Professional Development Courses 2026-2027

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.

Current Canvas users (or anyone who has taken a TIG course in the past)
- Click on the Course Title to register for the course, and on Course Information for detailed information about the course. On the next page, click the blue Enroll Here button and continue on the University of Wisconsin Systems page.
NEW Canvas Users/Students to TIG Courses will need to be added to the course by the TIG instructor.
- Email Shana Ratzburg, shana.ratzburg@cesa2.org and an invitation to the course will be emailed to you. This will allow you to create a free account as a UW Continuing Education Student and enroll in the course. All enrollees are considered to be students, not teachers, even if that is their professional role.

For further information on accessing the Canvas courses, please view the following article on Canvas Course Enrollment and Access for Non-UW Students/Participants provided by UW-Milwaukee.

Job Coaching for the Paraprofessional

Available September 1, 2026 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:

Introduction to the Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP)

Updated – June 1, 2026 Course Information

Course Enrollment Code: AGFJCB

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.

Planning with Purpose for Postsecondary Success Micro Courses

Micro Series Information

Primary Instructor: Shana Ratzburg

“Planning with Purpose for Postsecondary Success,” is a series of Self-Paced Micro Courses. Each short, focused micro course explores a key area of transition planning, allowing participants to build knowledge and skills at their own pace. Grounded in both the Predictors of Post School Success and Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), these micro courses provide a comprehensive look at effective practices that support professional growth and students’ postsecondary success. These micro courses are free, online, and self-paced. The Wisconsin Transition Improvement Grant is creating these micro-courses.

Implementing High Quality Transition Practices Micro Courses

Available August 1, 2026 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 designed as a collaborative professional development tool. It is intended for school or district teams, educators, and transition specialists to work through together while 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.