Courses

Creativity is one of the most sought-after skills in the world. For thousands of years, it has been the primary means by which humanity has thrived. This course explores the creative process through artistic examples so you and your students can gain a greater understanding and become successful, creative individuals.


Discover the secrets behind the life and work of one of the most recognized, yet misunderstood, artists of the modern world, Vincent van Gogh. This 15-episode course by Professor Jean-Pierre Isbouts will take you on a fascinating journey as you unravel the mysteries of the artist's one-of-a-kind style.


Learning about art at a young age can have numerous benefits for students, fostering creativity and imagination, deepening students' cultural, societal and historical awareness, and fostering empathy and respect for different perspectives. The post-impressionist movement was a movement of innovation and experimentation.


Western art, from the ancient world to the present, offers far more than beautiful images-it provides powerful stories, cultural insight, and rich opportunities for teaching across the curriculum. In this 25-lecture course, K-12 educators gain both a strong foundation in Western art history and practical strategies for bringing these ideas into their classrooms.


This is an empowering course designed to help educators manage anxiety, depression, procrastination, grief, addiction, worry, panic attacks, perfectionism, rejection, insomnia, and chronic pain using practical, evidence-based techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).


Discover how the minds of your students acquire, process, store, and retrieve information. This course includes a fascinating, 24-video lecture series from The Great Courses that covers topics on learning theories, learning strategies, learning language, learning styles, the role of emotion in learning, cultivating desire to learn, and the domains of learning. This course will not only provide valuable, research-based learning theory, but will allow you the opportunity to make practical application to your teaching.


Dive into the neuroscience of learning and learn how to maximize the learning mechanisms in your brain and your students' brains! Explore the current brain research findings on psychological and neural mechanisms that work together in the process of learning and memory in the human brain to make you a more effective learner and teacher.


Creativity is one of the most important skills educators can cultivate-yet many teachers and leaders have never been taught a practical process for developing it. In The Creative Thinker's Toolkit, you will discover research-based strategies for generating innovative ideas, solving complex challenges, and creating learning environments where creativity thrives.


Embark on a journey into Jane Austen's world through an engaging exploration of her novels! You will discover more about Austen's lasting impact and her legacy and gain a deeper understanding of the elegant and tumultuous Regency period during which she lived. Discover how the political, cultural, and social framework of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Britain influenced Austen's novels.


Thor, Robin Hood, Queen Guinevere, Harry Potter - these are just a sample of the iconic characters that we will encounter in this course, heroes and heroines that have shaped literature, inspired debate, and moved society. In this course designed for teachers of middle and high school students, we will investigate 24 essential hero stories, their origins, and their impacts.


Music has a phenomenal power to move, transport, and delight us. Across numerous styles and forms, great music expresses the inexpressible, speaks across time and cultures, and galvanizes audiences across the world. And the more we understand about music, the more we appreciate it, and a knowledge of music theory is the best place to start.


Welcome to a course introducing you to the 'new' field of music and the brain. Learn about the relationship between music and emotion; the different ways music expresses emotion, different ways music can evoke emotion in listeners' brains, and how those relate to music's ability to communicate cross-culturally. The course explores how perception of musical sounds involves complex mental processing, and how implicit learning gives rise to powerful expectations that shape your perception of and your emotional responses to music.


People often feel intimidated by the wilderness. Unique training is required to successfully provide for our needs without the aid of modern conveniences. Yet, the wilderness invites us to enjoy a lifetime of challenge, rest, and rejuvenation within its boundaries. This course is designed to equip teachers to teach students how to 'maintain meaningful physical activity throughout their lifetimes' by engaging in wilderness adventures.


Fresno Pacific's Life in the World's Oceans course offers an in-depth exploration into the science and mysteries of Earth's most significant feature and the life within. With stunning visuals and the expertise of Sean Todd, professor and marine researcher, The Great Courses and FPU's Life in the World's Oceans course combines your love of learning and teaching marine science with practical tools you can use in your classroom immediately.


No place on Earth is safe from severe storms. Tour the world's wildest weather-and learn how to protect yourself-with a storm-chasing, prize-winning meteorologist. By delving into Science of Extreme Weather that underlies blizzards, flash floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, and more, you'll come away with newfound appreciation and respect for the atmosphere's most awe-inspiring phenomena.


Geology and the earth science have now become core curricular topics for the new generation of integrated science standards. Yet, the principles of the earth sciences-ideas that deal with vast stretches of both landscape and time-are hard for our minds to grasp. Many teachers continue to feel underprepared to teach these topics and seek to bolster their understanding of the earth sciences.


