Jason Simental

Excellence in Teaching
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 09/30/2026

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This course "pulls back the curtain" for schools to help them better understand the principles and purposes of the ACCSC Standards of Accreditation. ACCSC101, along with the accompanying course ACCSC102, lays out the standards in line with the way schools are typically structured to better help you comprehend the important relationship between each standard and each aspect of running a compliant, accredited school. This course addresses the standards on the administrative side of your school, such as standards that relate to operations, admissions, and financial aid.
This course provides faculty, staff, and administrators with an understanding of the legal mandates regarding equal access for students with disability. More importantly, it offers a practical framework to help institutional personnel know what to say and do in the context of their defined roles and interactions with students with disabilities. Topics include the civil rights nature of applicable federal law, definitional issues, the impact of disability on traditional education activities and pursuits, reasonable accommodations, and the unique responsibilities of faculty, staff, and administrators as prescribed by their position.
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 skills. 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.
This course prepares educators to effectively engage all learners in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) classroom through inclusive, hands-on, and industry-aligned instructional strategies. Participants will learn how to assess student learning preferences, interests, prior knowledge, and potential barriers to design responsive instruction. The course emphasizes active learning through project-based instruction, simulations, collaborative roles, and the integration of industry-standard technology. Strategies for differentiation, culturally responsive teaching, and flexible pacing are explored to support diverse learners. Participants will also examine methods for providing meaningful feedback, encouraging reflection, motivating students, and clearly connecting classroom instruction to career pathways, credentials, and workforce opportunities.
This course addresses how to embed literacy instruction (reading, writing, speaking/listening, and vocabulary) into career and technical education (CTE) curriculum in authentic and engaging ways. Easy-to-implement strategies will be shared for improving students’ oral and written abilities. The contents of this course will help instructors build and expand students’ comprehension and communication skills as they are acquiring the knowledge and experience needed for career success.
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.
Educators work with students who want to learn specific skills that will lead to fulfilling careers. As educational instructors it is our job to help each student to achieve this goal. Just as you may have a particular style of teaching that you prefer, your students have preferred ways of learning. This course will help you to identify the different learning styles of your students so that you can adjust your instruction to better accommodate them. Good teachers also regularly monitor the effectiveness of their instruction by assessing their students’ learning. This course will examine several aspects of assessment including how to create good tests, how to ask effective questions and how to get your students to actively participate in their learning by asking questions themselves.
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 is intended to help instructors motivate their adult students. Modules 1, 2, and 3 review characteristics of adult learners and explain issues that affect motivation. Module 4 includes a discussion of the basic classes of motivators. Modules 2 and 3 focus on two major topics that influence adult education. These are security and autonomy, both of which can be enhanced using motivational strategies. We will often refer to andragogy, which is the art and science of helping adults learn. Andragogy emphasizes methods and techniques that are self-directed, feature relevant learning, and teach real-world skills. You will learn effective motivational techniques that help adult students feel secure and enjoy a degree of control over their learning process.
This course is intended to familiarize new and experienced instructors with basic concepts, strategies, and trends related to adult education. There is a particular emphasis on several styles of classroom management and associated implications for both teaching and learning. Four modules are included. Modules 1 and 2 provide descriptions of five styles of management and four types of instructors. Module 3 is dedicated to the theoretical and practical implications of discipline as it relates to adult students. Module 4 includes five sections on topics related to andragogy (the art or science of teaching adults) and the management of adult education.
Questioning can be one of the most effective classroom teaching strategies. However, many instructors are not familiar with the techniques and research findings associated with good questioning. This course begins by comparing and contrasting the major types of questions and their most appropriate uses. Some relevant statistics and research findings are presented, followed by a discussion of four effective questioning practices. The course concludes by offering a few tips and suggestions for instructors to consider.
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.
Stress is something that is present throughout all workplaces in the world. It is often something that cannot be avoided, but instead, must be properly managed. Burnout on the other hand, is something that is less frequent, but far too prevalent. Burnout can cause even the best worker to slow down in productivity and quality (often dramatically). Throughout this course, we will discuss stress, burnout, and many of the causes that you may notice on even a daily basis. We will discuss how to appropriately handle and mitigate stressors, and how to lessen the risk of burnout occurring.
Motivation can be the difference between success and failure. In this course, the idea of how motivation impacts people will be discussed. Activities will focus on improving motivation in students, and other people you interact with, as well as yourself. 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.
This course will explore the field of gamification and the way that gaming and gaming elements have come to impact our everyday lives, and can improve our courses. Focusing on easy-to-implement concepts, this course will help you to begin utilizing gamification elements to increase learner engagement and motivation, and increase overall student success. 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.
Focus is essential to effective teamwork. In this course, you learn how to diagnose and overcome common problems - such as poor communication and interpersonal conflict - that can impede team progress. You will also learn to take corrective measures to remove team problems and improve team performance.