Eric Perkins

Excellence in Teaching
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 04/03/2026

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This course will provide an overview of career readiness including information and activities that may be incorporated into your courses. This course, which forms Part I of a two-part series, provides details about four specific career readiness skills: critical thinking/problem solving, verbal/written communications, teamwork/collaboration, and information technology applications. Additional thoughts and resources will also be provided to allow you to consider multiple ways to assist students in developing these skills in your courses.
Explore the dynamic and evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) with this course designed to cater to a range of learners from beginners to those with some prior knowledge. Starting with AI's history and core concepts and distinguishing it from machine learning and deep learning, the course sets a solid foundation. Delve into practical AI applications such as natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics, and understand the ethical dimensions and biases in AI. The course advances into complex topics like generative adversarial networks and the interplay of AI with big data and quantum computing. Finally, envision AI's future influence in critical sectors like health care and finance, and you will be equipped with knowledge and skills to confidently navigate the future of AI.
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 methods and techniques for managing students and class activities. We start by reviewing the steps instructors need to follow as they introduce a class to new students. We then discuss strategies to effectively deal with unfocused and challenging students. The course ends by describing common mistakes made by instructors and ways to avoid them.
Retention is an issue, and what happens in the classroom is a critical factor influencing a student's decision to stay or go. The classroom environment may be hurting your students' view of the quality of your programs. In this course, you will learn tips and techniques to deal with environmental influences such as your role as the instructor, the classroom, the interactive activities, the support materials, and the sequence of instruction as well as other subtle influences. You will learn to view the environment from the student's perspective to increase your teaching effectiveness and student retention.
This course covers the different ways individuals learn and apply new knowledge. We start by covering the steps the brain goes through as it processes new information, and how knowledge is stored and retrieved. We then discuss how intelligence is measured and how learners process information through the use of multiple intelligences. Moving from theory to practice, the course shows instructors how to use the learning needs of students to increase knowledge acquisition and retention. The course includes a number of easy to implement strategies to help students retain and use new content.
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 is intended to offer a practical explanation of how an instructor’s behaviors and choices can influence the motivation of students. It is not intended to be a theoretical or academic treatise about motivation. Module 1 offers useful tips that may help instructors to motivate students. Students’ security and autonomy are described as they influence 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 evaluations. In Module 2, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are defined and compared. Finally, a variety of "miscellaneous motivators" are offered for instructors to consider.
In this course we describe the types and characteristics of questions instructors ask when teaching. We define two methods of classifying questions: the first according to the particular skill required to answer them, and the second according to their complexity and the cognitive level used when responding. We discuss appropriate circumstances when various types of questions should be asked, and we refer to studies that support our recommendations. Three instructional strategies are explained that can result in more effective questioning. Four practices are described that instructors use—or should use—during their lessons. Finally, thirteen tips are offered for review and for enhancing and improving an instructor’s questioning strategy and technique.
This course analyzes strategies and skills used by highly effective instructors regardless of the level or the topic of their instruction. Each technique is discussed with an emphasis on how an instructor can implement it to enhance instructional improvement. Best practices are suggested and examples are given to assist instructors in taking steps to become more effective. Links are provided for resources that instructors can make a part of their ongoing skill set. The course aims to boost teachers’ ability to engage and teach their students effectively while helping them make progress toward their career goals.
The classroom in an educational institution is often more than just chairs, books, and a white board. Frequently the learning takes place in a lab or shop environment, where the traditional rules of classroom management and teaching may not always apply. This course covers the instructional techniques necessary for the non-traditional classroom, including strategies for teaching to each student's individual learning style. In addition, this course describes strategies for assessing student progress. Safety guidelines and considerations for specific lab and shop environments are identified.
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.

The Flipped Classroom model has become one of the most commonly implemented educational models seen in classrooms today. Through this course, we will explore the basics of the flipped classroom, how and why it works to increase student retention, and go over steps to start incorporating flipped classroom elements in your courses. 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 school. In addition to lecture videos, possible resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize the Journal and Learning Activities.
Your degree of success as an online instructor relies heavily on several factors, among which are your level of preparedness before the date on which the course is launched; your ability to make a smooth transition into the roles and responsibilities associated with teaching in an online environment; and the effectiveness and efficiency with which you manage learners, instructional transactions embedded in the course as well as the learning environment. In this course, you will learn how to project your authority and presence into the e-learning environment, build a relationship with each learner, promote and nurture learner participation, provide informative and constructive feedback in a timely manner, minimize attrition, manage communications, manage unacceptable behavior and resolve disagreements.
This course will provide you with the knowledge and skills to author, teach, assess, and revise successful online courses. You will learn to develop a course framework with consistent modules. Constructing an online community and a dynamic syllabus are important in helping you communicate with students. You will also learn how to develop an assessment plan including self- and peer-assessment as you progress through the course. No online course is complete without a comprehensive revision cycle. This course will walk you through the process of "closing the loop" to create a complete revision and improvement plan for your online course. We will provide you with ideas for student-centered learning, with activities and intellectual interactions using a variety of technology tools.
This course will provide you with basic information to teach in a virtual learning environment and understand the importance of organizing course content. You will learn about the important role technology tools play in teaching and organizing an online course. You will also learn the difference between synchronous and asynchronous learning. As the components of each are discussed, you will further identify appropriate methods, develop guidelines, organize content, and establish a pattern of teaching for each method.
This course will provide you with an overview of online instructors' and learners' personality traits. Participants will be provided with information about the traits themselves, as well as how to identify such traits, utilize them, and develop lessons to reach all students.
Feedback is an essential component of the communication process. In this course, you will learn when and how to give effective positive or corrective feedback, how to offer feedback upward, and how to receive feedback.
In this course, you will learn how to manage your career - including how to identify your business interests, professional values, and skills in order to target your most exciting career possibilities.
This course will help you master effective time management techniques. You will learn to analyze how you currently spend your time and pinpoint opportunities for improvement. The course will show you how to plan your time efficiently using scheduling tools, control time-wasters, and evaluate your schedule once it is underway.