William McAfee

Excellence in Teaching
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 04/12/2023

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This introductory course covers the essential roles of a teacher and the competencies required to be a successful instructor in an educational institution. Proven techniques and strategies for planning and preparation are presented and discussed. In addition, the course offers effective methods for conducting the first class meeting and delivering course content. This course provides a solid foundation for new instructors and serves as an excellent refresher for more experienced instructors.
The instructor is the real key to student retention at any educational institution. Instructors must keep focused on student motivation and retention each and every day of class. Developing strategies for retaining students throughout the entire training sequence is both complex and rewarding. All instructors should have the goal of seeing all of their students successfully complete their class. This course helps you reach that goal by helping you to understand your students and use proven motivation and retention techniques to keep them enrolled and engaged in the learning process.
This course provides methodologies and examples to help instructors increase content retention and application by students in need of support. The course starts by covering the skills needed by instructors to be clear communicators. We then discuss ways instructors can become effective in monitoring students and using student groups as learning tools. The course concludes by covering techniques and strategies to instruct diverse learners, including learners with disabilities.
This course provides an introduction to the concept and philosophy of active learning, and describes a variety of methods to help instructors "activ-ate" their class. The course includes active learning examples that utilize both critical and analytical thinking skills. We also identify the risks that may discourage instructors from using active learning strategies and offer suggestions for managing them. A three-step method is suggested for developing an active lesson, and a comprehensive model is offered as a guide for creative active learning strategies.
This course begins by identifying the two most significant issues that influence the motivation of adult students: security and autonomy. The course explains how increasing students' sense of security can enhance their motivation during instruction, questioning, activities, and evaluations. This is followed by a discussion of how motivation can be improved by enhancing students' sense of autonomy when making assignments, selecting instructional methods, implementing classroom procedures, and developing and planning evaluations. The course concludes by comparing and contrasting extrinsic and intrinsic motivators and by suggesting a variety of "miscellaneous motivators" for instructors to consider.
This course compares and contrasts four styles of classroom management. The course includes "virtual visits" to animated classrooms where participants observe four instructors who exhibit different management styles. The style that is preferred by most students is identified and described, and suggestions are offered on how instructors can modify their personal style to increase their effectiveness. A four-step model for developing successful classroom management strategies is presented and is followed by a discussion of a practical, behavioral approach to classroom management. Characteristics that foster good discipline in the educational institution and in the classroom are listed and explained, and tips are offered that can improve both institution-wide and classroom discipline. Finally, a number of scenarios involving common discipline problems are described.
The majority of careers require the ability to think critically and problem solve at one level or another. Employers seek individuals who can think independently, propose solutions, and solve problems. The content in this course provides the foundation for critical thinking and demonstrates how people with different interests, abilities, and aptitudes approach problem solving. The course covers the different kinds of intelligence and how they impact critical thinking, for a broader understanding of how people process solutions to problems. It concludes with step-by-step instructions for helping students develop and refine their own critical thinking skills.
Generation Y students are often associated with their use of technology. While technology is an essential part of their lives, there is much more to know about Gen Y learners. This course gives a profile of Generation Y learners and how they relate to other generational learners in the classroom. Strategies are given for engaging Gen Y students in the learning process while building on their abilities to use social networks, portable media and personal interaction. Instructors of Gen Y students are given methods that can be used to help them develop the critical thinking and interpersonal skills needed for many of todays careers.
This course is an overview of a variety of ways in which educators can infuse technology and web resources into every day curriculum, to engage learners and promote collaborative learning. A variety of resources and suggestions are contained within this course, allowing everyone from the novice to the technology expert to take away what is appropriate for them, their students, and the course, in order to integrate 21st century teaching resources and practices in a practical and beneficial manner.
Studies reveal that as much as 85% of classroom communication is nonverbal. This course consists of eight entertaining modules that include audio tracks, animation and interactivity. Topics include the importance of nonverbal communication in the classroom, as well as our everyday lives. The modules describe the use of body language, effective vocal cues, proper appearance and the effective use of space (proxemics) and time (chronemics). A variety of support materials accompany the modules, including an assessment tool that instructors can use to evaluate their nonverbal skills.
While educators increasingly use technology in the lab setting, many don’t know where to start when trying to use it during didactic instruction. Furthermore, administrators have a hard time rolling out these initiatives. This course will go through the stages of a solid rollout plan to take advantage of available technologies. It will also discuss how to teach with technology as an enhancement to education, not a replacement. This course helps instructors, administrators and support staff to better understand how to use these tools.
This course covers the impact that personal electronic devices, in this case tablets, have on the delivery of instruction. The course discusses the reasons for using tablets in classroom and lab settings to enhance learning and expand educational resources for students. Strategies are given to enable instructors to see how the use of tablets can assist students in becoming active learners both within and outside of the school setting.
This course will provide you with an overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and help introduce you to this research-based educational framework. UDL helps instructors develop flexible learning environments to accommodate learners’ learning differences. This course will provide a working definition and information pertaining to various components of UDL.
Contrary to some current notions, it is the responsibility of ALL instructors to include literacy development in their instructional planning and delivery, regardless of academic, vocational, or professional discipline. This course defines literacy skills, including new and newer literacies, and describes how instructional planning must include all areas of literacy development for every student. Throughout this course, participants will have an opportunity to apply various strategies and methods in literacy development and understand how to focus on the aspects of literacy that apply specifically to successful students in their discipline.
Did you ever hear that we only use about 10% of our brains? Were you ever told that you are more right-brained or left-brained? Did you know that males and females learn differently as a result of differences in their brains? Did you know that people have different learning styles? Did you ever hear that you retain more of what you do or see than of what you read or hear? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you have experienced a "myth-understanding." The purpose of this course is to explain the background and truth about these myth-understandings that pervade much of the popular literature to this day. All persons who are involved in the education of others must guard against these myths and ensure that they do not influence their professional practices. Note: Many learning theories have been developed that represent the efforts of researchers with different perspectives on how individuals develop and learn. As within any field, facts and myths may be driven by controversial opinions and philosophies that need to be considered by individuals engaged in professional development.
This course will provide an overview of ChatGPT and how it might impact education. With an artificial intelligence (AI) language processing tool, there could be endless possibilities. However, like any other technology, its use in education is to be considered carefully, because learning will be affected. The course begins with an overview of the history of chatbots and artificial intelligence and goes on to discuss how to use ChatGPT, how teachers and students may use it, and the advantages and disadvantages of its use.
Instructional planning and delivery is undergoing dynamic changes with the availability of technology and expanded avenues through which information can be provided. Instructors need to be aware of how they can expand their instructional formats to include the latest technology and learning theories. This course provides information about the different forms of learning and how they can be implemented into classrooms and laboratories. Other topics covered in the course include different strategies for learning including transformative and cooperative methods as well as collaborative and experiential methods that help to engage learners.
When designing instruction for adult learners, it’s important to consider a host of factors. This course describes the characteristics and motivations of adult learners, and the best practices and techniques for teaching them. It discusses the different theories of adult development and adult learning, and their relationships to the classroom experience. In addition, this course examines brain-based teaching strategies, the theory of multiple intelligences, and how the different parts of the brain are affected by new learning.
Have you ever seen your students falling asleep in class? Have they been less than excited to learn medical terminology? In this course you will discover ways to teach medical terminology that keep your students interested, attentive, and highly engaged in the critical concepts and applications they need to know. Learn to use these active methods, as well as the reasons behind them, and watch your student success rates increase as you adapt and apply new methods to your medical terminology classes.

