Professional Development

HER Academy’s teaching certification focuses on training and credentialing K-8 teachers to develop and deliver developmentally appropriate project-based learning in computer science. No previous computer science experience is required. You are also welcome to take our PD offerings on an as-needed basis.

Effectively empowering younger learners requires a different set of skills and approaches than teaching older learners. Learning standards for lower grades share much of the same language as those for high school, creating a barrier for teachers who would like to incorporate computer science into their teaching but may believe it’s more complicated than it actually is. 

HER Academy focuses on training teachers to know more about computer science than a 14-year-old. Put that way, does it seem quite as intimidating?

Becoming HER Certified to Teach K-8 CS requires you to complete 20 contact hours, twelve of which are synchronous.

Teachers who complete basic certification and one-year of on-the-job training with HER Academy qualify for HER Advanced Certification to Teach K-8 CS  (30 additional contact hours).

Through completing prework and attending a minimum of eight 90-minute virtual sessions, teachers will gain experience in four domains: computer science concepts and language, project design, technology infrastructure and applications, and an elective of their choice.

Certification may be completed online nationally or in-person in Columbus, Ohio.

Sessions meet Thursday evenings from 5pm to 7:30pm EST and Saturday mornings from 9am to 10:30am. All required classes will be offered in both time slots throughout one school year.

To maintain your HER certification, just complete one 90-minute professional development session each year to ensure that you are keeping up with the latest knowledge and teaching strategies.

Register for basic certification

Get certified today

Register for the certificate instead of individual classes and save $200 overall.
Register

Courses

REQUIRED

  • Core Concepts in Computer Science
  • The Design Process
  • Data Science
  • Digital Security
  • Inclusive Project Design
  • Physical computing

ELECTIVES (choose 2)

  • CS Language A: Block-based coding languages*
  • CS Language B: HTML/CSS*
  • CS Language C: Python*
  • Discrete Math
  • Game Design

*All teachers must take at least one CS language as an elective.