ADVANCED COURSES

Typically offered during the summer, Collins Education Associates LLC offers three to seven-day advanced training courses. These popular programs reflect the realization that most significant change requires extensive training.

The major focus of our advanced courses is on intensive instruction in the use of the Five Types of Writing^SM, classroom management folders, and three key teaching strategies: oral reading, focus correcting, and using students' past writing to teach new skills. Other topics include motivating students to write, diagnosing writing weaknesses, using efficient techniques for giving feedback on papers, teaching techniques to improve writing style, writing as a way to foster learning, teaching students how to be resources to themselves during the peer editing process, and creating effective writing assignments.

Because we custom-tailor our training to meet the needs of our clients, we design our multi-day courses only after consulting with the district host and the participants.

COURSES OFFERINGS

I. Graduate Course

Collins Writing Program^SM management, oral reading strategies, focus correcting, using past papers, motivating students, diagnosing student needs, feedback techniques, peer editing, and more.

Audience: All subject area teachers, department chairs, principals, supervisors, curriculum committee members, special educators in grades K-12.

II. Advanced User Course

Developing assignments in all content areas, elaborated seven element writing, Focus Correction Area^SM refinement, three-step editing process, authentic assessment techniques.

Audience: All subject area teachers, department chairs, principals, supervisors, curriculum committee members, special educators in grades K-12.

III. Administrator Course

Tailoring the program to meet district/school requirements. Establish benchmarks and timelines to assess implementation. Identify critical assignments.

Audience: Administrators, coordinators, department chairs, and others with overall program responsibility.

IV. Open-Response Writing Course

The “Open-Response Writing” workshop focuses on how to design writing lessons, assignments, and prompts that help students improve the quality of their answers to open or constructed response questions. The workshop is designed for teachers in all subject areas, department heads, principals, supervisors, curriculum committee members, and special educators.

Participants will closely examine questions found on state tests and graded student responses. Teachers will participate in a variety of activities designed to help their students:

• “dissect” open-response questions

• plan, evaluate, and revise written responses

• recognize the importance of content vocabulary within the response

Audience: All subject area teachers, department chairs, principals, supervisors, curriculum committee members, and special educators.

GRADUATE CREDIT OPTION

Our summer courses offer a  graduate credit option through arrangements with university and college affiliates. There is an additional fee, payable to the college, if you choose the graduate credit option.

DETAILS

• Time: Course length and times may vary by location. Typically, summer courses meet for 6 1/2 hours per day — similar to a typical school day.
• Tuition: Collins Education Associates contracts with each school district on an individual basis once the needs are determined. All participants that wish to receive three graduate credits must pay an additional tuition payment to the college through which the course is accredited (Endicott College, Beverly MA or Salem State College, Salem MA).
• Class Size: To ensure a great deal of interaction, classes are limited to 25 participants.
• Course Fees: Course fees vary depending on the length of the course and whether graduate credit is being requested. In addition to the course fee, there is a materials fee for books and handouts that typically ranges from $60 to $75 depending on the specific course being taken.
• Course Requirements, Grading & Homework: Each instructor will distribute the course requirements and grading procedures on the first day of the course. Due to the length and intensity of the days, homework is kept to a minimum. There is no research paper.
• NOTE: For MA teachers who elect graduate credit, the State of Massachusetts allots 67.5 PDPs for successfully completing a three graduate credit course.

Participant Satisfaction Ratings

During the summers of 2001 through 2010 we conducted hundreds of three graduate credit courses for thousands of teachers. At the conclusion of each summer institute we asked the participants, “Compared to other courses you have attended, how would you rate this course?”  We use a 1 to 10 evaluation scale, with 1 designated “not effective at all”; 5, “an average experience”; and 10, “one of the best I’ve attended".  Our advanced course evaluations have averaged an outstanding 9.6.

© 2007-2010  Collins Education Associates LLC. All rights reserved.        

 No portion of the Collins Writing Program^sm or products of Collins Education Associates LLC may be copied without permission.

320 Main Street, PO Box 957, West Newbury, MA 01985

TEL 800-932-4477    FAX 978-363-2212    EMAIL info@collinsed.com