The first step in applying for PDH is to complete an experience narrative. This document will be submitted to CoTE (via the Co-op Portal) and kept on file for ISBE audit purposes. To meet state rule requirements, this document must explain how providing supervision to a teacher candidate benefited/increased skills of the cooperating professional and in turn, the preK-12 students. Questions for the narrative and examples are available inside the Co-op Portal.
1a. Log in to the Co-op Portal and select Professional Development Hours (PDHS) or "click here to access PDH forms."
1b. Under PDH Experience Forms, click on the word "here" in red font.
1c. Select "edit" next to the current semester. Complete the Experience Narrative by responding to the questions. Responses can be composed in the provided text boxes or copied/pasted from a word processing program.
1d. Respond to the questions of the ISBE-required Activity Evaluation form.
1e. Sign your Experience Narrative by clicking in the Cooperating Teacher Signature box.
1f. Click SUBMIT at the bottom-left of the webpage.
1g. After your Experience Narrative is reviewed by program staff, you will receive an email with your next steps. The email will be sent from cote-techsupport@illinois.edu.
After you receive this email, move on to Step 2.
The printable directions (on the left) provide even more detail and guiding screenshots of each step.
