Earn Credit for Your Work in Pathways

Through your active interaction in the Pathways learning community with other teachers, nationally-respected educators, and key resources that support adolescent literacy, you will build and extend your knowledge of best practices in advancing adolescents' literacy skills. NCTE applauds teachers who choose to dedicate the time and effort required to succeed with sustained professional development, and we are pleased to offer teachers who actively engage in the Pathways professional development experiences and learning community support in earning continuing education credit for their work.

Option 1: Graduate Continuing Education Credit
NCTE has partnered with the University of San Diego to offer Pathways participants the option of earning graduate continuing education units. Participants can choose to apply for 1, 2, or 3 units of credit. The cost is $50 per unit. 

Option 2: Provide Proof of Participation to Earn Local Credit
As an alternative option to applying for graduate credit, you may choose to request approval from your district or state to earn local credit for your work in Pathways. Many districts and states will approve participation in NCTE professional development programming, but you must request approval on a case-by-case basis. If your district or state has a minimum contact hour requirement, you can utilize the Reports feature in Pathways to generate an activity log report that includes documentation of each time you logged in and out of the program. Click here for instructions on how to generate this report.

As an added bonus, if you participate thoughtfully throughout the year and commit at least 15 contact hours in Pathways as demonstrated through you Learner Profile Activity Log, you can receive a letter certifying participation in Pathways from NCTE. Check with your district administrator or your local education agency about thier policies for pre-approval or other guidelines for accepting certifications of participation as CEUs (continuing education credit), as NCTE in NOT credit-granting agency and all credits must be awarded by your state or district.

In order to receive your certification of participation, you must demonstrate how your practice has changed as a result of your engagement with the professional learning community and program resources as follows:

• Post in the discussion forum at least once every month. These should be thoughtful comments—not simple agreements or questions (One helpful format to follow is: "At first I thought.... But after I read.... Now I think....").

• Throughout the year post in your ePortfolio:

  • Reflections (Blogs) on Pathways resources and/or other professional materials

  • Blogs on how you are using new strategies and lesson plans

  • Professional development objectives

  • Student artifacts associated with specific professional development goals

At the close of your Pathways enrollment year, select items form your ePortfolio that demonstrate your work and growth throughout the year as a result of your learning community and NCTE.

To request your certification of participation, email your ePortfolio Publication to Leslie Froeschl () along with a final reflection on what your have learned from the experience and how your practice has been changed and your students impacted. Verify that you have met minimum requirements for discussion forum posts and contact hours before sending this email.

Certification letters will be mailed along with an activity log report that documents contact hours within 2 weeks of receipt of your ePortfolio. If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to contact Leslie Froeschl through the Pathways email tool.