Professional Development Courses 2025-2026

The Transition Improvement Grant (TIG) offers engaging online professional development courses designed to strengthen transition practices and improve outcomes for students with disabilities. These flexible, self-paced courses support professionals at every stage of learning—from building foundational knowledge to refining specific skills they can apply right away.

All courses are free, non-credit, and available on the UW-System Canvas platform through the Transition Improvement Grant (TIG) in partnership with the Center for Innovative Transition, Education, and Employment (CITEE) at UW-Milwaukee.

Each course is thoughtfully designed to promote meaningful learning through practical strategies, current research, and real-world application. Participants can explore topics in depth or focus on targeted areas aligned with their professional goals—on their own schedule and at their own pace.

Click on the Course Title to register for the course, and on Course Information for detailed information about the course. In the event you do not have a Canvas account, you can sign up and enter the course join code listed within the course information below.

On the next page, click the blue Enroll Here button and continue on the University of Wisconsin Systems page. Select UW Continuing Education Student to create an account and/or enroll in the course. All enrollee are considered to be a student, not a teacher, even if that is your professional role.

If you already have a Canvas account, simply click on the course title to enroll. For further information on accessing the Canvas courses, please view this accessing Canvas video.

Job Coaching for the Paraprofessional

Course Information

Primary Instructor: Shelley Burke Otto

Course Description:

Equipped with job coaching skills, paraprofessionals can help students develop essential work habits, navigate work expectations, and build the confidence needed to succeed in the workplace. Through this online self-paced introductory course, participants will gain an understanding of special education definitions and policies, strengths and weaknesses as a job coach, strategies to build positive relationships, communication with the student’s support system, task analysis methods, prompts and accommodations to promote fading practices, and strategies to promote positive behavior in the workplace. This course will offer videos, reading materials, tools, and examples from the field. Reflection activities will also be included to assist in connecting learning back to the participant’s district, strategies, mindset, and growth as a job coach. This course has been created by the Wisconsin Transition Improvement Grant.

Course Enrollment Code: 7ETHRE

Career and Life Readiness Micro Courses

Course Micro Series Information

Primary Instructor: Shana Ratzburg

The Course Join Codes are provided with each micro-course by clicking the Career and Life Readiness title above.

Youth with disabilities are underrepresented in both work and postsecondary education compared to their same-age peers. The Career and Life Readiness micro courses aim to address this disparity by equipping educators with the tools and strategies to connect students with disabilities to opportunities that prepare them for career and life readiness upon exit from high school. Click on the Career and Life Readiness link above to learn more about each of the 10 micro courses. Each micro course is estimated to take approximately 1-2 hours.

Planning with Purpose for Postsecondary Success Micro Courses

Course Micro Series Information

Primary Instructor: Shana Ratzburg

“Planning with Purpose for Postsecondary Success,” is a new series of Self-Paced Micro-Courses. These short, focused learning modules will each explore a key area of transition planning, allowing participants to build knowledge and skills at their own pace. Together, the micro-courses will provide a comprehensive look at effective practices that support students’ postsecondary success and professional growth. These micro-courses are free, online, and self-paced. The Wisconsin Transition Improvement Grant is creating these micro-courses.

Introduction to the Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP)

Course Information

Course Enrollment Code: 4APDNX

Primary Instructor: Shana Ratzburg

Course Description:

Gaining a solid understanding of the Wisconsin PTP application will provide educators with the tools and insights to create meaningful PTPs with the students they serve. This introductory course includes procedural requirements, culturally responsive practices, best practices in PTP writing, transition resources, and application shortcuts to increase efficiency when developing a PTP. This coursework is an online, self-paced format that includes learning content, reading opportunities, videos, and a final knowledge check. The course will assist in building the capacity to create effective and compliant transition plans with students with IEPs. This course has been created by the Wisconsin Transition Improvement Grant.

Implementing High Quality Transition Practices Micro Courses

Course Micro Series Information

This series of nine micro-courses is designed to strengthen best practices in the provision of Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for students with IEPs. The micro-courses may be taken as a complete sequence or individually as stand-alone learning experiences, allowing participants to tailor their learning to their specific roles and improvement goals.

Each micro-course focuses on a distinct area of effective transition practice and is intended for educators, transition specialists, and school or district improvement teams actively implementing or refining transition services. Through targeted content, participants will engage in new learning, reflect on current practices, and set actionable goals to support the effective application of strategies in their local contexts.

Course Completion

Use the form below to log the courses you have completed. Completed courses will appear on your dashboard. If you don’t see the course you have completed, please contact us.