November 8, 2020
Green jobs are an excellent opportunity to match youth with meaningful careers. Green jobs provide a sense of purpose while making a positive global impact. Not only that, green jobs represent one of the fastest growing and changing segments in the global economy today and into the future.
With PLT’s new Green Jobs unit, you can play a role in introducing your learners to this bright future. From forester to wildlife manager, technician to remote sensing specialist, green jobs offer opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds, skills, interests, and personal qualities. Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers offers four hands-on, NGSS-aligned, instructional activities that help youth explore forest-related careers and get excited about green jobs.
Now, we’ve launched an enhancement to the unit: online professional development so you can best use and adapt the activities, while also giving you the option to earn Continuing Education Units or Continuing Forestry Education credits (including 1.50 Cat 1 credits from the Society of American Foresters.)
This online course was created in collaboration with and thanks to support from the Society of American Foresters.
We invite you to preview the Course Welcome for a glimpse of PLT’s newest on-demand Online Professional Development Course.
Much More Than Curriculum
According to the professional learning association Learning Forward,
Research has found that high-quality curricula have a significant impact on student achievement (Steiner, 2017; Chingos & Whitehurst, 2012). But a curriculum is not effective on its own. It requires teachers who understand it and use it with intentionality and professional judgment.[1]
That’s where PLT comes in. Since its inception more than 40 years ago, PLT has offered in-person professional development to accompany its curriculum through its vast and diverse network. In 2015, we launched online offerings to provide flexibility to educators who could not attend training in person. And now, during COVID-19, most PLT state programs offer blended virtual professional development that combines safe, flexible online learning with PLT’s hallmark personal experience.
PLT’s Green Jobs Online Professional Development Course provides the support to best use and adapt the activities, to explore green careers in the forest and conservation sectors with your learners, anytime and anywhere.
You will be able to–
- Lead Green Jobs Guide activities, whether indoors, outdoors, or remotely
- Apply tested tips and tricks when leading the activities
- Modify activities to align with your learners and setting
- Identify high-quality resources to supplement instruction
What’s Inside PLT’s Green Jobs Online Course
PLT’s Green Jobs Online Professional Development Course consists of 10 self-paced online modules, each lasting 5 to 15 minutes.
Curated videos will expand and deepen your knowledge of forest and conservation jobs.
You’ll also receive step-by-step guidance for leading the activities, as well as planning worksheets to easily plan and modify PLT activities for your learners and setting.
The course also contains:
- Adaptations for Remote Teaching
- Lead selected activities in a virtual environment with our step-by-step guidance
- Teaching Tips and Tricks
- Hear from seasoned facilitators and educators about teaching outdoors and modifying the activities for different learners
- Connections to Academic Standards
- Learn how each activity supports three-dimensional science instruction, with a primary focus on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
- Knowledge Checks
- Check your understanding and receive feedback through multiple-choice quizzes
- Activity-At-A-Glance
- Print handouts for quick reference for leading the activities
- Additional Resources
- Supplement the activities with curated resources from trustworthy sources
Green Jobs Online Professional Development Course is the first of a new generation of PLT online professional development courses. As with all PLT professional development, it follows best practices of adult learning, while providing the additional flexibility of an online course.
You can select specific modules to review at a time, or complete the entire course to receive a certificate of completion and be eligible for Continuing Education Units (CEU)* or Continuing Forestry Education (CFE) credits.
Ready to Get Started?
- Check out the Course Welcome for more information and a glimpse of the course.
- Purchase PLT’s Green Jobs Online Professional Development Course from shop.plt.org.
- Find an in-person or blended Green Jobs professional development workshop offered in your state.
Learn More About PLT’s Green Jobs Resources
Don’t miss out on these resources that make it easy to expose young people to rewarding career paths that are in high demand!
- Our Find Your Green Job online personality quiz is a great way to jump start a discussion with students
- The Green Jobs: Exploring Forest Careers guide includes several activities to help them learn more about jobs in this sector
- With our Green Jobs Online Professional Development course, you’ll learn how to modify the activities for different learners, get tips for adapting the activities for a virtual environment, earn Continuing Education Units or Continuing Forestry Education credits (including 1.50 Cat 1 credits from the Society of American Foresters), and more.
[1] How Curriculum And Professional Learning Intersect. Learning Forward. February 2018
* Continuing Education Units offered varies by state. Please contact your PLT State Coordinator to learn more about your eligibility for CEU credits.
