60+ Open Courseware Collections to Help You Be a Better Teacher

Many teachers work hard to keep up to date with the latest in educational advancements, curriculum design and general information. Usually, this means taking classes at night or during the summer. With open courseware, however, you can learn about a wide range of topics, from classroom behavior to using the latest technologies at your own pace. While it’s no substitute for real classroom education, it can provide an invaluable supplement and guide to your educational pursuits and classroom management. Check out these 60 places to find course materials to keep you on top of the teaching game.

Subject Specific

Teachers interested in a specific topic or who specialize in a subject will find advice and information that can be helpful in creating great courses with these resources.

1. A Global Dimension to Science Education in Schools: Aimed at secondary school teachers, this course encourages teachers to include lessons on non-western contributions to science and to emphasize the global nature of science education.
2. Teaching Languages: Language Awareness: Those teacher foreign languages can make the most of this free course from the Open University which attempts to use the historical and phonic connections of languages to improve present day language education.
3. Using Visualization in Math Teaching: Teachers working to educate elementary students can get some ideas on how to use visualization to improve the understanding of a variety of math concepts for their students.
4. School Geography: Get an idea of how geography is currently being taught in schools. Teachers can learn reasons why teaching geography is important, learn about current issues that face it, and even get some ideas for lesson plans.
5. Music Travels for Children: Conexions offers this course which combines ideas in social studies and music to help teachers show children what music is like around the world. It includes several possible lesson plans.
6. Teaching Citizenship: Work and the Economy: This UK centered course from the Open University can help teachers create lessons that will educate students about how they are part of the economy and what their rights are as workers and citizens.
7. Writing About Literature: English teachers may appreciate the material for this course which provides several lessons that are focused on teaching students how to read, analyze and write about great works of literature.
8. AP High School Courses: If you’re a high school teacher looking for additional materials for your AP courses then look no further than this offering from the UC Irvine. You’ll find lessons for everything from AP calculus to AP U.S. History.
9. Dance Skills: Whether you teach physical education or just want to bring a little motion into your classroom, this course can provide some ideas on how dance can be used to express feelings and build their physical skills and coordination.
10. Why Teach Art?: Art teachers and administrators alike can find something to take away from this course from the Open University. It focuses on the reasons art education is important and ways teachers can further engage and support students.

Training and Professional Development

Whether you’re working towards a teaching degree or just want to find ways to improve your teaching abilities, these courses can be a great source of information.

11. Educational Theory and Practice: This course from MIT focuses on the skills and knowledge teachers will need to work in a secondary school. It can be a great supplement for current teaching students or a nice refresher for current teachers.
12. Professional Portfolio Development Seminar: If you think your teaching portfolio might need a little work check out this seminar course which can give you some ideas and guidance in building a collection of your work.
13. California Subject Examination for Teachers: Those working in California can take advantage of these preparatory courses from the UC Irvine. Teachers planning to work in math or science can get materials to help them study for the CSET and get on their way to becoming certified teachers.
14. Exploring K-12 Classroom Teaching: New teachers can benefit from the materials provided by this MIT course. Working through observation, teachers will learn about issues like diversity, standards, methods of instruction, the digital divide and more.
15. Master Online Teaching Certification: Professors looking to branch out may want to take a look at this course which provides instruction on how to create effective online courses and materials for students.
16. Careers In Education and Guidance: Teachers working at the secondary level or school counselors can find helpful information how to work with parents to provide guidance and information to students making the transition to higher education or the workplace.
17. Finding Information In Education: Get a better idea of how to use information in your courses or in your personal research with some tips and guidance from this Open University course.

Curriculum Design

These courses can provide inspiration and ideas for enhancing your classroom curriculum.

18. Curriculum Theories: This course explores four different ways teachers can look at curriculum and build their lessons in the classroom.
19. Changes in Science Education: Keep up with the changes affecting the way science is taught in schools by giving this course a try. It is UK centric but teachers everywhere can find something of value in it.
20. Experiences in Learning Mathematics: Teachers looking to evaluate the way they teach math, those thinking of becoming math teachers, and those who are studying to become math teachers can take this course to learn more about the way math can be taught and different approaches to take with students.
21. The Role of Play in Children’s Learning: Those working with preschool or elementary school age children can get ideas on how to incorporate play into their lessons through the information provided by this course.
22. Teach Global: This series of materials gives teachers some ideas on how to adapt their curriculum to focus on a more global scale in social studies, geography and science.
23. Introduction to Teaching and Learning Math and Science: MIT provides these course materials which can help you understand the way science and math are taught and give you some ideas on how to make it more exciting and interesting for your students.
24. Concept-Centered Teaching: Explore this method of teaching which focuses on dispelling student misconceptions and fostering students’ understanding of key concepts.
25. Enhancing Pupil Learning on Museum Visits: Help your students get the most out of their museum trips with some guidance and ideas from this Open University course.
26. Evaluating School Classroom Discussion: Learn about the elements that make up an effective discussion through this course so you can create better and more informative discussions on materials your own classes are dealing with.
27. Language as a Medium for Teaching and Learning: English teachers are encouraged to take advantage of this course which gives some ideas on new teaching methods based on socio-cultural psychology.

Reading and Literacy

Learn how to promote reading in and out of the classroom by taking one of these literacy-focused courses.

