Badges & Certificates

NEW!

We want to recognize your expertise in Shared Inquiry™ and make it simpler to share your achievements with others. Beginning this June the Great Books Foundation will issue a Shared Inquiry Leader digital badge to participants who complete the Shared Inquiry Essentials course. This badge makes it easier for teachers and administrators to track professional development and to share teachers’ ongoing learning with colleagues, administrators, and the community. The badge can be shared in an email signature, LMS profile page, or on social media. Administrators can request a secure login to view badges earned by teachers, and schools and districts will be able to embed badges on their websites.

Many organizations, associations, and companies have begun using digital badges and micro-credentials to record professional development achievements. The Great Books Foundation is now partnering with Accredible to issue customized Shared Inquiry badges and certificates. In addition to the Shared Inquiry Leader badge, Great Books will be awarding badges that recognize higher levels of professional learning.

How does the Great Books badging program work?

We will soon be recognizing Shared Inquiry practitioners with badges at three levels: Leader, Specialist, and Master. Administrators and other support personnel are also eligible to earn the Shared Inquiry Champion badge.

Earning the Leader badge requires participating in the foundational Shared Inquiry Essentials course. After earning the Leader badge, participants who take any advanced (200-level) course will earn a Specialist badge. Available specializations include:

  • Primary Grades
  • Nonfiction Inquiry
  • Student Questions
  • Online Instruction

Practitioners who earn two or more Specialist badges will be awarded the Shared Inquiry Master badge.

Administrators, coaches, and other personnel who support teachers using Great Books programs may choose to earn the Shared Inquiry Champion badge. This badge is earned by participating in the Shared Inquiry Essentials course and documenting support for a Great Books implementation at a school or district (see details in the chart below).

How to Earn Great Books Professional Development Badges

Badge How to Earn
Shared Inquiry Leader
100 LEVEL		 Complete the Shared Inquiry Essentials training course. This course can be completed online as a webinar, asynchronously through our Learning Center, or in person. Participation in this course will satisfy the 100-level requirement needed to earn additional badges.

Teachers who have completed the Shared Inquiry Essentials course more than three years ago can attend a Shared Inquiry Advanced Review Online training course to satisfy the 100-level requirement needed to earn additional badges. Learners who attend this course will receive a certificate.
Primary Grades Specialist
200 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Complete the Interpretive Thinking for Grades K–1 Online training course.
  3. Submit lesson plans, samples of student work, or other materials demonstrating the use of Junior Great Books and Shared Inquiry in the primary grades.
Nonfiction Inquiry Specialist
200 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Complete the Implementing Junior Great Books Nonfiction Inquiry Online training course.
  3. Submit lesson plans, samples of student work, or other materials demonstrating the use of Junior Great Books Nonfiction Inquiry in the classroom.
Student Questions Specialist
200 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Complete The Power of Student Questions Online training course.
  3. Submit lesson plans, samples of student work, or other materials demonstrating classroom use of students’ questions in Junior Great Books and Shared Inquiry.
Online Instruction Specialist
200 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Complete The Power of Student Questions Online training course.
  3. Submit lesson plans, samples of student work, or other materials demonstrating the use of Junior Great Books and Shared Inquiry for online learning.
Consultation
200 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Attend a coaching session (in-person or online) with a Great Books training consultant.
Shared Inquiry Champion
300 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Submit evidence to show the completion of the following actions (at minimum two):
    • Support and organize consultations with teachers and Great Books trainers.
    • Organize and host administrative briefings to introduce others to Junior Great Books.
    • Support teachers in multi-year implementations by hosting training and coaching.
    • Design curriculum using Shared Inquiry.
Shared Inquiry Master
300 LEVEL
  1. Earn a 100-level badge or certificate.
  2. Earn two or more Specialist badges.

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