Certificate Programs

• Advance your academic achievement in areas of specialized expertise to assist you in professional development. Upon successful completion of a certificate program, you will earn a certificate suitable for framing, as well as notation on your transcript.
• Complete your certificate program within 4 to 18 months!
• Gain expertise in a specific area of study and provided value-added benefits that are highly visible in your school.
• Develop and update your professional skills and knowledge.

The pursuit of mastery in the teaching profession has multiple components: personal dedication, continuing education, education networking, and a high level of accomplishment in critical aspects of your profession. The more you learn, the better able you are to teach your students, and the better able you are to help lead your peers. Research has shown that the single most effective factor in classroom success is the quality and expertise of the teacher.

Dominican University of California’s professional development division (DominicanCAonline) offers online Certificate Programs that give educators the opportunity to earn certificates in three areas that are critical today: Early Childhood Education, Teacher Leadership, Technology Integration, Trauma-Informed Practices and Blended Learning. Each program consists of 15 semester credit/units, which can typically be completed between four to 18 months. Upon completion, you not only receive credits/units for your work, but also a certificate marking your accomplishment.

Each online certificate program is comprised of courses in specialized areas of expertise:

• Blended Learning Certificate: The practice of blended learning, in which traditional teaching methods are combined with online and interactive teaching tools, has grown exponentially in the last two decades. Research by the nonprofit International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) showed that the rate of blended learning increased 30 percent in 10 years. Dominican University of CA, DominicanCAOnline’s Blended Learning Certificate empowers teachers to create blended-learning practices in their own classrooms while themselves learning from experienced instructors. The 15 required credits for this certificate include such courses as “Introduction to Blended Learning,” “Creating a Blended-Learning Toolkit,” “Examining Blended-Learning Outcomes,” and “It’s Not the LMS (learning management system), It’s How You Use It,” and are intended to be provide a strong professional foundation for this certificate program..
• Early Childhood Education: Our 15 credit Early Childhood Education Online Certificate Program was developed by an experienced team of early childhood educators is designed to broaden your knowledge to meet the increased early childhood learning expectations and enhance the social and emotional development of the young learner. Our certificate courses include the integration of your professional knowledge and skills focused on the learning and development of young children.
• Teacher Leadership Certificate: The 15 credits in this certificate include such classes as “Balancing Your Role as a Teacher and a Leader,” which emphasizes building connections with colleagues while improving classroom learning, and “Facilitating Collegial Conversations,” which focuses on coaching and empowering colleagues so they trust you when you’re helping to create meaningful change. You also will complete a total of six credits from the popular EDUX summer courses, such as “Teacher-Empowered Learning,” in which participants create their own goals as part of the process. The courses all align with the standards for the National Board for Professional Teaching.
• Technology Integration Certificate: Technology has become an important tool and foundation in the classroom, and a teacher’s ability to integrate it into lessons is only limited by his or her knowledge. The Technology Integration Certificate seeks to facilitate deeper learning with courses that combine technology with learning in ways that are easily transferred to the classroom. There are two required courses, “Technology-Rich Learning Environments,” which emphasizes online tools, apps, research, interactive media, planning and learner-driven activities, and “Technology Leadership,” which takes a teacher’s new learning one step further in terms of collaborating with peers and students, creating digital learning opportunities, and analyze student performance. The additional 11 credits are elective courses that highlight tools such as Google Classroom, the iPad, flipped classrooms, creating presentations, computer coding, Teaching With Chromebooks, or digital storytelling.
• Trauma-Informed Practices Certificate: The Trauma-Informed Practices Certificate is designed for educators who desire to expand their knowledge of trauma and its impact on learning. Thoughtfully developed by a team of experts in the field of trauma and education, course content will support educators in deepening their understanding of trauma-informed practices by moving beyond theory to promote a positive learning environment for all students.

Online professional development certificate programs allow teachers to pursue professional development at their own pace, integrating their own classroom needs and goals. At Dominican University of California’s Professional Learning Division, our online teacher certificate programs are flexible, integrative and sensitive to the needs of busy educators, all while increasing your knowledge base and adding expertise to your resume.