You are invited into the uniquely satisfying world of plants, and the joy of celebrating and learning from the secrets of living nature. With almost 400,000 known species and thousands more identified every year, the variety of plant life is almost overwhelming--from the microscopic to the largest organism on Earth. During your journey, you will explore the astonishing adaptations that allow plants to live in an enormous variety of ecosystems, from deserts and the ocean floor to thousands of feet above sea level and on every continent.


In this course, The Great Courses teams up with the Smithsonian, the acknowledged leader in animal research, conservation, and education, to bring you these visually rich video lectures that take you behind the scenes of not only the animal world but of the scientists trying to understand how it works. This course offers a wonderful introduction to the fundamentals of zoology through the eyes of a trained zoologist.


Our bodies are incredible, supporting and moving us effortlessly every day. They allow us to walk, run, sit, and stand with little thought-yet they are also vulnerable to injury, aging, and disease. This intricate system of bones, muscles, and tendons varies from person to person, making it a fascinating subject of study. Understanding its structure enhances both medical knowledge and personal well-being.


The American West history course offers an in-depth exploration into the truth about westward expansion and the American frontier, offering both the grit and grandeur of this epic time and place in American history. With stunning storytelling and visuals from The Great Courses, FPU's American West History course combines your love of learning and history with practical teaching tools you can use in your classroom immediately. Assignments address the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) for History.


America stands at a dramatic crossroads: Mega banks and corporations wield disturbing power; huge income gap between the top 1% and the other 99% grows visibly wider; astounding new technologies are changing American lives; conflicts over U.S. military interventionism, and the environment and immigration dominate public debate. Sound like today's headlines? You might be surprised to know that these headlines were from newspapers over 100 years ago.


The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is America's premier intelligence organization, charged with keeping constant watch in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. Some critics have accused it of not doing enough to protect US national security. In the view of others, it has done too much, intervening excessively overseas and threatening civil liberties at home. Are these criticisms of the CIA justified? The aim of this course is to give you the information you need to decide for yourself.


We owe so much of our modern world to the Industrial Revolution. The lights that illuminate our homes, the cars that carry us to work, the computers that help drive our economy, and the appliances that make our lives easier-these technologies exist thanks to a remarkable group of scientists and entrepreneurs who, over the past 250 years, have transformed virtually every aspect of our lives and fueled one of the greatest periods of innovation in history.


In more ways than you can imagine, today's geopolitical climate is a product of World War II. The United States, France, Germany, Russia, and Britain-all of these world powers and their sense of place today were profoundly shaped by the most savage, sweeping war in human history. How was the war in Europe fought over the course of seven long, arduous years? What led to Germany's early sustained gains, and what eventually stymied its advances?


The Japanese attack on the United States Battle Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, socked most Americans. While the attack was a tactical success for Japan, it was also one of the most reckless strategic decisions in the history of warfare, for it awakened a sleeping giant and triggered some of the most harrowing and ferocious military actions the world had ever seen. For the United States, the war started and ended in the Pacific Theater, with the war against Japan.


As a political epicenter, Washington DC is a major national and international crossroads and featured in the global news on a daily basis. But beyond the glamour and glare of high-profile politics, it is a city on par with some of the greatest in the world, brimming over with remarkable history and culture, and offering a multitude of unforgettable sights and experiences. Throughout this capital city, you'll find some of the world's most beautiful and extraordinary national monuments.


In Pirates: The Real History, you'll find yourself looking at world history from a new point of view, realizing that much of what you've learned before could-and possibly should-be viewed through a more accurate, post-imperialistic filter. You will be exposed to new ways of thinking about global interactions, from the West Indies and the Red Sea to the North Atlantic and Indonesia, and beyond.


In War in the Modern World, we will examine modern conflicts, exploring decades of violence between and within nation-states. We will define insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare as well as the strategies that underlie both. You will learn about the weapons that fundamentally changed how countries and rebel groups fight. And you will understand how highly localized civil and insurgent conflicts became the new terrains on which great powers wage war.


World War II: Up Close and Personal invites educators to step into the shoes of those who lived through one of history's most pivotal conflicts. What was it like to grow up in Nazi Germany-or survive as a Jewish child in the Warsaw Ghetto? How did soldiers, sailors, pilots, and war correspondents experience the war firsthand? Through compelling lectures, documentary footage, and powerful video testimonies, you'll explore the human side of WWII.


History is made not only by kings, queens, presidents, and generals, but equally by inventors and the technological powers they unleash. This course explores the inventions that have changed the world- from prehistoric times to the 21st century. Along with recounting famous inventions, such as the steam engine, airplane, atomic bomb, computer chip, and internet these lectures explore a number of surprising innovations, including beer, pagodas, indoor plumbing, and department stores.