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2005 National Training Institute
Resources
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Options for
Connecting Professional Development Research to State Policy,
November 10, 2005. To view the full agenda,
click here!
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Professional Development Policy to Practice:
Options for
Expanding and Enhancing Your Professional Development System,
November 11, 2005. To view the full agenda,
click
here!
Options
for Connecting Professional Development Research to State Policy
(November 10, 2005)
Improvement on
your performance indicators is grounded in teachers getting better at
helping learners organize, carry out, and evaluate learning. So, what
can a state do to support teachers in improving those skills? This two
part series begins this afternoon with a review of the research on which
to build and justify foundational PD policy decisions. Tomorrow, the
session will explore a professional development framework that can help
you expand and enhance your system and determine additional policy
needs.
Part I:
NCSALL’s research
on “How Teachers Change” (Smith, 2004) identifies program and
professional development factors that support teacher change. As states
begin to closely examine their professional development systems in
preparation for new state plans, this research can help to guide future
policy decisions. In addition, AALPD, the Association of Adult Literacy
Professional Developers, has identified factors that positively impact
professional development.
This session will begin with a presentation by Cristine
Smith, the author of “How Teachers Change” who will review the research
findings, including state policy implications. States who have
developed such policies will share their experiences in implementing
those policies into practice. You will leave this session with a
variety of sample professional development and program policies that you
can adapt to your state’s needs.
AGENDA
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November 10, 2005 |
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1:30-1:45 PM |
Overview |
Linda Warner, Chair, Professional Development
Committee |
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1:45-2:00 PM |
Setting the Stage
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Lennox McLendon, NAEPDC Executive Director |
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2:00-3:00 PM |
How Teachers Change: (Tab 3: PowerPoint)
The Professional Development Study examined how practitioners
change after participating in one of three professional
development models: multi-session workshops, mentor-teacher
groups, or practitioner research groups. The
study also investigated the most important professional
development and program factors that influenced the type and
amount of teacher change. Cris will provide an overview of the
research findings and discuss the state policy recommendations
developed by the Association of Adult Literacy Professional
Developers (AALPD) as a result of the research. |
Cristine Smith, Deputy
Director, Policy Implications from NCSALL, A Study of
Professional Development in Adult Education |
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3:15-3:25 PM |
Framing a Discussion for Connecting PD Research to
Foundational Policy, Expectations and Guidance -
Tab 4 AALPD Policy Recommendations
Connecting the key research findings to state policy and
guidance can form the foundation for clearer expectations for
professional development in your state. Whether you have the
authority to institute policy requirements or whether your
agency can only provide guidance, the research findings can be
used as a guide. This afternoon we’ll examine five of AALPD’s
policy recommendations that can serve as a foundation for your
PD system. Tomorrow we’ll explore additional policies as they
relate to various components of your PD system.
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Forming foundational policies
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Involving teachers in decision making
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Paid
professional development time
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Expectations for participation in
PD
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Individual professional development plans
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Quality of professional development
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Tab
5: Recommended Policies by Category
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Lennox McLendon, Executive Director, NAEPDC |
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3:25-4:25 PM |
A
Look at How States are Connecting PD Research to Policy
Selected states will share their policies and practices related
to the research factors and will provide information on (1) how
the policy originated, (2) what support (e.g., training,
dollars) accompanied the policy, (3) how it is communicated to
the field, (3) how compliance with the policy is monitored, and
(4) how they measure the impact of its benefits.
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Examining Your State’s Foundational PD Policies
(Tab 11)
What
types of foundational professional development policies does
your state have? Did you get any good ideas from the previous
presentations? During this segment you will (1) complete a
foundational policy matrix to assess where you stand right now
and where you’d like to go in the future, and (2) share your
thoughts and plans with your table partners. |
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4:45-5:00 PM |
Examining One Model for Organizing Your Professional Development Framework
(Tab 12)
Tab
13: Adult Education Teacher and Tutor Training System Adult Education
Local Program Director Training System
Review of Part II agenda
As a
pre-organizer for tomorrow morning’s session, you will be
introduced to a framework that can help organize your
professional development system with a structure and process for
incorporating policy recommendations.
|
Lennox McLendon, Executive Director, NAEPDC |
Professional Development Policy to Practice:
Options for
Expanding and Enhancing Your Professional Development System
(November 11, 2005)
Part II:
With
performance indicators, it is all about program improvement. Your local
program practitioners look to you for guidance on how to get better at
what they do. Improving professional development policy and structure
reinforces your program improvement vision. Therein, you provide clear
guidance, the resources, and the expectation that enable teachers and
program directors to regularly assess their capabilities and practice
adult learning for themselves.
Thus the state
director’s task is to provide clear policy guidance, supportive
structures, and resources. By doing so, you (1) create the expectations
that each practitioner is expected to get better at what she/he does and
(2) enable all practitioners to do so.
