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 Summer 2023 courses, please complete the form at the following link:
PDC Summer 2023 Course Registration form (Google form)
Note: Some PDC courses are 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 505 Cultivating Educator Renewal for Professional Fulfillment – NEW!
** NO LONGER OFFERED IN SUMMER 2023 **
Educators serve a vital role in Maine communities as caregivers, cultural torchbearers, and advocates for the public good. They work at the intersection of challenging cultural tensions and lead their communities forward toward new horizons, which can be demanding. This course addresses the issue of educator stress and demoralization by exploring possibilities for educational renewal within a caring and collaborative community. It provides opportunities for personal professional renewal and ideas, inspiration, and support for nurturing renewal within educators’ school communities. It employs discussion and a creative, project-based approach to build upon educators’ knowledge and experience along with particular educational traditions (e.g., arts-based, spiritual, ecological, critical, etc.) in pursuit of viable renewal practices that re-center core values and sustain educator wellbeing. And it offers accessible readings, model activities, online resources, and the wisdom of invited speakers.
Dates: July 24 – August 4, 2023
Location/Format: Online synchronous / asynchronous
Class meetings (via Zoom): Monday, July 24 through Friday, July 28 9:00 am – 12:00 pm with asynchronous work through August 4
Instructor: Ian Renga
Credit: 3 graduate credits
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1341 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Intended for all professionals in PK-12 education, including teachers, ed techs, staff, school counselors, principals, and other administrators
PDS 513 Integrating Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction & Social Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom
This course provides training in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for teachers, counselors, and psychologists in school settings. Students learn Mindfulness techniques for themselves and for their students as well as for their relationships with colleagues. Through Mindfulness exercises and practice, group and dyad discussions, presentations, readings, and talks by the instructor, students will develop Mindfulness skills to integrate into the school setting for themselves as teacher and for students. The emphasis is on integrating Mindfulness into the classroom through modeling and seamlessly bringing Mindfulness to help students develop emotional and social skills. These skills help children thrive and as well give them a solid foundation for their academic studies.
Dates: June 26 – July 7, 2023
Location/Format: Online synchronous / asynchronous
Class meetings (via Zoom): Monday, June 26 through Friday, June 30 8:00 am – 12:00 pm with solo mindfulness work expected in the afternoons; plus 1 additional week of asynchronous work
Instructor: Nancy Hathaway
Credit: 3 graduate credits
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1341 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Practicing educators, all levels (including non-teaching personnel like educational technicians)
PDS 514 / 414 Integrating Mindfulness-based Compassionate Communication into Education
** NO LONGER OFFERED IN SUMMER 2023 **
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: July 31 – August 11, 2023
Location/Format: Online synchronous / asynchronous
Class meetings (via Zoom): Monday, July 31 through Friday, August 4 8:00 am – 12:00 pm with solo mindfulness work expected in the afternoons; plus 1 additional week of asynchronous work
Instructor: Nancy Hathaway
Credit: 3 graduate credits (PDS 514) OR 3 undergraduate credits (PDS 414)
PREREQUISITE: PDS 513/SBS 420, PDS 515/415 or other 3-credit or week-long Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction course (UMA/USM/UM) or Instructor permission.
Tuition/Fees: $1341 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200 [if taking the undergrad version, in-state tuition is $894]; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Practicing educators, all levels (including non-teaching personnel like educational technicians)
PDS 522 Empowering Confident Writers through Writer’s Workshop
** NO LONGER OFFERED IN SUMMER 2023 **
This course will introduce participants to the philosophy of the writer’s workshop through immersion in the praxis of a writer’s workshop. Participant teachers will cultivate and sharpen their own writing and presenting skills in order to empower their students to become confident writers and presenters both in the classroom and online. They will work both independently and collaboratively, experimenting with different genres, peer editing strategies, and mentoring styles. Realistic methods of studying literacy and language learning in classroom contexts will be emphasized.
