Online Courses for Teachers

STEM Award of Completion

The Professional Development Institute, in association with the prestigious University of California San Diego Division of Extended Studies (UCSD), has established a STEM Competency Program for teachers of grades K-12. In our rapidly advancing world, it is clear that student mastery of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering is key to both academic growth as well as professional growth in the future. Through PDI's STEM Competency Program, if you complete any four courses listed below, you will receive a STEM Competency Award of Completion from UCSD. Upon PDI's verification of satisfactory completion of the requirements, UCSD will mail a certificate to you suitable for framing and displaying in your classroom, or it can be used as evidence of excellence as part of your professional portfolio.

Review the details below to find out how to get started in this exciting program.

To obtain the PDI/UCSD STEM Award of Completion, simply follow the steps below.

• Complete four of the following courses. Each flex course including credit fees is only $329 with the discount (regularly $379)! Note that you do not need to register for all courses at one time. You have up to five years to complete the requirements.
• Register for the courses with university credit. Simply select the option that says "course plus credit" when you register for your courses in the shopping cart area. You must receive university credit for every course you wish to use toward the requirements of the STEM Competency Award of Completion. Note that you are required to pay for university credit within 48 hours of your course registration.
• 21st Century Thinking Skills that Promote College and Career Readiness (K-12)
• Active and Hands-On Science Instruction (K-6)
• Creating a Dynamic Classroom Through Project-Based Learning (K-5)
• Educational Technology 101 (K-12)
• Mastering Google Apps for Education (K-12)
• Math Problem-Solving Strategies for Grades 3-6 (3-6)
• Middle School Math Problem Solving (6-8)
• The Next Generation Science Standards (K-12)
• Science Inquiry Using the 5E Model (K-6)
• Teaching Primary Grade Math Problem-Solving Skills (K-2)
• Teaching STEM and NGSS at the Primary Level (K-2)
• Unleashing the Power of NGSS and STEM (3-5)
• You may have already completed one or more of the required courses! If you are not certain if you have completed any of the required courses, you may e-mail PDI Registar, Shannon Philips, for verification. Please note that only courses previously completed with university credit can be applied toward the Award of Completion. You must complete all courses within a five-year period.
• Work on completing the courses you selected. Once you have received your final grade from PDI for all four courses, you may move on to the final PDI audit. Note that credit is only granted upon successful completion of all course requirements including the three-week minimum time requirement per course.**
• Request a PDI audit of course requirements for the STEM Award of Completion. PDI must audit and officially verify that you have met all course requirements and timelines before UCSD will issue your Award of Completion. There is a $25 audit fee, so be certain that you have received your final grades in all required courses prior to requesting the PDI audit.
• Once PDI has audited your student record and verified completion of all course requirements and timelines, you will receive an e-mail notification that PDI has submitted your paperwork to UCSD. Within 10 days, UCSD will issue and mail your official STEM Competency Award of Completion.

If you have questions about this program, please contact the PDI Program Coordinator, Kimya Nabavi, at kimya@webteaching.com.

** UCSD and PDI require that you spend a minimum of three weeks in EACH of your online courses. In other words, if you register for two online courses, you will be expected to spend three weeks in each course for a total of six weeks. The timeline begins from the day you register and runs consecutively, not concurrently, when taking multiple courses. Completion paperwork will not be processed until the minimum timeline requirement has been met. Both PDI and UCSD are intent on ensuring that the participant is able to maximize the knowledge gained by meaningful involvement in the program.