American College of Education continues to support the ongoing training and professional development of our students and graduates. Here are some resources that can make a difference in your students' achievement and in the continued pursuit of your educational goals and career advancement.
Click on each link to expand the resources in the respective subject area.
We are committed to providing you with the resources you need to better serve your students. Below you will find a number of resources to help you. Some are free, some offer free trials, and others require a subscription.
Because education is a team effort, please share these valuable classroom tools with your peers. Also, let us know about any online resources that you have found helpful so that we may continue to help teachers help students even more.
The U.S. Department of Education's www.free.ed.gov is full of tools, tips and lesson plans stretching across a variety of disciplines.
Browse through the Library of Congress Teachers Page for over ten million primary sources along with guides of how to use them and much, much more.
For those with children in the Chicago area, check out the Chicago Public Library's events calendar for loads of fun educational activities for kids of all ages.
The New York Times Learning Network is a regularly updated site that combines "All the News That's Fit to Print" with exciting learning activities.
The History Channel's History Classroom is full of fun and interactive resources for teaching history to all ages.
Washington D.C.'s Newseum is an interactive museum focusing on journalism. This is a great way to teach geography, language and even current events.
Learn to Be Healthy is a free online resource that provides physical and mental health science education for students K-12.
Apple's Mobile Learning page describes bringing technology into the classroom and provides tools for mobile learning. Scroll to the bottom for some free and some not so free educational applications to download to your iPod or iPhone.
Thinkport.org is a site built for Maryland educators but it's full of free resources, including videos about how to incorporate technology into your classroom.
Explore Learning A-Z.com for free samples of online reading and writing resources.
Ticket to Read ® is a web-based reading program for K-6 students that provides reading passages, activities, and games for all ability levels. Sign up for a 14-day free trial today.
Reading A-Z provides thousands of printable books, lesson plans, and worksheets to teach guided reading and key reading skills.
Teacher Planet features over 350 theme-based resource pages.
ExploreLearning's Gizmos are really cool, web-based math and science simulations. Give students the "a-ha!" moments to last a lifetime.
Tip #1: If you teach in a school where a prescriptive or scripted curriculum is required, try starting out each subject/class session explaining to students what will be covered, why students need to learn this material, and how this information can be personally important to them.
Tip #2: Begin the school year with an assignment that relates school or a subject matter to the student. For example, a math autobiography or "why I like school". While this assignment should not be graded, it will provided useful insights about your students' learning experiences.
Tip #3: Volunteer to participate in peer observations. Partner with another teacher in your building to observe one another to provide/receive constructive critique about your practice.
Tip #4: Attend your local school board meetings. You may find that discussions and decisions at this meeting have an impact on your daily practice.
Tip #5: Support your students' extracurricular activities. You may find that students are less likely to be disruptive in the classroom when you take an interest in the things they do outside of the classroom.
Tip #6: If you do not live in the school community, take the time to get to know the landmarks and resources there. Incorporate this knowledge into the classroom experience.
Tip #7: Invite school community members to your classroom. Have them enhance lessons on topics related to their profession or their role in the community.
The mission of professional development is to prepare and support educators to help all students achieve to high standards of learning and development.
Professional Development:
Here are a few excellent websites for professional development resources:
Library of Congress - Teachers Page Teach-nology Wiki-Teacher Annenberg Media National Staff Development Council VoyagerU Curriki
American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence ABCTE is a non-profit organization set up with funding from the US Department of Education. Their mission is to ensure that every child has a great teacher and they have created an alternative teacher certification program that is accepted in Florida, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Idaho and Utah. Individuals needing an initial certification can use the ABCTE program to earn their teaching license.
American Council on Education (ACE) The other ACE! ACE, the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.
Accreditation in the United States Here you will find lists of regional and national accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education or training offered by the institutions of higher education or higher education programs they accredit.
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Professional association of more than 9,300 higher education administrators who represent more than 2,400 institutions and agencies in the United States and 39 other countries.
American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Throughout its history, AAHHE has been involved in numerous activities with three goals in mind: (1) Increasing the pipeline of Hispanic faculty in higher education; (2) Bringing issues pertinent to Hispanics to the attention of the larger academic community; and (3) Recognizing the achievements and accomplishments of Hispanics as they pertain to our academy.
American Association of School Administrators Advocacy and professional organization for educational leaders in the United States and worldwide.
American Association of University Professors The AAUP's purpose is to advance academic freedom and shared governance, to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ASCD, a community of educators, advocating sound policies and sharing best practices to achieve the success of each learner.
Association for the Study of Higher Education The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) promotes collaboration among its members and others engaged in the study of higher education through research, conferences, and publications, including its highly regarded journal, The Review of Higher Education. ASHE values rigorous scholarly approaches to the study of higher education and practical applications of systemic inquiry.
Association of College and Research Libraries The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research.
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Dedicated to strengthening public and private higher education, it advances the practice of voluntary trusteeship that has distinguished American higher education for more than 350 years.
Center for Academic Integrity The Center for Academic Integrity provides a forum to identify, affirm, and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty, teachers and administrators.
Center for the Study of Higher Education Penn State's Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) conducts theory-based research that informs efforts to improve higher education policy and practice.
Committee on Education and Labor (US House of Representatives) Information on current and past legislative activity, committee membership and structure.
Consortium for Higher Education Benchmarking Analysis Provides a forum for the exchange of performance measurements and benchmarking data for all levels of higher education around the world.
Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) unites researchers from seven of the nation's leading research institutions in an effort to improve elementary and secondary education through practical research. CPRE’s work focuses on the relations between education policy and organization on the one hand, and school, classroom practice, and student learning on the other.
Council for Advancement and Support of Education Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London and Singapore, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education is the professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas.
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council of Graduate Schools Our mission is to advance graduate education in order to ensure the vitality of intellectual discovery and to promote an environment that cultivates rigorous scholarship.
Council of the Great City Schools The Council serves as the national voice for urban educators, providing ways to share promising practices and address common concerns.
Education Commission of the States (ECS) The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is an interstate compact created in 1965 to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders. As a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization involving key leaders from all levels of the education system, ECS creates unique opportunities to build partnerships, share information and promote the development of policy based on available research and strategies.
EDUCAUSE EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
National Association of State Boards of Education NASBE works to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking, promote excellence in the education of all students, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, and assure continued citizen support for public education.
National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) NASDTEC is the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. It is the organization that represents professional standards boards and commissions and state departments of education in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the U.S. Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario that are responsible for the preparation, licensure, and discipline of educational personnel. Associate members include other Canadian provinces, institutions of higher education, and representatives of other constituent groups with an interest in the preparation, continuing development, and certification of educational personnel.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) The mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by: maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, Providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, Advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers.
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) NCATE is the teaching profession’s organization to help establish high quality teacher, specialist, and administrator preparation. Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges, and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching, teachers, school specialists and administrators. NCATE believes every student deserves a caring, competent, and highly qualified teacher.
State Higher Education Executive Officers Serving statewide coordinating and governing boards in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher education.
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is a voluntary association of higher education institutions and other organizations and is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality preparation and continuing professional development for teachers and school leaders in order to enhance PK-12 student learning.
United States Distance Learning Association USDLA serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity.
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