Teacher Essentials

BC educators have access, compliments of the Virtual School Society, to “just enough – just in time” professional learning lessons in the “Teacher Essentials™” series. There is a total of 40 lessons, all delivered online, in each of three specific libraries - Elementary, Middle and Secondary School - for a total of 120 that provide valuable online learning experiences for teachers.

Teacher Essentials™ online learning lessons focus on specific practice and instructional strategies and are designed to fit the busy daily schedule of an educator. Their development has been informed by current research and methods for engaging students in their learning. So when you participate in these lessons, in a matter of minutes you have access to content, strategies and classroom materials to compliment your teaching practice.

Educators and administrators have been using Teacher Essentials™ in a variety of ways and for different purposes. For example, teachers have used them with their students and teachers and staff have used them in their planning activities.

You may find it helpful to see how others have used these lessons to help you decide how to integrate them into your plans. Here are some actual case samples of different ways people have used Teacher Essentials™ in their school. Click on each title for a brief description.

• As a Kick Start or Wrap Up
• As an Opportunity For Professional Growth and Capacity Building
• As Support for Follow up in Situations That Require Immediate Teacher Action 

Click here to access the 40 Teacher Essentials™ lessons. Note: You will be promoted to enter one of the following Usernames and Passwords, depending on the desired library.

Library	Username	Password
Elementary School	elementarybc	essentials
Middle School	middlebc	essentials

---

As a Kick Start or Wrap Up
Teacher Essentials™ lessons can be used as a catalyst for:

• Discussions
• Focusing a group on a specific topic area
• Creating instructional strategies.

Example 1
Some users have taken a “book club” approach to lessons in Teacher Essentials™. As a department they have chosen a lesson to focus on, reviewed it individually and then assigned each person one of the references or additional resources to explore in more detail and bring back to the larger group. This is a great example of using the online Teacher Essentials™ lessons and blending them with an existing professional learning process to achieve a richer experience

Example 2
Some principals have used Teacher Essential lessons in their PowerPoint presentations at the beginning of a staff or faculty meeting where they want to focus on a particular topic, instructional strategy or approach for a content area. We have also heard from Principals who use Teacher Essentials™ as a basis for a “lunch and learn” type session with their staff.

---

As an Opportunity For Professional Growth and Capacity Building
Teacher Essentials™ can be used by teachers to pursue topics or instructional strategies that they are interested in developing further as they grow their practice.

Example 1
Some teachers have used Teacher Essentials™ to target instructional strategies or topic areas that they have would like to know more about or areas that they consider themselves as requiring additional information. For them, being able to access Teacher Essentials™ anywhere and at anytime helps them to learn when it fits their schedule.

Example 2
Some principals have used Teacher Essentials™ as part of a capacity building strategy with their faculty or staff whereby areas for growth and development are identified jointly. Then, as part of the identified action plan, the appropriate Teacher Essentials™ lessons are utilized.

---

As Support for Follow up in Situations That Require Immediate Teacher Action
Teacher Essentials™ can be used by schools to help them as they work to develop and refresh their common approach to a variety of situations.

Example 1
Some teachers have gone back to the Teacher Essentials™ library after experiencing inappropriate behaviour from students to review strategies for dealing with behavioural issues and used that as a starting point for discussion with their colleagues and/or their administrator as the school works to resolve the issue.

Example 2
Some principals have used Teacher Essentials™ as a way to provide additional information on a specific topic or examples of strategies that can be used when dealing with difficult situations.