Dates: June 26 – July 21, 2023
Format: Blended – in-person and online asynchronous
Days/times for class meetings: Wed 6/28, Thu 6/29, Wed 7/12, Thu 7/13, Wed 7/19, 9:00 am-2:00 pm
Location: USM Gorham campus, Bailey 218
Instructor: Jane Fullerton
Credit: 3 graduate credits
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1296 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Teachers for grades 4-12
PDS 540 / 440 Executive Skills: Practical Strategies for Assessment and Intervention
Executive skills are a set of brain-based skills that underlie virtually everything we ask students to do in school. This course will provide an introduction to executive skills, beginning with what the skills are, how they develop across childhood, and how they impact school performance in profound ways. From there, the discussion will move to how executive skills can be assessed in meaningful ways, and what kinds of strategies teachers and other educational or mental health professionals can use to promote executive skill development in struggling learners. Course participants will have the opportunity to practice intervention design incorporating an array of methods and techniques, including how to modify environments for students with weak executive skills, how to teach executive skills directly, and how to identify motivators that encourage students to engage in practice to improve executive skills. The course will also introduce participants to a coaching model that holds particular promise for enhancing executive skills.
Dates: July 27 – August 2, 2023
Format: In-person
Class meetings: Thu-Fri 7/27-7/28, Mon-Wed 7/31-8/2; 8:00 am-4:00 pm
Location: USM Portland campus, Luther Bonney 209
Instructor: Margaret (Peg) Dawson
Credit: 3 graduate credits (PDS 540) OR 3 undergraduate credits (PDS 440)*
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1296 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200 [if taking the undergrad version, in-state tuition is $864]; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Practicing educators, all levels (including non-teaching personnel like educational technicians)
*This course is offered as a 3-credit graduate/undergraduate course, but it is also available in a modified format for CEUs. This is a more cost-effective option for tight budgets or for out-of-state students – $600 for 3.5 CEUs.
PDS 545 Trauma-Responsive Schooling
In this course participants: 1) consider recent theory and research on childhood adversity, stress, and trauma, including how to promote resilience and healing; and 2) develop knowledge and skills to translate theory and research into practice and systems change to create trauma-responsive classrooms, schools, and districts. The course will also focus on the central role that relationships, equity, and student voice play in trauma-responsive schooling. Students will engage in a variety of learning activities, including individual reading and reflection, group discussion, critical analysis, and action research. Each student will complete a final project focusing on developing trauma-responsive practices in their respective professional settings.
Dates: June 12 – July 7, 2023
Location/Format: Online synchronous / asynchronous
Class meetings (via Zoom): Thursdays 4:00-5:30 pm 6/15, 6/22, 6/29, 7/6
Instructor: Mark Tappan
Credit: 3 graduate credits
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1341 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: Practicing educators, all levels
PDS 610 School Planning Institute: Strategy to Action – NEW!
** NO LONGER OFFERED IN SUMMER 2023 **
Better plans lead to better outcomes. This course is designed to meet the needs of school leaders, school leadership teams, team leaders and anyone who engages in developing plans for schools or other educational settings. The goal is to support course participants in the development of continuous improvement plans for education settings that are meaningful, equity-focused, evidence-based, actionable and measurable. In addition to developing an actual plan, participants will also develop skills and knowledge related to quality planning and continuous improvement processes. Course topics will include: strategic planning in educational organizations; evidence-based improvement and continuous improvement methods; active implementation; data for equity, action and impact; results-based accountability; and communication plans. Teams in charge of developing school plans can take this course together and expect to leave the course with a solid draft plan.
Dates: May 22 – June 30, 2023
Location/Format: Online asynchronous (no scheduled class meetings)
Instructor: Angela Atkinson Duina
Credit: 3 graduate credits
Prerequisites: None
Tuition/Fees: $1296 (in-state resident graduate tuition) plus fees which should be ~$200; see also the Student Financial Services Tuition and Fees page and contact SFS with any questions
Audience: The target audience for this course includes school leaders, members of school leadership teams, team leaders – anyone who engages in developing plans for schools or other educational settings
Questions?
Contact the PDC at pdc@maine.edu or call 207-780-5400.