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Professional Development

Effective teachers commit to furthering their own learning as well as their students’ learning. Practicing educators take part in regular professional development opportunities in order to be effective and engaged teachers. The College of Education fosters this career-long commitment to learning and professional development by requiring our undergraduate students seeking initial licensure to complete a series of Professional Growth Units, or PGUs.

All undergraduate students in licensure majors who entered NC State in fall 2011 or later must complete a minimum of 4.5 PGUs prior to graduation. All MAT students must complete a minimum of 2 PGUs prior to graduation. It is recommended that all undergraduate students complete a minimum of 1.5 PGUs per year and MAT students complete a minimum of 1.0 PGU per year. You cannot complete all of your PGU requirements in one academic year.

The College holds a variety of professional development events each semester that offer PGU credit. Qualifying events lasting 45 minutes to one hour earn 0.5 PGU, with longer events earning additional PGU credit. The maximum number of PGUs a student can earn for a single event is 1.5. We expect students to have completed a variety of opportunities within their required PGUs. Therefore, attending the same PGU experience every year will not be accepted. For example, all PGUs coming from conference attendance will not be accepted.

This semester’s events are listed below.

Please check back frequently as new events will be listed as they become available.

PD 8103 – NSTA Sell Yourself as a Teacher!
 

The student chapter of the National Science Teaching Association at NC State will be hosting a resume/Linkedin workshop and covering interview tips for pre-service teachers! We want all of our students to be equipped to market themselves as education professionals as they continue their undergraduate careers and apply for summer experiences.

Date: Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Location: Caldwell Hall, Room 212
Audience: NSTA members and other CED pre-service teachers
Contact: Bethany Lee (brlee3@ncsu.edu)
Credit: 0.5

PD 6783 – 2023 NC Principal of the Year: Donna Bledsoe
 

Please join us as we welcome the 2023 NC Principal of the Year: Donna Bledsoe. She will discuss her personal educational journey, “dos and don’ts” for future teachers based on her experience, and open the forum for a Q&A!

Date: Monday, April 1st, 2024
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Location: Virtual
Audience: Pre-Service Teachers: Undergraduate and MAT
Contact: Crystal Espey (cnespey@ncsu.edu)
Credit: 0.5

PD 752 – All the ways YOU can study in Prague
 

Come listen to Maggie Agnew, the Program Coordinator for NC State European Center in Prague, and learn how to explore different programs offered at NC State Prague. You will also be able to learn from the experiences of NC State Prague alumni, and ask questions.

Date: Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Location: DH Hill Library, Room 2130 and ZOOM
Audience: Undergraduate Students
Contact: cedglobalprograms@ncsu.edu
Credit: 0.5

PD 6667 – The 6th Annual Don C. Locke Multicultural and Social Justice Symposium
 

The 6th Annual Don C. Locke Multicultural and Social Justice Symposium: An Evening with Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn will be held on Monday, April 8, 2024. Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn, Ph.D., (Kiowa/Umatilla/Nez Perce/Apache/Assiniboine) is Professor and Department Chair for the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies for the University of Oklahoma. She is a recent Board Member of the Association for the Study of Higher Education and is the first Native American to serve in this role. She received the Bobby Wright Award for Early Career Contributions to Research in Indigenous Education through the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Special Interest Group for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2018 and the Exemplary Contributions to Practice- Engaged Research Award from the AERA in 2022. Dr. Minthorn is also the co-editor of Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education published by Routledge Educational Leadership Research Series, Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education and Indigenous Motherhood in the Academy published by Rutgers University Press, and Unsettling Settler Colonial Education: The Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model published by Teachers College Press.

Date: Monday, April 8th, 2024
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 PM
Location: The Friday Institute, Wachovia Innovation Hall
Audience: All College of Education students, faculty, and staff
Credit: 1.0
Register in SAGE for PD 6667 and register here: https://ced.ncsu.edu/don-c-locke-symposium/

6th Annual Don C. Locke Symposium: An Evening with Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn
 PD 6787 – Tabletop Roleplaying Games as an Avenue for Social and Emotional Learning
 

This PGU is open to all College of Education Students. A group of 3-5 players will play a tabletop roleplaying game called “Kids on Bikes,” a rules-light collaborative roleplaying game that involves teamwork, decision-making, and relationship building. After playing the game, we’ll discuss how playing promotes social and emotional learning and how it can be brought into the classroom. You are a teenager in a 1980s small town, where you get around using bikes, and your main form of communication is knocking on someone’s door. You and your friends want to explore the abandoned house at the end of the cul-de-sac on Poplar Court. What will you find…?

Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Time: 5:15 – 7:15 PM
Location: DH Hill Library, East LEarning Lab B
Audience: All College of Education Students
Contact: Hunter Edwards (hunter.edwards@ncsu.edu)
Credit: 1.0

PD 6784 – Young Alumni Panel
 

We hope you will join our virtual panel with NCSU young alumni who are in the classroom teaching! There will be a variety of experience (up to 5 years), majors, and panelists will offer insight on things they wish they knew, classroom management, and tips/tricks for pre-service teachers. There will also be time for a quick Q&A session.

Date: Tuesday, April 16th, 2024
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Location: Virtual
Audience: Pre-service Teachers: MAT and Undergraduates
Contact: Crystal Espey (cnespey@ncsu.edu)
Credit: 0.5

PD 676 – NC Agricultural Teachers association and CTE Summer Conference
 

Agricultural Education and CTE students will attend the annual conference of the NCACTE and NCATA in Greensboro, NC. Participants will complete professional development related to curriculum, leadership, and CTE/Ag content areas.

Date: July 18-21, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Greensboro
Audience: Agricultural and CTE Education students
Contact: Dr.Park (tdpark@ncsu.edu)
Credit: 1.5