Elementary school teachers? PD advice needed

[cricketwife]

TLDR:  Elementary teachers -- what are the go-to professional organizations and is there any virtual PD (courses, workshops, conferences) that you'd recommend for someone new to the elementary school world?

Long version: My training is as a modern language teacher.  It's a K-12 certification where I live.  My university exposure was high school and my teaching career was completely in middle school.  I'm now in a non-teaching role in education but am looking to expand my credentials as an elementary level (language) teacher.  I'd like to do some online work to expand my understanding of the pedagogy for this age and basically beef up my resume in terms of what someone would look for in an elementary teacher.  Any recommends for online courses or conferences?  My goals are to 1) actually increase my competence as an elementary level modern language teacher; and 2) look good on a resume. 

This is likely to be a post and run and I know teachers probably won't be online until the evening anyway.  Thanks! 

[firedancer10288]

I don’t know about your area specifically, but I’ve enjoyed learners edge courses online. They are cheap, done at your own pace, and credits are from an accredited university.

[rebneen]

If you “just” have a BS it may be worthwhile to explore options for an MA because it will earn you more money and make you more competitive in the hiring process.


The NEA has some new (and free) PD that would probably also be worth doing www.nea.org/professional-excellence/professional-learning/micro-credentials. If you’re planning to teach public, you should probably join one of the two major teachers unions and that will give you a wealth of good advice and resources.