that link their inquiry and research to their classrooms.

Responsive

Practitioner-led courses are designed to meet the demands of today's classroom teacher in a professional setting.

Research-Based

Course participants incorporate research and practical application to deepen their knowledge base. Engage in professional development that connects your teaching to your learning. The GPDE courses follow an inquiry-based approach to learning in an environment that fosters community, collegiality, collaboration, and connectedness to classrooms.

Course Formats

Traditional Format:

Traditional course participants attend required class meetings, engage in learning connected to key concepts of the course, and incorporate research and practical applications to deepen their knowledge about student learning and effective teaching. Throughout the course, participants design teaching strategies and an implementation plan by connecting key concepts from the course to their classroom and/or school community. Teachers are encouraged to attend these courses with colleagues and develop an implementation plan collaboratively.

Inquiry-Based Format:

Inquiry-based course participants attend required class meetings, engage in learning connected to the key concepts of the course, and then identify a concept they would like to explore more fully. This inquiry can be done individually and/or collaboratively. The course instructors deliver the course content and serve as instructional coaches for the course participants. Participants follow an action-research learning model and are required to submit a written review of the literature, create a plan to implement their inquiry in their classroom or school setting, and communicate the process for collecting data from both students and through their own reflection and analysis. Note: while all GPDE courses require an implementation plan as part of the course assessments, inquiry-based learning courses require participants to develop an extensive action research plan that incorporates the elements of required implementation plans and the components of action research learning.
Inquiry Sample (Elementary)
Inquiry Sample (Secondary)

Blended Format:

Starting Fall 2007:
Blended-format courses support educators' teaching and learning while meeting the demanding schedules of today's teachers. This course format combines class meetings (face-to-face learning) with a collaborative online component in which the course instructor delivers the course content and serves as an instructional coach. Course participants engage in responsive learning connected to key concepts of the course. Following an action research model, participants determine a concept they would like to explore more fully and create a plan to implement in their classroom and/or school setting.
Format Sample

Visit Saint Mary's website www.smumn.edu

gpde.smumn.edu 1-877-218-4755