Written By: Connie Jadrny, Senior Marketing Coordinator

I used to attend more K-12 professional development conferences to promote the classes offered through NDSU. While I don’t get out to those conferences as much as I used to, I remember talking with a lot of teachers. I loved hearing their stories and listening to them discuss the types of courses they were interested in or were required to take. I often found that, in certain areas, there was a lack of available classes. This lack of classes wasn’t just at NDSU; this was a lack of classes in that specific content area for a lot of professional development programs. Or, at least, a lack of classes that were acceptable for their license or their district’s pay scale. At the time, it hadn’t occurred to me to ask if they or someone they knew were interested in teaching a class for us to help fill that void. In more recent years, I have put a greater emphasis on asking individuals at the conferences I go to if they are interested in teaching a class for our office. There is a lot of expertise out there that could be tapped into, but often it is a matter of asking.

We currently have a selection of awesome, knowledgeable instructors who are offering some very important classes. Unfortunately, many of those courses are school or district exclusive. This can leave a void for smaller school districts with minimal staff or no staff trained in specific topics. It would be fantastic if we could open some of these classes to a larger audience of teachers.

The Distance and Continuing Education program offered through the Office of Teaching and Learning at NDSU can only offer courses that fill this void if we have individuals with expertise in those specific areas. From my previous experience speaking with many of you K-12 teachers out there, I know there is a wealth of expertise that NDSU could draw from. If you are looking for a way to help fellow teachers learn more about their profession, consider teaching a class for us. And… consider yourself “asked”.

Here is what you need to know about the requirements for offering a professional development class. 

Spare Time

You need to have enough time to prepare for the class, teach the class, grade assignments, and answer questions from your students. This requires a bit of spare time, but we do compensate our teachers. Compensation has a lot of variables that determine how much you can earn. Some of our well-loved instructors earn a modest sum of money during their summers off. And, if done right, you can too!

A Desire to Help Others

As a teacher, you likely already have this value instilled in you. Often, you will have teachers in your class who are not from your school or district. This is where your desire to help others is important. There are a lot of school districts regionally and statewide that do not have access to content experts, like yourself. They need someone who can not only teach them the material, but also serve as a resource for them. You may not get a lot of check-ins following a course, but knowing you are available as a resource can be reassuring for those trying to successfully implement a new lesson, curriculum, or teaching style.

A Master’s Degree

The classes we offer are high-quality because we ensure each instructor has a level of expertise in their subject matter before they teach a course.

If you are considering teaching a professional development class for us, this is the most essential requirement; you must have earned your Master’s degree. Many K-12 teachers, counselors, and administrators have their Master’s degree, so this isn’t usually a problem.

Having said that, there is a way you can contribute to a course if you do not have your Master’s degree. We understand there are individuals who happen to have a lot of experience in a topic, despite not having a Master’s degree. If you are an expert in any area of K-12 teaching you can serve as a guest lecturer in a class. This means you can present in your area of expertise, but another teacher with a Master’s degree would be the primary instructor for the course.

We would love to hear your ideas for a course or if you are willing to open up your school/district exclusive classes to teachers from other districts, let us know. We have a professional development coordinator who can help walk you through the process. Or read our post on the approval process for classes. 

As always, if you haven’t already done so, subscribe to our newsletter so we can continue to keep you informed of what is happening in K-12 professional development. Before you go, let us know what has been your favorite professional development class? What type of classes are your favorite? What mode works best for your lifestyle? Who are your favorite instructors? We want to hear about your professional development stories, so please be sure to contact us at ndsu.dce@ndsu.edu.