Teacher Development Center Offers Cutting-Edge Continuing-Education Training

The Teacher Development Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology offers educators and administrators a variety of resources with which they can master skills, keep pace with rapidly evolving technology and improve their teaching methods.

The TDC is a partnership at the College featuring participation from Tech Prep/School to Work, the Technology Transfer Center, The Pennsylvania Housing Resource Center at Penn College, The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center at The Pennsylvania State University and the Penn State Continuing and Distance Education Center at Penn College.

Courses offered at the TDC are appropriate for Act 48 certification requirements. Credit and noncredit courses are designed to assist academic, vocational and technical-education teachers help their students meet standards and challenges in education.

The TDC also can assist school districts with conducting needs assessments for communities and labor markets, assessing teachers' professional-development needs, facilitating strategic planning and writing grant proposals.

"The Teacher Development Center at Penn College will be established to provide regional educators with a single source from which to obtain undergraduate credit and noncredit professional courses in order to maintain active teacher certification," said Thomas G. Woodson, a project coordinator with the Technology Transfer Center. "This unique consortium will provide substantive, relevant experiences for educators seeking professional development."

The TDC pilot project will mail two brochures to 10,000 targeted K-12 educators, vocational and technical instructors and administrators this summer. The initial brochure will describe the TDC, and the second brochure will be a compilation of consortium members' June-August 2000 course offerings, grouped under the headings Supportive Skills Courses; Teaching Methodology Courses; and Academic and Technical Content Update Courses

Some courses are available for graduate credit through the Penn State Continuing and Distance Education Center at Penn College. Please call that office at (570) 322-5771 for more details.

Fees for the courses will vary. In some cases, school districts may want to have specific courses or training offered on site. Customized courses can be offered anytime, including during traditional working hours. Contact the TDC to discuss individual programming needs. School districts may choose to cover most of the costs if grant funds are available. Payment plans may also be available. Please call the TDC at (570) 327-4775 for a fee quote, more information about a course's instructor or payment options.

All classes will be held on Penn College's main campus in Williamsport, unless noted otherwise in the course descriptions.

Fall and spring courses are held during evening or weekend hours to accommodate educators' full-time schedules. Summer courses may be held during the day or evening.

To obtain information about upcoming course offerings, contact the TDC at (570) 327-4775.