THE ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN A

STANDARDS-BASED SYSTEM

Dr. Evelyn Higgins Beaulieu

Director

Center for Adult Learning and Literacy, University of Maine

evelyn.beaulieu@umit.maine.edu

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Two Key Definitions• Standard - An

education standard can be described as the specification of a desired level of content mastery and performance (Tuijnman & Postlethwaite, 1994, p.2).

• Professional development - The processes and activities designed to enhance and/or change the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of educators so that they might, in turn, improve the learning of students (Kutner, Sherman, Tibbetts, & Condelli, 1997, p. 1).

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Act 1:• Are there professional development

standards out there?

• What do professional development standards look like?

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Nationally Recognized Standards

• National Staff Development Council (NSDC) Standards for Staff Development can be used as a guide for adult education professional development systems.

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(NSDC) Standards for Staff Development

• Context Standards:Learning Communities

Leadership

Resources

• Content Standards:Equity

Quality teaching

Family Involvement

• Process Standards:Data-driven

Evaluation

Research-based

Design

Learning

Collaboration

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NSDC Standards

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Act 2:

• What would professional development standards do for your professional development system?

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Roadmap & Direction

Staff development standards provide direction for designing a professional development experience that ensures educators acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Staff development must be results-driven, standards-based, and job-embedded.

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Is your state’s professional development -

• “Happiness Quotient”

OR

• Results Driven?

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Act 3• How do you engage the field -- and who

do you engage -- in revising them to fit your state and pilot testing them to make sure they fit?

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Outline of Steps • Outline of ten steps for states to plan,

implement, and evaluate standards-based AEPD

• Organized outline• Steps 1 - 10•Description of each step•Resources available to assist in each step

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Steps for StatesDescription Resource(s)

1. Become familiar with the current research available on standards-based AEPD.

2. Advocate for written policy to guide states on the purpose for their AEPD system design.

3. Convene a within-state or cross-state stakeholders group to outline a plan for adult education to transition to standards-based AEPD.

a) Review current Adult Education Professional Development (AEPD) Standards research

b) Workforce Investment Act: Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act; state policy

c) Contact state AEPD directors via email or personal contact to meet at a national meeting.

d) Convene statewide group of stakeholders.

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Steps for StatesDescription Resource(s)

4. Define the components of a standards-based system to impact student outcomes and identify resources to guide each system component.

5. Agree to common definitions for standard, system, and professional development.

a) “Management Competencies and Sample Indicators for the Improvement of Adult Education Programs” (Sherman, Tibbetts, Dobbins, & Weidler, 2001)

b) “Instructor Competencies and Performance Indicators for the Improvement of Adult Education Programs” (Sherman, Tibbetts, Woodruff, & Wiedler, 1999)

c) State content standards documents

d) “Systems for Change in Literacy Education” (Lyons & Pinnell, 2001)

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Steps for StatesDescription Resource(s)

6. Plan standards-based AEPD.

7. Identify in writing the professional development standards chosen to guide AEPD.

6. “Professional Development: Learning from the Best” (Hassel, 1999)

7. “National Staff Development Council Standards for Staff Development” (NSDC, 2001)

State professional development standards documents

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Steps for StatesDescription Resource(s)

8. Implement standards-based AEPD.

9. Evaluate standards-based AEPD.

10. Review student outcome data on a regular basis to ensure that standards-based AEPD demonstrates its intended outcomes and to make program design adjustments as necessary.

a) Professional Development: Learning from the Best” (Hassel, 1999)

b) “Professional Development: Learning from the Best” (Hassel, 1999)

c) “Evaluating Professional Development”(Guskey, 2000)

d) “Does it Make a Difference? Evaluating Professional Development” (Guskey, 2002)

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Act 4

• How do you use PD standards to guide your PD system?

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Evaluating Professional Development

• Know your target for PD in the beginning

• Resource: Guskey’s 5 Levels of PD Evaluation

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Guskey’s 5 Levels of PD Evaluation

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Guskey’s 5 Levels of PD Evaluation

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Guiding Quote“Since we can’t know what knowledge will

be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned” (Guskey, 2000, p. 226).

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Thank you• My heartfelt thanks go to NAEPDC and

my professional development colleagues for the invitation to share information on standards-based Adult Education Professional Development.

Evelyn