PD Plans and Portfolios

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Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From: Mina Reddy mina_reddy at worlded.org
Date: Thu Feb 2 14:47:13 EST 2006

Here is a response from SABES to another of David Rosen's questions.

8. Do practitioners in your state(s) have professional development plans and/or keep professional development portfolios? If so, how does this work? Do you think it's a good idea to ask teachers to develop a PD plan for themselves? To keep a PD portfolio? Why or why not?

In Massachusetts, each Department of Education program has funded hours for a person to serve as a program/staff development facilitator (P/SDF). The P/SDF works to ensure that each ABE program has a process in place that links program and staff development processes. Some tasks of the P/SDF include conducting needs assessments with staff, facilitating meetings with staff on the program and staff development process, helping to make connections between program development priorities and individual staff development, distributing information about staff development opportunities, advising on individual staff development plans, and helping staff document their activities in portfolios.

We do support each individual writing a staff development plan. Ideally, this happens within an integrated process in which program development priorities are part of the process of deciding on staff development goals. However, individuals should be free to pursue some of their own interests even if they do not match the program priorities. Having a plan makes it more likely that people will follow a topic in a coherent way and get more out of it than going to random activities. It also allows for the ABE program as a whole to look at their development needs.

SABES trained practitioners in the 1990's on an integrated staff and program development process. Currently we have a course entitled "Planning for Program Improvement" which outlines the planning process, has participants apply each step of the process during the course, and helps them to link their program improvement plan with staff development.

Mina


Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From: fantine@ohio.edu fantine at ohio.edu
Date: Tue Jan 31 00:26:00 EST 2006

PD Policies and Guidelines:

In Ohio, all paid ABLE staff are required to submit an Individual Professional Development Plan, and each ABLE program must submit a summarized Program Professional Development Plan: http://www.ode.state.oh.us/ctae/adult/able/ProfDev.asp

These plans are supposed to be driven by PD needs (they may choose to do the Self-Assessment which can be viewed at the above link).

Jeff Fantine