Courses

Neurodevelopmental Teaching Certificate Program Faculty

Phyllis Gudoski	Ms. Gudoski began her career in New Jersey as a special education and general education teacher, and was also the President of the Roselle Education Association for eleven years. After moving to California in 1985, she was employed as a special education teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Ms. Gudoski is currently a lecturer in the Department of Special Education at CSU, Northridge. She is the K-12 Coordinator, and one of the co-founders of the Accelerated Collaborative Teacher (ACT) Preparation Program for elementary, secondary and special education credential candidates. Along with her teaching duties, she also supervises credential candidates in K-12 schools. Phyllis Gudoski has been involved in providing professional development in neurodevelopmental methodology for K-12 teachers and university students for many years. She has also been a mentor to schools to guide and oversee the implementation of neurodevelopment in the K-12 classrooms.
Jessica Tunney	Dr. Tunney brings a wealth of expertise to her work as an instructor for this online course, as she has been involved in sharing topics of neurodevelopment with teachers for over ten years through professional development trainings, seminars and workshops, and ongoing coaching support. Dr. Tunney began her professional career as a classroom teacher and learning support specialist at P.S. 321 in Brooklyn, New York, then expanded her knowledge and skills in inclusive education through a classroom teaching position at CHIME Charter School in Woodland Hills, California. Earning a Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2016 with a focus on teacher preparation and learning in field experience, she is currently a lecturer in the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at UCI. Throughout all facets of her professional work and career, Dr. Tunney maintains a commitment to children as capable and curious learners, and she strongly believes that support for teachers is vital for the success of our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Erin Studer	Dr. Erin Studer is the Executive Director of Charter School Programs for the CHIME Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in religion with a minor in English from the University of Iowa, a master’s in special education from National University, and he was among the first cohort to graduate in 2011 from California State University, Northridge doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He has worked with students K-12 and at the college level and has provided training for hundreds of teachers in the areas of neurodevelopment, cooperative learning strategies, differentiation, and inclusion. He has also consulted with several schools and districts on the design and implementation of their professional development programs.

Neurodevelopmental Teaching Certificate Program Curriculum Summary

Course 1: Introduction to Neurodevelopment and Instructional Decision Making: Attention and Memory	This introductory course is the first in a five-course series designed to earn an Advanced Professional Development Certificate in a Neurodevelopment (ND) Strength Based Approach to Teaching and Learning. In this initial course, a neurodevelopmental framework on teaching and learning will be introduced, describing a lens through which participants can view the unique strengths, challenges, and affinities of students. In addition this course will provide program participants with knowledge of the neurodevelopmental constructs of Attention and Memory and strategies in applying these constructs to instruction. Participants will be able to identify the characteristics of attention and memory, self-assess and develop a profile of their own strengths, challenges, and affinities as a learner, and apply these strategies with students. Finally, participants will be able to identify the attention and memory demands of lessons and class activities, design activities with embedded supports, and engage in analysis of an individual student’s learning as it is impacted by strengths and challenges in attention and memory.
Course 2: Instructional Decision Making: Language and Higher Order Thinking	Course 2 will provide program participants with knowledge of the neurodevelopmental constructs of Language and Higher Order Cognition and how to apply knowledge of these constructs to instruction. Participants will be able to identify the language and higher order demands of lessons and class activities and engage in analysis of an individual student’s learning as it is impacted by strengths and challenges in language and higher order cognition.
Course 3: Instructional Decision Making: Temporal Sequential Ordering and Spatial Ordering	Course 3 will provide participants with knowledge of the neurodevelopmental constructs of Temporal Sequential Ordering and Spatial Ordering and skills in applying knowledge of these constructs to instruction. Participants will be able to identify the characteristics of temporal sequential ordering and spatial ordering and self-assess individual strengths, challenges, and affinities, identifying their own profile as a learner. Finally, participants will design activities with embedded supports, and engage in analysis of an individual student’s learning as it is impacted by strengths and challenges in temporal sequential ordering and spatial ordering.
Course 4: Instructional Decision Making: Neuromotor and Social Cognition	Course 4 will provide participants with knowledge of the neurodevelopmental domains of Neuromotor and Social Thinking, and skills in applying knowledge of these constructs to instruction. Participants will be able to identify the neuromotor and social demands of lessons and class activities, design activities with embedded supports, and engage in analysis of an individual student’s learning as it is impacted by strengths and challenges in neuromotor skills and social thinking.
Course 5: Putting it All Together: Analyzing and Applying the Neurodevelopmental Strength-Based Approach to Teaching and Learning in K-12 Schools	Course 5, the final course in the series, will serves as a culminating experience in which program participants will apply information from previous courses to demonstrate the ability to implement the neurodevelopmental framework in their practice. As a result, participants will be able to develop a student/class profile using assessment data of student performance. Customized accommodations, interventions, and modifications will be developed to support students’ individual needs.