Please note that ED310 presents learning activities that are applicable to the on-campus classroom or lab. It is not designed for instructors who teach Medical Terminology in the online environment.

Have you been frustrated in your allied health classes when students don't "get it"? Have you tried repeatedly to teach a difficult student and it didn't seem to work? Sometimes it is a difference in learning styles that creates this misunderstanding. In this themed course, you will learn the eight different learning styles of your health students as well as how to teach to them in a variety of practical ways that are fast, easy and effective. This course follows an interesting "fairy tale format," with several characters you will meet here and may see in your classroom.
This course will provide you with strategies and techniques to help prepare students for the online environment. To do so, you must also assess your strengths and weaknesses as an online instructor. As you help students assess their readiness for online learning, you are also preparing them for the expectations and realities of the online environment. By identifying students' strengths and weaknesses, you can provide guidance to help them achieve the learning outcomes. This course not only notes the necessary technical skills, it also discusses non-technical skills as well as techniques for successful learning and helping students develop their online persona.
This course will assist in improving the richness of online learning opportunities by incorporating strategies to avoid the rote memorization and repeating of facts for assessment purposes. Instructors will be able to construct an overarching philosophy to coincide with templated materials. A foundation for success can begin with analyzing the principles of Malcolm Knowles' Theory of Adult Learning and applying those principles to the online classroom. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of the topic, and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your institution. In addition to lecture videos, resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize Learning Activities, which will continue to be useful after successful completion of the course.