Beyond the much-needed R&R, summer break also presents a golden opportunity for teachers to recharge professionally. With a quiet classroom and a clear calendar, summer offers the perfect chance to focus on your own career growth. Whether you’re looking to connect with other educators, explore new strategies or take a bigger step like starting a graduate program, this season gives you the time and space to invest in your future. Check out veteran-tested teacher tips below on how to make the most of your summer for professional development – and why starting now can set you up for long-term success.
In our district, we’re used to attending conferences at least once a month during the summer. So all the in-person professional development cancellations during the pandemic were really felt by our teachers. However, with a little creative thinking, our options for summer professional development haven’t completely disappeared – if anything, many conferences have pivoted to provide more inclusive options. Plenty of virtual conferences have popped up, and some are free (such as the ASCD Virtual Conference). Most of them are recorded, so you can hit play while you soak up some sun by the pool if you want! But if conferences aren’t what you’re looking for, here are some other ways for you to get ahead over the summer months:
Learn from the experts: Many experts and organizations now have quality distance learning resources for teacher professional development. In addition to those, read up on the current requirements and recommendations from your State Department of Education. Not only is there some related research being compiled and general information on online learning, there are also blogs and podcasts like the Cult of Pedagogy and Education Week. You can also evaluate ed tech tools yourself by checking out ratings and reviews.
Connect: Some of the most valuable conversations I’ve had have been with people in similar positions in my region. I appreciate the opportunities my local service cooperative provides to connect me with other professionals, but communities of practice and professional learning networks are great as well. And sometimes, just searching for a subject or specific teaching position will yield Facebook groups I could join and connect with, another way of finding like-minded educators to learn from.
Read books: Do you have a long list of education books you’ve been wanting to check out? Make time to read them! Even better, start or join a book club so you get a chance to discuss what you’re reading. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond is at the top of my reading list. For more ideas on what to add to yours, check out this list of 100 books every teacher should read.
Webinars: With your extra time, now is when you can truly engage in the multitude of free online teacher professional development opportunities out there. You might get some good ideas while earning Continuing Education credits. A few quality options include:
Plan ahead: Most of us already went through the challenge of preparing our lessons for distance learning. Even though school has resumed in the classroom, you can still use virtual learning activities in other ways, such as self-guided group lessons or an extra challenge for fast workers. Record yourself presenting whole-group lessons, which can be used for remote learning, in a flipped classroom or as a resource for students to reference. Or dedicate this time to creating a plan in an area you struggled in when teaching went virtual, like consistent communication with parents/guardians or providing better learning activities at home.
Speed up your program: Whether you’re already enrolled in a master’s program or are thinking about going back to school, taking multiple courses during your summer break can make earning your degree that much faster. In fact, at American College of Education (ACE), you could reduce your time to completion to one year or less1 for most of master’s in education programs.
It is undeniable that most educators need a well-deserved break during the summer. But when your summer starts to drag, know that there are still ways for you to get back into the educator mindset and grow yourself professionally – including pursuing an accelerated teaching degree.
Master Your Goals This Summer
Choosing to earn your master’s degree for teaching is a strong investment in your professional future, and summer is the perfect season for teachers to start a master’s education program. With fewer responsibilities and a pause in the academic calendar, summer offers the time and headspace we educators need to focus on our professional growth. It’s a unique window to reset and invest in your goals without the daily demands of the classroom pulling you in multiple directions. Starting in the summer allows you to ease into graduate-level coursework at a manageable pace, instead of trying to juggle new routines during the busiest parts of the school year.
Build Great Habits
Starting an online teaching degree in the summer gives you the chance to set your own schedule and get used to your coursework load. You can develop strong study habits and engage more closely with the material. And when school starts in the fall, you’ll have the opportunity to implement all you’ve learned. If you’re pursuing your teaching license, you can prep for student teaching opportunities, whether it’s new classroom management techniques, ways to incorporate technology into your lessons or how to better support diverse learners in your classroom.
Smart Career Moves Start with ACE
If you’ve been wondering ‘how can I get my teaching degree online?,’ ACE’s affordable, fully online master’s programs are designed with working teachers in mind. Here’s a snapshot of ACE’s offerings and flexible programs to do what we do best — prepare the next generation of highly-skilled and dedicated educators.
Value
Investing in your future shouldn’t feel overwhelming. ACE offers a range of fully online master’s programs that can be tailored to fit your unique career goals. Credentialed K-12 educators can choose from a variety of Master of Education (M.Ed.) programs that are fully online. ACE’s accelerated teaching degrees give you the chance to earn 31-34 credit hours in your specialized area and are designed to be completed in less than 20 months1 if taking one course at a time. With ACE’s education programs, you can earn your teaching license while gaining classroom experience.
For example, ACE’s M.A. in Elementary Teaching is designed for those pursuing careers in elementary education, and our M.Ed. in Elementary Education offers opportunities for licensed teachers to build on those skills for career growth. These programs are crafted to help you enhance your teaching skills, expand your career competencies and classroom experience, and deepen your subject knowledge.
Affordability
Our programs are made with working educators in mind. We believe teachers should have affordable pathways to career advancement without having to stress about taking on student loan debt. ACE offers some of the most competitive tuition rates in the nation for fully online teaching degrees – saving you the cost of commutes and other on-campus fees.
Better Pacing, Less Stress
By starting a program this summer, you’ll get the opportunity to settle into a learning pace that works for you. ACE’s flexible structure and summer start dates allow you to build a rhythm that supports success rather than rushing to keep up. When the school year begins, you’ll already be grounded, prepared and one step closer to your goals.
1This is an estimated time to completion. Actual completion time may vary depending on the number of transfer credits applied, availability of courses, a satisfactory pace, successful course completion, and meeting program milestones as required.