28. Involving the Family in Supporting Pupils’ Literacy Learning: This course can help you build programs that assist building children’s love of reading not only at school but at home with their families as well.
29. Encouraging Book Talk in the School Library: Great for both teachers and librarians, this course can help you to encourage students to talk about the books they read, learn to state why they do or don’t like them, and think more critically about the information presented.
30. New Media Literacies: This course from MIT looks at media literacies throughout history up to the present day digital environment. This can include new media like video games, social networking, multitasking and collective intelligence.

Higher Education

You don’t need to attend one of the best online universities to take advantage of these free courses and learn how to improve the experience of their students.

31. Research for the Classroom Teacher: Teachers currently working in the classroom can find some guidance on how to best go about conducting research with a little help from this course.
32. Supporting Development in Initial Teacher Training: Professors working at training new teachers can get some ideas on how to improve their courses and cater to the needs of new teachers by taking a look at the resources offered by this course from the Open University.
33. Teaching College Level Science: MIT provides this course which can give professors an idea of ways they can improve how they’re teaching science courses of all kinds.
34. The Handbook of Doctoral Problems: Learn to develop graduate programs that are more engaging and beneficial for your students through this course from Conexions.
35. Making the Academic Adjustment to College: Professors can better understand the needs of their freshmen students by taking a look at the materials provided by this course.

Technology

Technology is becoming a bigger part of education all the time, so make sure to keep yourself up-to-date on the latest developments by checking out these courses.

36. Teaching Using Digital Video in Secondary Schools: Learn how to best use digital video as an educational tool in secondary schools by examining the materials provided by this course.
37. The Impact of Open Source Software on Education: This course provides information on how universities around the world have implemented open source programs to improve the quality of education offered by their institutions.
38. Creating Interactive Multimedia: The University of Southern Queensland provides this course which gives educators some ideas on how to create educational systems and multimedia to engage and educate their students.
39. Learn and Apply HTML: Build websites on a range of educational issues by taking this Utah State University course designed just for teachers and educational administrators.
40. Blogs, Wikis and New Media for Learning: Learn how you can use blogs, wikis and a range of other new media in your classroom to improve your curriculum and keep students engaged through this course.
41. Computer Applications for Instruction and Training: Check out this course to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe GoLive, Apple iMovie, Microsoft PowerPoint and a variety of other programs to build instructional and educational programs for use in the classroom.
42. Accessibility of eLearning: This course discusses the issue of accessibility of educational materials for disabled students and how eLearning may prove to be a valuable resource for many.
43. Creating Meaningful Online Discussions: Teachers can get some ideas of the challenges they’ll face when creating online courses and learn to build more effective forums for discussions online.
44. Technologies for Creative Learning: MIT provides this course which can give teachers some ideas on how to incorporate technology into teaching science, math and more.
45. Media, Education and the Marketplace: This course focuses on the rise of information and communications technologies and how they’ve affected how we learn and teach.
46. Creativity, Community and ICT: Learn to educate your fellow teachers or yourself on information and communications technologies so you and your colleagues can use them to better educate and assist students.
47. Creating Open Educational Resources: Explore the pedagogical issues involved in self-study resources and learn to build more open educational opportunities like open courseware for your own institution.

Administration

Educational administrators and those aspiring to be one can learn about important issues from the materials provided in these courses.

48. Integrated Thinking for Future Leaders in Education: Get the information you’ll need to stay ahead of your field in this course, designed just for educational administrators and leaders in the educational community.
49. Ethical Administrators: Tools for the Trade: Make sure you’re following a code of ethics and acting as a responsible administrator by checking out the information provided by this Conexions course.
50. Politics of Local Education: Local education provides a number of challenges including balancing finances, managing board members, dealing with conflicts with parents and more. This course helps explore and provide guidance on those issues.
51. Organizational Change In the Field of Education Administration: Learn how the field of educational administration is changing in this graduate level course.
52. K-12 Leadership and Educational Administration Curriculum: A Theory of Preparation:Public schools take a lot of criticism for churning out poorly educated students. Learn how you as a administrator can help to start turning this negativity around and provide responses to the criticism of parents and the public.

Psychology, Behavior, and Development

A big part of being an effective teacher is knowing how to deal with students’ behavior and to respond to understand the psychology behind learning. These courses can help you learn about these things and more.

53. Promoting Positive Development Among Youth: Learn to apply developmental science to the students you work with to create a positive and inspirational environment for students from a wide range of backgrounds.
54. Play, Learning and the Brain: Get a better understanding of how young children’s brains develop and the best ways you can teach and work with them to help them learn the most.
55. Parents as Partners: This course can help you learn to make an ally of parents in educating their children. You’ll learn how to forge these relationships and why they are so important.
56. Neural Basis of Learning and Memory: This course from MIT can provide some insight to the biological processes that go on in the brain that let us learn and remember information.
57. Language Acquisition I: Whether you’re working with young children just learning how to speak or with students trying to learn another language, this course can help you understand the biological background behind how we acquire and use language.
58. Human Growth and Development: Gain an understanding of how humans grow and develop from birth to death through this course. It can help you understand where your students are based on their age and level of development and how to best work with them.
59. Intellectual Development: Tufts provides this course which focuses on the development of intellectual processes from infancy through adolescence.
60. Psychosocial Aspects of Visual Impairment: If you’re working with students who have some level of visual impairment this course can help give you an idea of how it’s affecting them mentally and socially.
61. Stress Management: Being a teacher can be a stressful job. Learn to deal with stress by checking out the information provided by this Weber State University course.
62. Teaching for Good Behavior: This course examines some of the factors that lead to students acting out in class and ways that teachers can work to re-engage students in the learning process.