Helping Students Navigate Emotionally Charged Current Events

Credits: (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only

Instructor: Dr. Christopher Korolczuk    Email: DrK.liips@gmail.com

Course Description:

Do you find it challenging to help students navigate the complex, volatile, and emotionally charged events of our world? Are you unsure how to guide them in understanding the truth, processing their emotions, and responding thoughtfully to global issues?

This professional development course is designed to equip educators with the tools and strategies needed to support students in analyzing current events critically and empathetically. Participants will explore topics such as media literacy, historical context, emotional resilience, cultural perspectives, and civic engagement. The asynchronous format allows teachers to learn at their own pace, making it a practical option for their busy schedules. Topics include identifying credible sources, managing classroom discussions, addressing bias, fostering hope, and promoting advocacy.

By the end of this course, educators will be prepared to create safe, thoughtful, and engaging learning environments where students can explore challenging topics with confidence and empathy, developing skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

NEW! This self-paced course uses an online learning platform called Canvas. All videos, reading materials, and assignments can be found in one online location. Also, you can simply type your assignments into the website and hit the “submit.” button. This new feature makes the course easier to navigate and more user-friendly than other courses.

The course consists of three main components:

1. Asynchronous Learning: Navigate through the course’s content at your own pace on the online platform. The main topics for this engaging course include:

• Media Literacy and Critical Thinking
• Historical and Cultural Context
• Emotional Resilience and Empathy
• Civic Engagement and Advocacy

1. Assignments: Participants are responsible for submitting 10 written assignments that connect the course content, professional experiences, and personal views.
2. Required Reading and Videos: Various professional articles and videos are embedded in the course.

* Participants will need to create a free “student” account with CANVAS to begin the course. The link to sign up for the course in CANVAS will be emailed to course participants once they are signed up and paid through LIIPS.

This engaging course is appropriate for general and special education teachers, school psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists/ teachers, physical therapists, social workers, guidance counselors, and any other professionals who interact with children regularly. This course will fulfill CTLE requirements.