The Professional Development Center (PDC) is the outreach agent of the School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) of the University of Southern Maine. Our mission is to provide innovative and sustained professional development that enables PK-12 educators and school communities to serve the needs of their students.
Course Registration
To start the registration process for any of our Spring 2022 courses, please complete the form at the following link:
PDC Spring 2022 Course Registration form (Google form)
Note: Some PDC courses are now being offered for undergraduate credit. Most educational professionals (including teachers) will likely still choose to take courses for graduate credit for recertification and development purposes through their school district. Undergraduate credit is offered as an option for non-professionals or anyone else for whom graduate credit is not applicable.
Course Descriptions
PDS 514 / 414 Integrating Mindfulness-based Compassionate Communication into Education
Mindfulness serves as the foundation for learning Mindfulness-based Compassionate Communication. Having a foundation in mindfulness knowledge, study, practice, and skills, the student will have the essential beginnings to study and practice this language which has as its core empathy for oneself and others and one’s experience rather than from evaluation, blame, advice, judgments. This language is conducive to use in all aspects of education as it gives language to respect, non-judgment, compassion for self and others whether students, colleagues, school staff, and parents. This is a language of connection built upon equality rather than a language of power-over, with the intention of meeting the needs of all people, including the needs of those in conflict, going from disconnection to connection between self, other, and groups.
Dates: January 18 – March 8, 2022
Class meetings (via Zoom): Tuesdays 4:30-8:30 pm (1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 3/1, 3/8) plus Saturday, 2/26 from 8 am – 1 pm
Location/Format: Online synchronous
Instructor: Nancy Hathaway
Credit: 3 graduate credits (PDS 514) or 3 undergraduate credits (PDS 414)
PREREQUISITE: Previous 3-credit or week-long Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course (e.g. PDS 513, PDS 515) or Instructor permission
Tuition/Fees: See the 2021-2022 tuition rate chart
Audience: Practicing educators, all levels (including non-teaching personnel like educational technicians)
PDS 555 Special Education Mentorship
PDS 555 is a semester-long online supervised school- or agency-based mentorship for conditionally certified teachers participating in the Maine Alternative Certification and Mentoring program (MACM). The teacher works under the direct supervision of a district or MACM-appointed SED mentor following the guidelines approved by the state for initial teacher certification. Topics and activities for the course are determined by the MACM program.
Dates: January 18 – April 29, 2022 (plus finals week 4/30-5/6)
Class meetings (via Zoom): Tuesdays 6:00-8:00 pm (1/18, 2/1, 3/1, 3/22, 4/12, 5/3)
Location/Format: Online synchronous
Instructor: Sandra Warden
Credit: 3 graduate credits
PREREQUISITE: for students in the Maine Alternative Certification and Mentoring program (MACM) only
Tuition/Fees: See the 2021-2022 tuition rate chart
Audience: This course is open to teachers in the Maine Alternative Certification and Mentoring (MACM) program ONLY. It is not for transitionally certified OR new conditionally certified teachers who are also enrolled in a pre-service or certificate program and are enrolled in an internship/student teaching semester. FMI, please contact Valerie Smith at valerie.smith@maine.edu or visit the MACM site: https://umaine.edu/edhd/research-outreach/macm/
Questions?
Contact the PDC at pdc@maine.edu.