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Instructor: William Cockerham

Dr. Bill Cockerham brings more than 50 years of experience as an educator, learner, coach, and innovator to his work with Fresno Pacific University's Center for Professional Development. He holds an EdD in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University, an MS in Biology from Fresno State, and a BS in Biology from Westmont College. His areas of expertise include biology, kinesiology, coaching, and educational technology. Throughout his career, he has served as Kinesiology and Biology Department Chair, Faculty Technology Advisor, and Track & Field and Cross Country Coach. He is also the founder and editor of California Track & Field, founder of Student Online Academic Research (SOAR), and a former Meet Director for the Footlocker Cross Country Western Regional. Dr. Cockerham believes learning should be fun and lifelong. His project-based courses encourage creativity, flexibility, practical application, and meaningful learning that students can immediately use in their classrooms and professional settings.

Classes by this instructor

ATH-920: Coaching Basketball

Learn how to teach the technical and tactical skills of basketball. An important focus is on skill demonstration and error detection as participants learn to develop practice plans and complete other assignments to apply the learning immediately...in class or on the court!

ATH-925: Coaching Track and Field

Learn the fundamentals of coaching the various events in track and field. Perform a detailed study on an event category of your choosing and create a detailed training program for an athlete competing in that event category. Course objectives are modeled after standards-based learning objectives for teachers and for coaches as outlined by the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE America).

ATH-926: Coaching Cross Country

Enhance your knowledge base related to coaching cross country at the middle school level and above. Course objectives are modeled after standards-based learning objectives for teachers and for coaches as outlined by the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE America). The course is project based including creating a training program and home management system.

ATH-927: Coaching Swimming

Discover fundamental and advanced principles in a format that is appropriate for all levels of swimmers, from the beginner to the most seasoned veteran. Be exposed to a wide variety of coaching methods and learn training principles, racing strategies and aquatic safety. Course objectives are modeled after standards-based learning objectives for teachers and coaches as outlined by the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE America).

ATH-935: Endurance Training for Sports

Train smarter, not harder. That's the ultimate goal of Endurance Training for Sports. This course is designed for sports coaches and physical educators who are seeking a thorough understanding of how best to structure effective training programs for their students. You will learn to evaluate endurance fitness, set goals for improvement, and design programs to meet those goals.

ATH-936: Sports Biomechanics

Sports Biomechanics is an introductory course designed to introduce physical educators and coaches to the basic principles of biomechanics and their applications to human movement in sport and exercise. In simplest terms it is described as the physics of sports where the laws of mechanics are applied in order to gain a greater understanding of athletic performance.

ATH-937: Winning in the Locker Room: Book Application

Winning in the Locker Room draws on the extraordinary experiences of coaches and consultants at the professional and college level. It explores the seven powerful principles that any sports team, school, or business can adopt to revitalize their organization. Step by step, Coach Mike Smith and Jon Gordon outline a strategy for building a thriving organization.

EDU-937: Skills for Academic Success

Skills for Academic Success is a professional development course designed to help educators teach essential student success skills. Ideal for teachers, counselors, and administrators, this course offers practical tools to create an environment that supports academic achievement and personal growth.

EDU-958: Distance Learning Playbook: Book Application

SD. Distance Learning Playbook is an essential hands-on book application course that assists in preparing and delivering distance learning or remote learning experiences that are truly effective and impactful for the students. Effective teaching is effective teaching, no matter where it occurs or the delivery method used. Today, teachers have the opportunity to prepare for distance learning with purpose and intent. Learn what works best to accelerate students' learning, engage students, develop meaningful relationships, all the while maintaining an indelible focus on equity.

PED-911: History and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Education

Examine the history of games, play, sport and physical education using a chronological approach to discover their connection to Western thought and culture. The course takes a constructivist approach that is based on scholarly research using both primary and secondary sources, yet is made relevant, applicable and practical by being project-centered.

PED-912: Teaching Secondary Physical Education

Physical education has been undergoing significant changes and improvements in how it is perceived in academia and its place and how it is taught in those institutions. The importance of physical education in school curriculum is increasing as the public values fitness more, and in turn, how it is taught has also evolved.

PED-914: Technology in Physical Education

Technology has become an infusive and pervasive presence in most aspects of today's culture; at home, at work, in the classroom, and on the athletic field. Technology has provided teachers and coaches with new tools and has opened up whole worlds of new possibilities for teaching, learning, coaching and managing competitions.

PED-922: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Through Sports & Physical Education

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is helpful to both children and adults, increasing self-awareness, academic achievement, and positive behaviors both in and out of the classroom. It is the process through which children and adults: Understand and manage emotions, etc.

PED-923: Teaching Lifetime Fitness

Teaching Lifetime Fitness covers applied information regarding components of physical fitness, exercise planning and behavioral changes to improve personal fitness and promote lifetime activity. You will learn content and strategies for helping your students assess their current levels of fitness, identify areas of improvement as well as understand and apply SMART goals to their fitness program.

SCI-928: Bugs in the Classroom: Entomology For Teachers

Entomology is the study of insects, the most abundant form of animal life on earth. Many insects are easily maintained in the classroom and can thrive despite being handled and kept in captivity. Insects can be used to model many scientific principles. Additionally, you'll find a variety of potential cross-curricular activities with insects that connect science with art, math, language arts and social studies.

SCI-929: Virtual Science Labs

Laboratory exercises are a wonderful way to explore and experience science. Using a project-based approach, students will learn about and experience the use of virtual science labs suitable for use in their classroom. Each project is directly tied to specific National Educational Technology Standards. The course will provide participants with a survey of what types of virtual science labs are possible, then using computer and Internet technology, students will develop meaningful lessons centered around virtual science labs.

SCI-930: Life in the World's Oceans (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SCI-931: Science of Extreme Weather (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SCI-933: Botany: Understand the Plant World (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SCI-934: Zoology: Understand the Animal World (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SCI-935: How We Move (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-985: The American West (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-986: America's Gilded Age & Progressive Era (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-987: History of the CIA (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-989: The Industrial Revolution (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-990: World War II: Battlefield Europe (The Great Courses Series)

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?

SOC-991: World War II: Pacific Theater (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-992: Washington DC: History, Heritage, & Politics (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-993: Pirates: The Real History (The Great Courses Series)

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.

SOC-994: War in the Modern World (The Great Courses Series)

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.

STEM-913: Inventions That Changed the World (The Great Courses Series)

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.

TEC-940: Virtual Field Trips: Taking and Making

Field trips are an excellent way for students to engage with and learn about artifacts while exploring places that are connected to their discipline of study, bringing their coursework to life. While in-person field trips can be challenging to organize, can be expensive, and usually involve travel, online technology has removed some of these barriers to bring virtual experiences available to students.

TEC-942: Webquests: Implementing Technology Integration

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The WebQuest model was created in 1995 and has grown in popularity since. This approach to active learning positions the student in the center of the instructional activity and encourages them to use critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem-solving skills.