This session will
focus on helping states take a closer look at the structure of their
professional development system by examining a framework in which to
organize it. Within that framework, a number of factors will be
explored including practitioner standards, various components of
professional development, and the policy decisions that need to be
addressed to ensure clear expectations to the field. You will learn
about the structure and policies that a variety of states have adopted
related to professional development content, access, incentives, and
fulfillment issues. By the end of this session, you will have varied
professional development options that you can adapt to your state’s
capacity and needs.
Agenda
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November
11, 2005 |
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8:30-9:00 AM |
Taking a Closer Look at a Professional Development
Framework
The
majority of adult educators enter this profession “sideways”
with little or no undergraduate training in adult education.
Helping them gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities required
for high performance, therefore, demands a professional
development system that is responsive to their diverse needs.
By organizing your professional development efforts into a
structure or a framework that can address the needs of both new
and veteran practitioners, you will be better able to identify
gaps and policy issues that need to be addressed. The framework
presented during this segment will help you to examine your own
professional development system more closely.
|
Lennox McLendon, Executive Director, NAEPDC and
Kathi Polis,
Professional Development Consultant, NAEPDC |
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9:00-9:20 AM |
Reaction Discussions on the PD Framework
Discuss the structure of the framework with your table partners
to (1) share how your current professional development efforts
relate to its format, (2)determine if such a framework would be
a good way to organize your professional development delivery,
and (3) identify ways in which it could be adapted to fit your
state’s needs.
|
Lennox McLendon, Executive Director, NAEPDC and
Kathi Polis,
Professional Development Consultant, NAEPDC |
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9:20-10:00 AM |
A
Tour of State Options
The
Tour of State Options will give you an opportunity to hear
about various options for delivering professional development in
addition to the policy decisions these states have made related
to content, access, incentives, and fulfillment. Be prepared to
receive lots of ideas on how it might work in your state. After
each component, you’ll have a chance to share your thoughts with
your table partners. This tour will give you ideas for
expanding options your professional development system when you
return home.
·
Practitioner Standards
(Tab
16)
o
Pam
Smith, Colorado
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Discussion Point #1:
Table
discussions on:
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Do you currently have standards/competencies for teachers,
local directors, or other adult education staff in your
state?
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If yes -- how were they developed, and how are they used?
If no
– In what ways do you think practitioner standards could enhance
the quality of your professional development efforts? |
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Orientation
Training: Content, Access, Incentives, and Fulfillment
Policies (Tab 17)
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Reecie Stagnolia,
Kentucky State Director of Adult Education |
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Discussion Point #2:
Table
discussions on:
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What is the structure of your current orientation process
for new local staff?
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How do participants access the orientation?
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Is participation required? Are they paid to attend?
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10:15-11:30 AM |
Core
Training: Content, Access, Incentives, and Fulfillment Policies
(Tab
18)
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Cathy Shank, West Virginia |
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Discussion Point #3:
Table
discussions on:
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Are you currently offering training related to
accountability issues, including assessment, NRS, data
collection, and using data for program improvement? Is this
training mandatory or “strongly encouraged”?
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In addition to accountability, are there other trainings
that local staff are required to attend?
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How do participants access the training (e.g., face-to-face,
online)?
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Are you providing incentives to promote participation?
What
do you expect as a result of the training, and how are you
measuring it? |
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Responsive Training and Resources; Content, Access, Incentives,
and Fulfillment Policies
(Tab
19)
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Joanie Rethlake, Texas
Adult Education State Director |
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Discussion Point #4:
Table
discussions on:
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What process does your state use to help practitioners
identify their individual professional development needs?
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In addition to face-to-face training, does your state
provide alternative methods for professional growth (e.g.,
study circles, technology-based options, inquiry-based
projects, teacher exchange programs)?
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What type of incentives do you offer to encourage
participation?
What
are participants expected to do after the training? How do you
measure it? |
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Program Expansion: Content, Access, Incentives, and Fulfillment
Policies
(Tab
20)
o
Preparing Cyber Teachers
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Ron Jewell, Missouri
Adult Education State Director |
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Discussion Point #5:
Table
discussions on:
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Do you have specific teacher and/or director training for
program expansion areas such as workplace education,
distance learning, family literacy, correctional education?
If so, what does it entail?
Are
there any particular challenges in providing this specialized
professional development? If so, how do you deal with them? |
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11:30-11:40 AM |
Sequencing Your
Development Work
Rome wasn’t
built in a day, and neither are professional development
systems. The key is to determine your priorities; decide which
ones need to happen first, second, third, etc.; and set a
structure and process in place to make it happen. We’ll share
with you how a few states are tackling this issue.
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11:40 AM-Noon
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The
Wisdom of the Crowd: An Open Forum on Professional Development
Policy and Practice Issues
The
book” The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the
Few” by James Surowiecki, states that a group of knowledgeable
people makes far better decisions than a few experts. This
closing segment will provide you, the knowledgeable folks, with
an opportunity to bring professional development issues to the
floor for discussion and possible resolution. For those
questions or problems that you’ve always wondered how other
states were dealing with them, this is your chance to gain the
“wisdom of the crowd.”
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