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
How it works
Why this course
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. These hybrid learning programs include Elements of Teaching, Learning Support Institute, and Servant Institute. 

Teacher development is part of the core mission of Faith Builders. Learn more about our on-campus courses and events for teachers below.
Elements of Teaching (EOT) is a training course designed to assist school leaders in training their teachers on the job.

ONLINE CLASSES + IN-PERSON MENTORING
The online component of this course provides the content and a structure; school leaders supply the initiative and oversight to implement the training.

  1. When a school wishes to enroll a teacher in this course, they will submit an application which includes naming a local contact who will oversee the training.
  2. We will provide basic training for the local contact to equip them for their essential role.
  3. The local contact and participant (teacher taking the course) will gain access to an online course on this website where all classes and communication will take place.  
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 teachers, let alone training them. The lack of training and support for new teachers contributes to high rates of 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 online classes that teach the knowledge, skills, and strategies that support student learning and create a productive classroom environment. The online classes are paired with in-person mentoring so that teachers have someone to walk with them as they work to apply what they learn in their context. 

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 and behavioral 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.
  • A local contact to support and oversee the teacher in training
  • 20 hours per year in mentoring and observing the teacher in training
IS EOT A GOOD FIT FOR YOU?
Participation in Elements of Teaching is limited to teachers in an active teaching position in a conservative Anabaptist school. The success of the course depends on the commitment of school leadership, the local contact, and the participant. This course does not replace the work of a local school to train teachers, it enables them to do the work.
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.

This course enables local schools to offer their teachers a path towards growth and effective, long-term teaching.

Elements of Teaching explores foundational teaching principles and practical classroom applications. The content of this course examines the knowledge, skills, and strategies that support student learning and create a productive classroom environment.
This course requires commitment.

The INITIATIVE of school leaders
  • Appoint a local contact
  • Enable this local contact by working out scheduling and compensation
  • Enable the participant by working out scheduling and paying for the training


The LEADERSHIP of the local contact
  • 20 hours per year
  • Own the responsibility of training the participant
  • Build trust with the participant


The WILLINGNESS of the participant
  • 55 hours per year
  • Attend the online classes in real time
  • Desire for growth, input, and evaluation
Cost
Tuition for Elements of Teaching $750 for one year, payable after application. Participants will also need to have access to a 4-book resource library. 

Compensating the local contact (and assistant) is recommended.

Course Experience

Schedule

Elements of Teaching consists of two modules (1 year each) which will be offered on a rotating basis and can be taken in either order. (Schools may join in either year.)

Each module will be broken into three sections, allowing breaks for starting school and the holiday season.

The first section is dedicated to preparing the participant for the school year. That section will be taught by different instructors each year, but the content will be similar. This helps participants to review and deepen their understanding of this 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 planning
  • 2 observed classes
  • Other assignments
Second week of January
to 
Third week of March
  • 10 classes
  • 3 meetings with mentor
  • Lesson planning
  • 2 observed classes
  • 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 12 years of teaching experience and served more than 20 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.

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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