Hello, all:

As someone who provides professional development and training to teachers, administrators, and counselors, I am very interested in this conversation, and believe I might have something to offer, as well.  

I provide professional development and training in the form of workshops and formal classes, with anywhere from 2 to 15 teachers, administrators and counselors present per session.  Most of these professionals are involved with at least one area of lieracy and most of the courses occur during the school year and therefore are set up to bring the most amount of information to everyone as possible in the least amount of time.  

What I have found is that my courses are most effective when those in attendance have a chance to participate throughout our time together.  I manage to accomodate their needs by providing highly interactive, often scripted, units, well-planned in advance.  However, I also allow at least 10% of our time together for an informal discussion of the stresses and pitfalls they have encountered in their working (and daily) lives.  Often these times have included worries about job security, classroom safety, social and familial issues that affect education, and personal motivation, for example. 

As you can see, I learned some time ago that when working with adults who are professionals in education the integration of the participants' needs with the program at hand bring the best results.  Also, I have used this same model in my own practice as a Life and Career Management Services Consultant (see www.sinclairsystem for details), as many of my clients have been or are currently teachers, administrators, and counselors.  

Thanks for taking time to read my contribution, and thanks again for the great discussion.

All best,

Judith P. Sinclair, PhD
Cognitive Psychologist and Educator
www.sinclairsytem.com
j-p-sinclair at att.net
  





  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: karisa tashjian 
  To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 12:29 PM
  Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 634] Re: Participation in PD


  Hi all--

  I have to say that I am quite inspired by the idea of "job-imbedded" professional development.  I am continuing to learn more about it but I especially like how it focuses on student work as the basis for teacher pd.  

  This year, my program is having teachers develop their own professional development plans that are based on student goals and needs.  We are emphasizing that their pd should be ongoing, discussed with peers and planned for in advance (i.e. teachers set their goals early in the year and pursue opportunities that match those goals).  We are also trying to get away from the workshop/conference as the only option for pd approach and have teachers read articles and present on them, participate in and lead teacher "shares", etc.  The benefits so far have been that teachers feel more empowered, this model works for everyone - full-time and part-time staff, there is less demand on our budget and, most importantly, it fits better into the approach we have for our students - more personalized learning.

  Karisa Tashjian
  Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative (RIFLI)

  "Taylor, Jackie" <jataylor at utk.edu> wrote:
    PD List Colleagues:
    I know in the past we've discussed many factors that affect practitioner participation in PD; and I know that in many areas, there is a wealth of opportunity available for teachers and program administrators to participate. But I'm wondering, from your perspective, what you're seeing these days. Have you seen a change over the last one or more years regarding frequency of participation in PD and in what types of offerings?
    * Overall, are practitioners in your area participating more, or less?
    * What are the reasons, or your speculations, as to why? 
    * Which types of PD are teachers participating in more, and in which types are they not? For example, are they talking online more, or less? Are they enrolling in more online PD, or less? More face-to-face? More one-shot, or more sustained PD?
    * Is participation in professional development growing, diminishing, or maintaining, and in what directions? What may be accounting for any trends you're seeing?
    Please bring your piece of the puzzle to the table on any of these questions. I'd be glad to add my bit if this is something you'd all like to explore together.
    I look forward to hearing from you! Best wishes, Jackie
    Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu 
    ----------------------------------------------------
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