Thanks Beverly for addressing the tangent of the topic.

Nora A. Onayemi
GED/ESOL Inastructor



"Wilson, Beverly" <Beverly.Wilson at azed.gov> wrote: The discussion generated by this topic has been fascinating. I think the
postings are especially valuable because they reflect the complexity and
personal commitment that each educator needs to make in order to advance
their own learning and growth so their students are successful. Just as
schools need to change to be more responsive to the needs of students,
the professional development systems need to change to better meet the
needs to educators. The days of attending conferences to reward teachers
or used as an incentive for a select few are gone (or should be).
Requiring teachers to attend 2-5 professional development workshops each
year with a smorgasbord of activities without a clear objective or
purpose should also be examined. 

The sole purpose of professional development is to improve student
learning and outcomes. Therefore, professional development planning
should begin with analyzing multiple data sets, including student
testing and demographic data, teacher demographics and educational
experience, program/organizational processes, etc. The planning for
professional development should be a program/organizational focus. After
the program/school staff analyzes the data, the staff can select the
appropriate goals that will improve student achievement and outcomes.
Then the staff can design the professional development plan for the
organization and the staff to meet the goals. Individual professional
development plans would then align to the student and organizational
goal(s). Whether you are a K-12 teacher, community college or university
instructor, or an adult educator, the process of planning for
professional development should be the same process. 

The research on teacher change that Dr. Christine Smith and J. Hofer
(2003) conducted has important implications for the field of adult
education. Their findings also support the work of Lindstrom and Speck
(2004) that focused on the professional development process and the
impact and use of different types of PD. Conferences and the one-time
and series of workshops had the least impact on teacher change-less than
10%, whereas teacher observation and practice, feedback and coaching,
action research and cycle of inquiry, and job embedded activities have a
much greater impact on teacher change-85-90%. If we are relying solely
on conferences and workshops to roll out new practices without the
follow-up activities and integrated processes necessary for teachers to
change, then we are being unrealistic. We don't expect our students to
increase their knowledge and skills without on-going practice and
support, so why should we expect this from teachers?

In the adult education field, our challenge is to design a professional
development system that engages and supports teachers who may work
part-time as adult educators, and may also hold another full-time job
that may or may not be in the education profession. In my opinion, one
of the primary components of building a foundation for professional
development is to create professional development standards. These
standards could serve as the framework of what we need to know and be
able to do to improve student learning. These standards would need to
provide enough flexibility to ensure that each adult educator and
organization could plan professional development to support their
student learning needs. However, the standards should include the
framework for the types of professional development needed to facilitate
teacher change.  


Beverly Wilson, M.Ed.
Professional Learning Manager
Arizona Department of Education
Adult Education Services
602.364.2727
 
"


Life is a journey, pay attention to your divine map for your grace is encoded. Don't miss it!
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