Distance Learning Courses

Indiana Wesleyan University partners with Canter & Associates to provide you an opportunity to earn graduate credit through Distance Learning. Register with Canter & Associates to receive textbooks, course study guides and videotaped lessons. Canter will forward your registration materials to IWU. Upon completion of all assignments you will be instructed to mail your materials to IWU for grading.

For more information and instructions for registering with Canter Click Here.


***NOTE: Registrations are no longer being accepted from Kentucky students.


Course Descriptions

EDU510 Assertive Discipline and Beyond

The behavior management program that teachers have turned to for over 15 years has been revised and updated for the classroom of the 90's. Teachers today face more complex situations in the classroom than they did just a few years ago. In this course teachers will learn how they can prevent behavioral problems by teaching all students to choose the responsible behavior that results in fewer classroom disruptions, increased academic success, and higher self-esteem. Course materials will include a copy of the new, revised and updated version of the Assertive Discipline text.

EDU511 How to Get Parents on Your Side

Research indicates that the key to a student's success in school is parent support and involvement. How to Get Parents on Your Side is designed to help educators gain the skills and confidence necessary to build positive, cooperative relationship with all parents, even the most difficult ones. Course participants will learn how to increase their teaching success with step-by-step parent communication techniques. Interactive group sessions apply the course concepts and will assist participants in assessing and planning for their professional communication through phone contact, letters, and conferencing, as well as ensuring parental support for homework, academic, and behavioral problems.

EDU514 Succeeding with Difficult Students

Succeeding with Difficult Students introduces a proactive approach to working with students with whom your general classroom management techniques just don't work. This course teaches specific, proven methods and intervention strategies to create a classroom environment where students are taught how to make responsible choices and become contributing members of their class.

EDU525 The High-Performing Teacher

High student self-esteem has been identified as being a key factor in determining student academic success, behavioral performance in the classroom, and peer relations. More students are coming to school each day facing problems such as broken homes, poverty, psychological and physical abuse, and other problems reflecting difficulties in society. This course is designed to improve the teacher's self-esteem which leads to improvement in student self-esteem. Teachers are shown methods for reducing their stress, difficulties in managing classrooms, and planning.

EDU527 Teaching Students to Get Along: Reducing Conflict and Increasing Cooperation in the Classroom (K-8)

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and practical strategies necessary to foster teamwork and understanding of differences among their students, to increase positive pro-social behavior, and to reduce the possibility of violence in the classroom. Learning activities will direct course participants toward understanding current research and theoretical foundations, and applying the concepts to their students. In study-team, discussion, and group activities, participants will clarify course concepts and consider how they are or are not appropriate for their own teaching situation.

EDU529 Motivating Today's Learner

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and quality strategies which are designed to motivate all students and provide active learning opportunities equitably. Students will learn how to present instruction that improves the academic performance of all students, how to assign more meaningful homework that brings students back to class eager to learn more, how to create a classroom environment that turns kids on to learning, and how to use current techniques to reach students who resist completing course assignments. Not open to students who have received credit for EDU 505.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU505 or EDU507

EDU532 Building Your Repertoire of Teaching Strategies

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and instructional strategies which promote student engagement. Learning activities will direct course participants toward understanding current research and applying the concepts to their students. In study-team, discussion, and group activities, participants will clarify course concepts and consider how they are or are not appropriate for their own teaching situation.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU551 or EDUE551

EDU533 Learning Differences: Effective Teaching with Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences

The course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and instructional strategies which are designed to address the diverse learning needs of students. Learning activities will direct course participants toward understanding current research and applying the concepts to their students. In study-team, discussion, and group activities, participants will clarify course concepts and consider how they are or are not appropriate for their own teaching situation.

EDU535 Helping Students Become Self-Directed Learners

The course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations, skills and strategies to prepare today's students for living productively in global society. Learning activities will direct course participants towards understanding current research and applying the concepts to their students. In study-team, discussion and group activities, participants will clarify course concepts and consider how they are or are not appropriate for their own teaching situation.

