Discover a wide variety of professional development offerings ranging from the Certified Humane Education Specialist (CHES) credential program of study along with the basics of evaluation, humane pedagogy skill building, compassion fatigue for caregivers, and more! The professional development offerings from APL are designed to help classroom teachers, school administrators, counselors, youth outreach volunteers and professionals, informal educators, and humane education professionals enhance their credentials and effectively use their limited time and resources to infuse humane and prosocial education into current programs. If you are looking for the credentialing program requirements, please visit the CHES program page.

 

Self-paced courses are available immediately upon registration and are open to students for 90 days. Instructor-led courses have a set beginning and end date. During a lesson students can log in anytime to attend the class lecture and complete readings; assignment due dates are outlined in the syllabus. (All APL courses are eligible for CAWA professional development CE's from AAWA. See individual course descriptions for number of CE's earned.)

HE 001 History of Humane Education
Self-paced: begin any time.
Prerequisite for the CHES program.
Humane education has a long and rich history. This mini-course will introduce you to some of the key players and groups of past and present humane education as well as review the changes (both good and bad) as they relate to the humane movement.

HE 002 Humane Pedagogy and Theories of Learning and Development
Instructor-led. Next term begins April 10, 2023 and ends June 17, 2023.
Prerequisite course: HE 001
This course is designed to give educators an understanding of the fundamental theories of learning and how they relate to humane education and moral development. The course includes a detailed examination of humane education programs and humane pedagogy. Students will reflect on their previous experiences and learn how to create curricula and environments to support academic, social, and emotional growth for a wide range of student abilities and diversity.

HE 003 The Magic of Stories: Encouraging Empathy Through Narrative
Instructor-led. Next term begins January 19, 2023 and ends March 19, 2023.
Examine the way narrative is compatible with the way the human brain works, why stories are so effective at imparting moral virtue and how it builds student perspective. The course contains both practical and theoretical content about stories and literature and is designed around understanding the elements of a story, components of realistic-fiction and humane-themed literature, and composing questions that build perspective and critical thinking.

HE 004 Empowering Youth Through Service-Learning
Instructor-led. Next term begins July 3, 2023 and ends September 10, 2023.
Explore how schools, youth groups and even individual students can partner with humane organizations to create local change and help students practice important academic and life skills. In this course, you’ll learn how students can gain hands-on problem-solving skills, develop an aptitude for critical thinking and become active citizens in creating a humane society. Additionally, discover how to work with a variety of community partners on broad-based humane education issues.

HE 005 The Educator's Role in Breaking the Cycle of Violence
Self-paced; begin anytime.
Learn strategies to increase empathy as a preventative to violence; acquire useful tools for recognizing and responding to abuse related to children and families with animals; explore community level partnerships and mandated reporting involving humane societies, social service providers, educators, and law enforcement agencies.

HE 006 Introduction to Evaluating Humane Education Programs

Program evaluation begins with making sure the design is solidly executed. This introductory course is intended to assist educators, managers, and staff overseeing humane education programs to plan, design, implement, and use evaluations in a practical way. The strategies presented will help assure that evaluations meet the diverse needs of internal and external stakeholders. Learn about assessing and documenting program implementation, outcomes, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of activities, and reporting results allowing you to take action based on evaluation results to increase the impact of programs.

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HE 007 Developing a Day Camp in an Animal Shelter Setting

Would you like to start a camp at your animal care organization? In this self-paced online course, designed in partnership with Lollypop Farm, learn the steps needed to successfully create and implement a quality day camp program that reaps benefits for people and animals. Discover how to find the right camp counselors and program resources, how to mitigate the risks of day camp, and how to understand and prepare for insurance liabilities, state laws surrounding camps, and site and facility requirements. 

Register with us through DigitalChalk to see complete offerings and course descriptions. See other APL classes available.