Great teachers
are grown.

Are you a school board member or principal that would like to offer better training and support to your teachers? 

Are you a teacher looking for a way to grow while you teach? 

Elements of Teaching

ON-THE-JOB DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS
Why this course
What you receive
Who we are
As part of the effort by Faith Builders to provide training and resources, Faith Builders Resource Group partners with local Anabaptist communities to identify needs and produce resources that equip believers to build the church. This includes a variety of events and resources for educators.

Faith Builders Resource Group has developed several hybrid learning programs that combine in-person, independent, and online components. We believe people are best formed through in-person encounters. This means that while we utilize digital technology, we resist merely delivering information and anchor all our hybrid learning programs with presence through seminars or local mentoring.
Faith Builders Resource Group offers Elements of Teaching (EOT), an on-the-job training program for teachers, directly through this website. This is a 2-year, off-campus course of development for active teachers. The goal of EOT is to partner with local schools in giving teachers a strong start on a path of growth and effective, long-term teaching. 

We enable this training by providing
  • an online learning management system to provide a unified platform for the classes, assignments, and communication
  • experienced instructors to teach the live online classes
  • a framework for mentoring.


In addition to EOT, Faith Builders Resource Group offers off-campus training programs for learning support teachers and for leaders. Teacher development is part of the core mission of Faith Builders. Learn more about our on-campus courses and events for teachers below.
The quality of the education we offer our children is determined primarily by the quality of the teachers we give them.

High quality teachers are usually grown, not found.

Training and supporting new teachers is resource-intensive, and school leaders often feel overwhelmed by the task of finding, let alone training new teachers. The lack of training and support for new teachers contributes to high rates of teacher turnover in schools. Elements of Teaching assists schools in responding to this challenge by facilitating on-the-job training for teachers.

Course Information

FOUNDATIONAL TEACHING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS
This course includes classes that teach the knowledge, skills, and strategies that support student learning and create a productive classroom environment. It also includes mentoring to walk with teachers as they work to apply what they learn.

Course objectives
Upon successful completion of EOT, participants will be able to:
  1. Implement a variety of teaching strategies that support student engagement and achievement.
  2. Describe the teacher’s roles, responsibilities, and relationships both within the classroom and the broader community.
  3. Apply motivational strategies that encourage student curiosity, resilience, and growth.
  4. Prepare realistic daily and weekly lesson plans.
  5. Construct classroom management practices and procedures that create a structured, supportive, and stimulating environment for learning.
  6. Understand learning differences/challenges in the classroom.

The Basics

a 2-year course offering on-the-job training for teachers.
  • 55 hours of classes and assignments each year
  • 24 live digital classes each year taught by experienced instructors
a partnership between Faith Builders and a Local school.
  • Each participating school will provide support and oversight to the teacher in training through a local contact.
  • The local contact will invest 20 hours per year in mentoring and observing the teacher in training.
There are many obstacles to succeeding in the classroom.
  • For teachers, teaching can be an overwhelming challenge, especially in the first years. Initial excitement and inspiration quickly wear away under the unceasing demands of the classroom.
  • For school leaders, training and supporting teachers is vital to realizing their full potential, but it is a resource-intensive and often daunting task.


Elements of Teaching partners with local schools to offer teachers training and support.
  • Preparation for the school year
  • Principles for strong classroom management
  • Realistic weekly and daily planning
  • Guidance for teachers in discovering the boundaries and definition of their role
  • Basic understanding of various learning styles
  • Input on topics like discipline, motivation, building relationships, and assessment

Our Goal

Partner with local schools in giving teachers a strong start on a path of growth and effective, long-term teaching

Course Experience

Schedule

This course consists of two, 1-year modules. The modules are interchangeable and can be taken in any order.

The content in the two modules is different except for the first section. That section will be taught by different instructors each year. Participants will take that section twice to review and deepen their understanding of essential material.

Course activities will be broken into three sections.

Section Activities
Third week of July
to 
Third week of August
  • 4 classes
  • 4 meetings with mentor
  • First days of school plan
  • Classroom management plan
First week of September
to
Second week of November
  • 10 classes
  • 3 meetings with mentor
  • Weekly classes
  • Observed teaching
  • Other assignments
Second week of January
to 
Third week of March
  • 10 classes
  • 3 meetings with mentor
  • Lesson plans
  • Observed teaching
  • Other assignments

Meet our Lead Instructor

Anthony has 26 years of experience teaching in grades 5-10 in both multi-grade and single-grade classrooms. He served as a principal for 23 of those years. He now works part-time for Christian Light as a school representative and also with Bridge Builders, a ministry that offers support to schools and parents that work with trauma-affected students.

Anthony is responsible for the EOT classes. Many of them he will teach himself. The rest will be delegated to qualified guest instructors. Anthony will be present in every class, moderating when not teaching, to provide continuity to the student experience.


Anthony Hurst

Other EOT Staff

Kyler Martin | Administrator

Kyler is a TAP graduate and has 6 years of experience in administration and teaching at a small school. He currently works at Faith Builders Resource Group as a project manager.

He oversees the operation of EOT and supports the local contacts.

Brenda Hershberger | Secretary

Brenda has taught school for 12 years and spent more than 19 years in secretarial and administrative assistant roles. She currently works at Faith Builders Resource Group as a secretary.

She will assist in the operation of EOT and handle registration and general communication. 
The quality of the education we offer our children is determined primarily by the quality of the teachers we give them.

Courses

Course Lessons

Other Opportunities for Teachers

Teacher development is part of our core mission at Faith Builders. Elements of Teaching is only one of several opportunities for teachers. Use the buttons below to learn more or register for one of these other opportunities.
Servant Institute Seminar
Learning Support Institute Group
Elements of Teaching Mentoring
Congregational Singing Workshop
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