The Professional Teacher Training and Credentialing Program
About
Under the auspices of the Chancellor of Badr University Cairo (BUC), Dr. Hassan El Kalla, a partnership has been entered into with the US-based Community Advocates for Young Learners Institute (CAYL – https://www.cayl.org) led by the leading International Credentialing Specialist, Dr. Valora Washington. This collaboration will avail teachers the opportunity to earn an internationally recognized professional teaching credential. BUC offers the required 135 hours of training as well as additional support to prepare participants to become credentialed, teaching professionals.
Professional development is a never-ending process. It doesn’t stop after earning a degree and starting a career. Through continuing education, career-minded individuals can constantly improve their skills and become more proficient at their jobs. In the field of PreK-12 education, it is particularly important for school administrators to develop into consummate professionals and to also support teachers in pursuing professional development. This not only ensures the best learning outcomes for students but also prepares educators to be more effective and satisfied in various other aspects of their work.
Educational technology, as well as Ministry of Education guidelines and curriculum standards, often change. This can be challenging for teachers to keep up with the latest trends and best practices in the field. Professional development transforms teachers into better and more apt educators by enabling them to create relevant and developmentally appropriate instruction for today’s students. Research indicates that student achievement can improve by as much as 21 percentile points as a result of teachers’ participation in well-designed professional development programs.
Programs
The programs being offered are the (1) Early Childhood Associate (ECA), (2) the Primary Childhood Associate (PCA), and (3) the Adolescent Childhood Associate (ACA).
- The Early Childhood Associate (ECA) Credential Program offers a 135-hour training course for early childhood professionals who want to enhance their professional skills and learn more about the development of young children, 0-6 years of age. The program emphasizes practical information that can be used in working with young children. Participants learn how to observe children and plan developmentally appropriate activities and design safe, healthy learning environments. They learn to work effectively with families and to support and encourage children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
Target Audience: Foundations Stage Teachers, Supervisors, Early Childhood Caregivers, School Directors, Managers, and Staff
Fees:
Participants will also receive supportive Mentoring and Coaching to prepare for the Classroom Observation Visit and Credentialing Exam Prep. The cost of the full program of Training, the Classroom Observation Visit, and Final Credentialing Exam is 7,500 le.
- The Primary Childhood Associate (PCA) Credential Program offers a 135-hour course for primary school professionals who want to enhance their skills and competencies in facilitating the development and learning of children who are 6 -12 years old. The program emphasizes practical information that can be easily implemented in working with young children. Participants learn how to observe children and plan developmentally appropriate activities, as well as design safe, healthy learning environments. They learn to work effectively with families and to support and encourage children’s social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development.
Target Audience: Primary Stage Teachers, Supervisors, other Professionals, and Staff
- The Adolescent Child Associate (ACA) Credential Program offers a 135-hour training course for preparatory and secondary school professionals who want to enhance their skills and competencies in facilitating the development and learning of adolescents,13 -17 years old. The program emphasizes practical information that can be easily implemented in working with adolescents. Participants learn how to observe, assess, and manage adolescent behavior; plan developmentally appropriate activities; and design safe and healthy learning environments. Learning to work effectively with families in supporting and encouraging children’s learning in subject-specific topics i.e. Science, Math, History, Language Arts, Geography, and other areas.
Target Audience: Preparatory and Secondary Stage Teachers, Supervisors, other Professionals, and Staff
Certification and credentialing are two paths created at BUC’s Institute for Professional Development and Continuing Education to pursue post-graduate professional development for educators. Teachers will keep up with the latest education standards to ensure optimal student learning; administrators will become more effective managers and leaders. When teachers discover new instructional strategies through professional development, they can go back to the classroom and make changes to their teaching styles and curricula to better suit the needs of their students. Professional development for teachers makes them more efficient in their presentations and course evaluations by exposing them to new, 21st century instructional delivery methods, modes of assessment, and record-keeping strategies. Professional development for administrators enables them to effectively lead schools to become institutions of excellence.
Curriculum
The curriculum consists of several modules that address the 21st century knowledge, skills, and competencies teachers should have to work effectively with children using developmentally appropriate methods and strategies in the classroom. These modules will cover:
- Principles of Child Development and Learning in which participants will learn the typical characteristics of children’s ages and stages along the developmental continuum, techniques of positive guidance, and how to use daily routines and schedules to meet developmental needs. Participants will develop skills in managing transitions with ease, planning a developmentally appropriate curriculum, and promoting a healthy development of children through interesting and engaging activities.
- Safe and Healthy Classroom and School Environments in which participants will gain knowledge on how to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for children. This module will cover both indoor and outdoor safety concerns, safe food handling, how to practice universal precautions, and other aspects of disease and illness prevention. Participants will be provided with information on how to recognize and report child abuse and learn specific strategies to strengthen families to reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect. Successful completion and passing of the 1st Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification training is required during this module.
- Creating Effective Learning Environments entails learning ways to apply the basic principles of child development in creating an effective, high-quality, developmentally learning environment. After completing this course, participants will be able to explain how specific principles of the domains of learning can be applied and identify specific strategies that support the effective management of a developmentally appropriate classroom based on the principles of ages and stages of development.
- Physical and Cognitive Development will cover the aspects of physical, cognitive, and language development of children. Participants will learn the typical characteristics and needs of children at each age level, the role of play and creativity in children’s learning, and ways to facilitate children’s optimum development in all learning domains across all ages and stages. Additionally, participants will learn about brain development as well as multiple intelligences and learning styles: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal, and interpersonal.
- Social and Emotional Development will cover the progressive continuum of emotional and social development of children across all ages and stages of development. You will learn typical characteristics and social/emotional needs of children at each age level, the role of play in supporting children’s social/emotional learning, and ways to facilitate their optimum development.
- Productive Parent Relationships will support maintaining harmony with parents that benefits the teacher, the child, and the parents. Participants learn ways to develop and maintain a positive, productive relationship with parents, communicate effectively, respect diversity, handle difficulties that may arise, involve parents in children’s learning, and conduct effective parent-teacher conferences. This module includes a variety of sample forms to assist in being prepared for positive interactions with parents.
- Effective Program/Classroom Management Strategies: Observing, Recording, and Assessing Developmental Progress will support learning the importance of observation as the best way to assess children’s development. Participants will learn what are the diverse types of observation records, the purposes for observations, what to look for when observing, how to plan observation events, and ways to use observation and assessment in the program/classroom to guide individualizing teaching and learning.
- The Professional Teacher guides participants in becoming more professional practitioners through examining written standards for high-quality teaching, showing respect for diversity among children and families, and developing congenial relationships with families and staff. Participants will gain insights on how to increase personal and professional growth as well as manage the stress of being an educator.
Throughout the training, participants are assessed on their understanding of the material being presented through quizzes, written assignments, and a review of their work. This includes a critique of their draft competency statements, their philosophy of education, and a practice exam. This exam consists of multiple-choice questions, similar to those found on the actual credentialing exam.
Why Apply for This Training?
It is easy for teachers to become burdened by the grind of teaching. Professional development allows them to step out of their routine — they get to be the student instead of the teacher. This keeps educators engaged because they feel like they are receiving the professional help they need to be better teachers. After all, professional development nurtures the talents of teachers who aspire to take on educational leadership positions, and teachers must learn from other experienced leaders to become effective future leaders themselves. Implementing professional development programs has benefits for both teachers and students, but most importantly, it helps teachers become better educators and develop into competent future school administrators.
To Register for the Training
For more information, please email the program at IPDCE1@buc.edu.eg.
