3-Credits • UMass Global • Cultivating Cultural Responsiveness and Effective Sheltered Instruction
Registration Fee ($165) + UMass Global Fee ($210) = Total Fee ($375)
Course Description:
Create a culturally responsive classroom environment where every student feels valued and supported. This self-paced, quiz-based online PD course equips PK-12 educators with practical, ready-to-use tools for fostering inclusivity, managing differentiated learning, and implementing effective sheltered instruction for ELLs.
What You’ll Learn:
- Cultural Responsiveness in Action: Discover how to honor and leverage the diverse backgrounds of your students as powerful learning assets.
- Sheltered Instruction Strategies: Gain practical, adaptable techniques to effectively support English language learners and help them thrive.
- Inclusive Teaching Practices: Refine your approach to ensure all learners feel seen, heard, and valued in your classroom.
Why Educators Love This Course:
- Actionable Strategies: Walk away with a blueprint for culturally responsive teaching and ready-to-use techniques that make a real difference for your students.
- Support for English Language Learners: Learn proven methods to foster engagement and academic success for ELLs.
- Self-Paced Flexibility: Learn at your own pace with a stress-free course designed to fit your schedule.
Empower Every Learner:
This course bridges the gap between cultural responsiveness and effective instruction, helping you create an environment where all students can succeed. By embracing diversity and implementing research-backed strategies, you’ll transform your teaching and inspire your students to reach their full potential.
Enroll Today!
Take the next step in your professional journey and make inclusivity the cornerstone of your classroom.
Self-Paced, Quiz-Based, and Completely Online:
Forget portfolios or lengthy written assignments — this is stress-free PD designed with YOU in mind. With no start dates and no due dates, you can begin and finish the course whenever it is convenient for you. Plus, you do not need to be working with students to complete it. Entirely self-paced and self-guided, there are no scheduled check-ins, so you are free to work on the content whenever and wherever you want.
3 Graduate-Level PD Credits for DOE Educators across the U.S.!
Upon completion of this course, participants will receive 3 graduate-level PD credits from the University of Massachusetts Global, which can be used for professional advancement such as salary increment steps and licensing requirements.
Aloha, Hawai'i State DOE educators!
3-PD Credits: Just like our other courses in partnership with UMass Global and CSU Pueblo, this course also results in 3-PD credits towards HIDOE salary step movement/reclassification.
Plus, we're excited to announce that this Sheltered Instruction course also offers the opportunity to earn 3 university credits in TESOL-related foundational EL knowledge. These credits will be officially recorded on your transcript from UMass Global — an accredited university. This course fulfills criteria in both Option #1, Option #7, and Option #8 of the HIDOE Sheltered Instruction qualification requirements.
For more details, please refer to the Sheltered Instruction Qualification Form available [here], and if you have any questions regarding the Sheltered Instruction requirements, feel free to reach out to the EQS, OTM, at [email protected] or via phone at (808) 441-8499.
✶ Hawai'i State DOE participants: If you are a Hawai'i State DOE participant, please be sure to receive signed principal approval for any university coursework that will be applied towards reclassification by using the 200-005 Form (click here). Also, every year in January, HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union typically begins providing PD support stipends to reimburse Hawaii State DOE educators for their professional development fees accrued throughout the year. For more information about this fantastic opportunity, click the following link: The HawaiiUSA Professional Support Stipend.
Information about PD-Credits for Hawai'i State DOE participants:
Hawai'i State DOE educators can use these graduate-level PD credits in place of Learnsoft-issued PD credits (formerly PDE3-issued credits) for salary step movement in the HIDOE Teacher Reclassification system. Please note that this graduate-level PD course is not available through the HIDOE Learnsoft system. Since these are graduate-level PD credits, coursework will only be reviewed by UMass Global instructors and does not require submission to Learnsoft for further review.
Upon completion, your 3-PD credits will be issued directly by UMass Global. For more details on using university or college credits for salary reclassification, please refer to the Hawai'i State DOE "Guidelines for Reclassification" memo: click here.
If you are a Hawai'i State DOE educator, please download and print the 200-005 Form for university credits, and have it signed by your school’s principal. To apply your 3 graduate-level PD credits toward salary step movement, simply submit the completed 200-005 form to the DOE’s Reclassification Unit, along with your UMass Global transcript, after finishing the course. The course information has already been filled out for you on the form, which can be downloaded and printed using this link: click here.
This course is open to participants nationwide!
To enroll in this course:
Start by completing the $165 registration using the banner link at the top of this page. That will create your For Teachers By Teachers (FTBT) account and give you immediate access to the online classroom. You can begin anytime and work at your own pace.
✶ Want 3 graduate level PD credits through UMass Global?
Inside the classroom, you’ll find simple step-by-step instructions for UMass Global’s separate $210 credit registration process ($70 per credit). Everything you need — including the direct link, course code, and payment instructions — will be available after you enroll. You're welcome to wait until you've completed the course to make this payment.
University credit issued by UMass Global – a regionally accredited university partner.
Your Course Instructor
For Teachers By Teachers is a highly dedicated team of licensed educators with professional certifications across grades PK–12. Our areas of expertise include Special Education, Childhood Education, Art Education, and Reading Specialist certifications.
Collectively, our course authors and instructors bring more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. We are passionate about empowering teachers and have contributed meaningfully to school communities in Hawai‘i, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Ohio.
Our mission is to support your professional growth with flexible, high-quality online courses designed by teachers—for teachers. If you have any questions or need support, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. We’re here to help!