Workshop Attendance
CITS teachers are required to attend professional development workshops annually as part of the CITS program as well as for NACEP Accreditation. These events provide opportunities for UMD faculty liaisons and CITS instructors to engage in meaningful discussion regarding course syllabi, course content, expectations, and course rigor.
Newly approved CITS teachers must attend a new teacher orientation session led by their course specific faculty liaison prior to the instructor teaching the course. This orientation session will provide the new instructor with course specific training in course philosophy, curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.
All instructors approved to teach a UMD CITS course, including those who are temporarily not teaching or who haven't started teaching yet, are also expected to attend all workshops and professional development. This ensures that instructors stay current with trends in their fields and understand any changes to UMD courses.
What to Expect
CITS staff prepare all sign-in documentation sheets for every workshop, as well as folders of workshop materials. UMD faculty liaisons will collect the sign-in sheets, note the instructors who are not in attendance, and give the sign-in sheet to the CITS coordinator. The faculty liaison confers with the CITS coordinator when problems arise concerning teacher attendance. At the conclusion of each workshop, Certificates of Attendance are provided to teachers documenting the professional development contact hours.
Unable to Attend?
When circumstances prevent a CITS instructor from attending a workshop, the instructor will still be expected to meet with their faculty liaison. Once workshop attendance is recorded, all non-attendees will receive an email to arrange to meet with their liaison either in person or via phone, email, Google Meet, or Zoom. During this meeting, faculty liaisons will discuss what occurred at the discipline-specific professional development session.
If an instructor develops a pattern of repeated absences over a two-year period, the CITS UMD faculty liaison or CITS director will discuss the situation with the instructor and may notify the high school administration of the problem. If participation does not improve, CITS will decide whether the instructor continues in the CITS program.