EDU538 Classroom Management to Promote Student Learning

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and practical strategies which address behavior management in today's diverse classrooms. Emphasis is placed on creating a classroom environment in which students are self-regulated and intrinsically motivated to succeed with minimal intervention from the teacher. This course presumes that teachers utilize a variety of approaches to managing behavior. By presenting a repertoire of strategies, teachers adjust their current approach to meet the needs of their students. Preventive strategies such as teaching procedures, social skills, cooperation and conflict resolution are addressed. The ultimate goal of this course is to move students toward a higher standard of moral development, one in which students assume responsibility for their own behavior and recognize the effect of their behavior on themselves and the entire classroom and school community.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU595

EDU539 Assessment to Improve Student Learning

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations and practical strategies that address the current thinking on classroom assessment. Participants will learn the critical role that classroom assessment plays in the learning process. Both traditional and contemporary methods of assessment will be presented. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide assessment strategies that not only measure student progress but also significantly improve teaching and learning.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU553 or EDUE553

EDU543 Teaching Reading in the Elementary Grades

This course is designed to assist teachers in learning the theoretical foundations, skills and strategies to prepare today's students to become proficient and lifelong readers. Participants will explore strategies for developing a balanced approach to reading instruction, creating a reading-rich environment, providing students with ongoing assessment and meeting students' individual needs with flexible grouping. They will learn specific research-based skills and strategies for promoting phonemic awareness and other aspects of reading readiness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU567 or EDU586

EDU546 Improving Reading in the Content Areas

Learning activities will direct course participants toward understanding current research and theoretical foundations and applying the concepts to their students. In study team, discussion and group activities, participants will clarify course concepts and consider how they are or are not appropriate for their own teaching situation.

EDU561 Math: Teaching for Understanding

This course explores techniques of teaching mathematics that provide students with deep levels of conceptual and procedural understanding. Teachers examine methodology to assist students in absorbing new ideas, calculating efficiently and accurately, as well as formulating alternative solutions. Also addressed are five critical mathematical processes, including communication and problem solving. These processes are applied to the five primary content areas of elementary mathematics: number and operations, geometry, algebra, measurement, and data analysis and probability.

DU564 Supporting the Struggling Reader

This course provides teachers with a working knowledge of common reading difficulties, methods for diagnosing these difficulties, guidelines for accessing appropriate resources, and instructional strategies to support students' literacy growth. Informal diagnostic tools to identify specific reading difficulties are introduced and research-based intervention strategies demonstrated. Also discussed are guidelines for enlisting support from parents and other members of the school community. In this course, participants gain practical experience in diagnosing the literacy ability of a struggling reader and learn to implement appropriate interventions that advance the literacy development of all students.

EDU567 Strategies for Literacy Instruction - Phonics, Vocabulary & Fluency

This course introduces several aspects of a balanced approach to literacy instruction, focusing specifically on the area of word study and word-study strategies used while reading. Key topics, such as the stages of developmental word knowledge, the roles of phonemic awareness, and phonics instruction in an effective reading program, are explored. In addition, numerous research-based instructional approaches and strategies for explicit instruction in phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and building reading fluency are presented.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU543 or EDU586

EDU568 Foundations of Reading Literacy

This course is designed to respond to the challenge of promoting higher levels of literacy achievement for all students. It provides teachers with the necessary background knowledge to understand the various topics and issues relevant to literacy instruction. It includes in-depth explorations of historical and contemporary perspectives on the teaching of reading and provides the most up-to-date research on how students learn to read. This information equips teachers with the comprehensive content knowledge to complement their understanding of different teaching and learning processes.

EDU569 Designing Curriculum & Instruction with the Learner in Mind

This video-based graduate course introduces curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the context of standards and accountability, and holds paramount the goal of high levels of learning and achievement for all students. Teachers examine their academic standards and design classroom curriculum and instruction that will challenge and affirm all learners. Teachers use a thoughtful design process that emphasizes the importance of alignment, current learning theory and learner variables, as well as the need for differentiation to meet diverse student needs.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU550 or EDUE550

EDU586 Strategies for Literacy Instruction - Comprehension

This course focuses on comprehension in reading. Key concepts such as prior knowledge, metacognition, and reading as a constructive process will be discussed. Strategies to promote active reading are presented and various forms of assessment introduced. The course also explores the reading-writing connection, the writing process, and writing assessment.
Not open to students who have received credit for EDU543 or EDU567

EDU592 Integrating the Internet into the K-12 Curriculum

This video-based graduate course, which requires access to the Internet, explores how teachers can effectively integrate the Internet into their curriculum. With the vast amount of information, resources, and communication opportunities available on the Internet, it is difficult to know where to begin. The course is designed to offer practical guidance and rationale for using the Internet in the classroom. A variety of proven instructional models are introduced that will help make the best use of the Internet.

EDU593 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for Students with Special Needs

This course emphasizes the need for all students to achieve according to high academic standards. The course examines the learning challenges of students who have disabilities as defined by federal law, as well as students who have significant difficulty with learning but do not qualify for special education services. Teachers will learn how to design and modify curriculum, instruction, and assessment to maximize learning for students with special needs. Teachers will also learn skills for effective collaboration and explore the use of digital technologies to support students in an inclusive classroom environment.