Volume 5, Issue D ::: June 2002
Expanding
Access
Web Resources for States Interested in Improving and Expanding their Professional Development Systems
by Lennox McLendon
For more than 30 years, as a teacher, program director, state director, and now
director of the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC),
Dr. Lennox McLendon has provided professional development opportunities to adult
basic educators that respond to their varied needs and time constraints.
For this issue of Focus on Basics, Dr. McLendon compiled a list of
web-based resources, predominantly posted by states, that he has used
successfully in building a staff development system. Only a sample of the rich
resources available to states interested in exploring professional development
options,they are organized in sections based on six interrelated components that
Dr. McLendon has identified as key to creating an effective professional
development system. State policy, pre-service training, systems training,
responsive professional development, opportunities for each practitioner to share,
and self-evaluation and program evaluation combine to create an
atmosphere in which all educators are accountable to learn and develop as
professionals.
- Jessica Mortensen
State Policy
State policy should communicate
expectations and guide development, implementation, and evaluation of
professional development resources.
Ohio - http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/ABLE/ProfDev/
docs/pd_policyguide6-01.pdf
Guidelines for financial support and compensation for professional
development activities.
Pennsylvania -
http://www.able.state.pa.us/able/lib/able/gdgprn.pdf
A policy clarifying expectations for both new and experienced staff,
roles and responsibilities of each, available and allowable financial support,
and rewards and sanctions
West Virginia -
http://wvabe.state.k12.wv.us/professionaldevelopment.htm
A state policy that sets expectations for each practitioner's
annual professional development and encourages programs to consider not
rehiring those who do not fulfill the recommendations.
Preservice Training
Preservice training should orient
new practitioners to the profession and clarify roles, relationships, and
expectations that may be different from their previous educational experience.
Connecticut -
http://www.crec.org/atdn/workshops/otnae.shtml
A two part training workshop (that carries CEU credit) and 100-page
handbook for teachers with less than two years experience.
Connecticut -
http://www.crec.org/atdn/teacher_resources/cdrom.shtml
A CD ROM with information for newcomers to
adult education, it has major sections: the
Adult Learner, the Adult Education Program, Adult Education, and Professional
Development.
Kentucky - http://www.kyvae.org/
A virtual education program.
Kentucky - http://www.kyvu.org/
A virtual university with professional development courses for adult educators.
Kentucky - http://www.kyvl.org/
A virtual library with an adult education section.
Kentucky - http://adulted.state.ky.us/PD_Catalog_01.doc
A list of Kentucky's on-line and face-to-face professional development
orientation resources.
Texas - http://cie.ci.swt.edu/newteacher/contents.htm
A "tool kit" of links to resources on the principles of adult learning; the
teachingñlearning transaction; diverse learning styles, abilities, and
cultures; accountability; funding streams;
and continuing professional development.
Virginia - http://www.vcu.edu/aelweb/
"Core Training for New Instructors" provides training on the basics of
effective instruction for teachers in their first two years of practice.
Delivered via workshops, e-courses, and mentoring, it includes a discussion of
"The Adult Learning System," which depicts how adult education fits into a
community's system of adult education and training services.
West Virginia -
http://wvabe.state.k12.wv.us/misc_pdf/pd_catalog.pdf
A professional development catalogue that outlines requirements that must be
completed prior to beginning instruction, including different requirements for
full versus part time teachers.
Systems Training
Systems training should equip
every practitioner with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to implement state
procedures (e.g., data systems, assessment systems, etc.) consistently.
Florida - http://www.aceofflorida.org/inservice/
Online training for the GED 2002.
West Virginia -
http://wvabe.state.k12.wv.us/misc_pdf/pd_catalog.pdf
A variety of systems training activities can be found in their
Pathways to Success catalogue.
Responsive Professional Development
Responsive professional development options
should engage and support practitioners in
identifying and developing those parts of their professional repertoire that
need improvement.
Arkansas (hosted on
Rhode Island's web site) -
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/
Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/ark.html
An outline of various staff development activities that provide examples of
alternative ways to respond to teachers' professional development needs.
Rhode Island - http://www.brown.edu/Departments/
Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/inquiry.html
Teacher inquiry projects and related research resources.
Virginia - http://www.vcu.edu/aelweb/checkbox_pdpform.pdf
An inquiry-based process for teachers to create a professional
development plan based around self-assessment.
Virginia - http://www.vcu.edu/aelweb/Sampler2000.PDF
A sample of learning activities that can support the above process.
West Virginia - http://wvabe.state.
k12.wv.us/ professionaldevelopment.htm
Types of elective in-service training that instructors may select. These include
self-directed learning, collegial sharing, training, and inquiry.
Self and Program Evaluation
Self and program evaluation should
be carried out in relationship to some standard.
NCAL - http://www.literacyonline.org/pdk/
The National Center on Adult Literacy's Professional Development Kit (PDK), a
multi-media teacher-centered system, contains a teacher self-assessment
Ohio - http://literacy.kent.edu/
Oasis/ABLE/ProfDev/ self-assessment7-00.doc
A teacher self-assessment model that identifies potential professional
development activities by rating performance in attaining specific competencies.
Pro-Net - http://www.pro-net2000.org/CM/info.asp
Competency
lists for teachers and program managers, including an assessment that can be
conducted by an instructional leader or used as a self-assessment.
Sharing
Opportunities for practitioners to
share with peers what they learned through professional development
activities should be provided.
Virginia
- http://naepdc.org/State%20Staff/evaluation.html
At
the end of the year, local program tutors, teachers, program managers get
together to 1) report on
completed professional development projects, 2) evaluate program strengths and
weaknesses, and 3) plan for new professional development and program improvement
plans.