Overview: Teacher CPD courses (international)
IN A NUTSHELL
Counselors and teachers can take accredited CPD courses on Unifrog in the new Teacher CPD courses tool.
The courses are on demand, self-paced, and designed to supercharge professional practice at your school.
The courses help counselors and teachers feel more confident in supporting students applying to destinations around the world, and in delivering SEL and PSHE. They help you harness career development and counseling theory, and they are also very practical (for example, they feature practical exercises, and interviews with admissions officers at top universities).
The courses are accredited by an independent assessor, and can count towards hours or points for Continuing Professional Development.
THE COURSE THEMES
Each course in the tool fits into one of four themes:
- How to use Unifrog
- Careers leadership, guidance and counseling
- Pathways: International
- PSHE / SEL
The courses in the theme ‘How to use Unifrog’ are included for free as part of a normal Unifrog subscription.
The courses in the other themes are included as part of paid for packages, that are additional to a normal Unifrog subscription:
- The courses in the theme Careers leadership, guidance and counseling, and the theme Pathways: International, come as part of the International Counseling Courses Package
- The courses in the PSHE / SEL theme come as part of the SEL and PSHE Package
Here’s more detail about each theme:
Theme 1: How to use Unifrog
The courses in this theme are included for free in your schools’ subscription.
The courses in this theme introduce teachers to the Unifrog platform. Counselors and teachers learn to use a range of tools confidently and effectively.
An example course in this theme is ‘Unifrog for teachers and counselors’. Sessions cover the student tools, the teacher tools, and they go into detail on how to make the most out of the plug-and-play teaching resources on the Resources library. Check out this short video about the course:
Theme 2: Careers guidance and Counseling
The courses in this theme are included in the International Counseling Courses package, which is a paid add-on to your school’s subscription.
The courses in this theme focus on the wider principles and practice of careers guidance and college counseling, and help counselors and teachers deliver professional guidance with confidence.
An example course in this theme is ‘College counseling basics’, where you learn what it takes to become a student-centred college counselor. Check out this short video about the course:
Theme 3: Pathways: International
The courses in this theme are included in the International Counseling Courses package, which is a paid add-on to your school’s subscription.
The courses in this theme help counselors and teachers support students applying to destinations around the world.
The courses in this theme are:
- Supporting students applying to the UK
- Supporting students applying to Europe
- Supporting students applying to the US
- Supporting students applying to Canada
- Supporting students applying to Australia and New Zealand
As an example of a course in this theme, here’s a video introducing the ‘Supporting students applying to the US’ course:
Theme 4: PSHE / SEL
The courses in this theme come with the SEL and PSHE Package, a paid add-on to your school’s subscription. Find out more about the SEL and PSHE Package in our FAQs here.
The courses in this theme help teachers and counselors deliver and lead SEL in their school.
Along with the teacher courses, the package includes the SEL and PSHE lesson pack (82 plug-and-play lessons for students).
The courses in this theme are:
- Leading SEL in international schools
- Delivering SEL in international schools
As an example, here’s a video introducing the ‘Leading SEL in international schools’ course:
HOW TO FIND TEACHER CPD COURSES
You can get to the new Teacher CPD courses tool from your teacher homepage, in the ‘What’s happening' section:
HOW TO TAKE A TEACHER COURSE
To start a course, open the course’s profile and click ‘Join course’:
HOW COURSE ACCREDITATION WORKS
CPD certification means a course has been independently reviewed against continuing professional development standards by an external assessor from the CPD Certification Service.
Many of the courses are CPD certified, and they are distinguishable by the CPD logo.
Once a teacher has completed all elements of a course, they receive a completion certificate as evidence of professional development, as well as useful links to additional resources.[image5hpw75]
CONNECTING WITH COURSE SPONSORS
If the course is sponsored by one of Unifrog’s university or employer partners, you can choose to share your contact details with the sponsor. You can change your mind at any time by going back to the course’s page.
Sharing your contact details means they can be in touch with you with opportunities for you and your students, like professional fellowships, bursaries, or subject masterclasses.
HOW TO ACCESS THE COURSES IN A PAID-FOR CPD PACKAGE
The CPD courses in the theme ‘How to use Unifrog’ are included for free as part of the normal Unifrog subscription. The other courses come as part of paid-for CPD packages, which are add-ons to your normal subscription. Find out about the International Counseling Courses Package here, and the SEL and PSHE Package here.
When your school purchases one of the CPD packages, every teacher at the school gets access to the courses in the package.
The courses in the paid for packages appear in the CPD courses tool, and teachers can take each course as many times as they like. Only teachers with Unifrog logins can take the courses.
To purchase a CPD package, contact The Unifrog team on info@unifrog.org.
THE PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH BEHIND THE CPD COURSES
The activities in the courses are grounded in career development and counseling theory, including Egan’s Skilled Helper Model, Rogers’ person-centred counseling, the Law and Watts DOTS model, the Karpman Drama Triangle, and reflective practice models developed by Schön, Gibbs, and Driscoll.
The courses are also very practical - in every session teachers engage with interactive tasks and reflective exercises designed to support day-to-day work with students.
The courses have been created by our level 7 registered career development professional (RCDP) with a master’s degree in careers guidance, along with our team of course writers, made up of former teachers with over 50 years’ teaching experience between them.
The courses have also had expert external input: our partner universities have provided insider information on current university systems across the world, and the CPD Certification Service have reviewed the courses against their own rigorous criteria.