Pathways to Professional Development in Family Literacy Programs

Note: This resource is directed to family literacy program coordinators to help them plan for professional development. Much of the information is taken from Pathways: A Primer for Family Literacy Program Design and Development ( National Center for Family Literacy, 2000).

Professional development (PD) is defined as an activity that improves and increases educators' knowledge of the academic subjects they teach. It also enables them to become highly qualified (ESEA, 2004). Staff development is a term that is used interchangeably with PD. Both concepts involve identifying staff needs, planning activities for staff, and evaluating what was offered. You and your staff may keep current in the literacy field by participating in conferences, workshops, and meetings; taking courses; or studying independently. This article will help you plan strategically for your program's staff development needs.

In order to be effective, high-quality PD must meet certain requirements. It must be:

• Intensive and thorough
• Ongoing
• Interesting
• Directly related to the important work of staff

Ongoing staff development is vital to your program. We live in an exciting period during which the literacy field is growing rapidly. New reading research informs our practice. As an example of this rapid growth, the work of the National Reading Panel and the Partnership for Reading have generated two research-based texts that will help focus quality reading instruction for both children and adults:

• Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read
• Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers

Be alert for PD opportunities that will help you and your staff incorporate the latest reading instruction methodology. Encourage your staff to keep a log of questions, needs, and issues for which they can seek answers during staff development opportunities.

Topics for Professional Development

In addition to staff development based on reading research, you may be interested in finding other PD opportunities that address your area of expertise within the family literacy field.

• Facilitating project-based literacy
• Respecting cultural diversity
• Understanding policy affecting families in need
• Improving English language instruction for adults and children
• Enriching children’s language and literacy development
• Incorporating work-related literacy activities for adults
• Transitioning adults from welfare to work, or from GED attainment to college
• Transitioning preschool children to elementary school
• Enhancing parents' involvement in their children's education

Staff development connects the world outside the classroom to students in the classroom. It is a never-ending process that should continue, long after the PD is over.

Types of Staff Development

There are many types of staff development from which to choose. The following activity is designed to help you and your team members decide which type of PD each of you prefers.

Read through the list and consider the types of PD in which you have already participated and which ones have been the most rewarding. The goal of this activity is to raise your awareness of what you value and how you learn best. Take time to read each choice and reflect on why you have chosen it. You have two options:

• Click here to begin the ranking activity online
• Click here to download a printable copy

Now, consider these questions:

• How do your rankings relate to your learning style?
• How do your rankings relate to your personality?

Based on your responses, you should become aware of which type of professional development to seek. Remember that conferences can not only provide a wealth of information, but also serve to rejuvenate your staff. When conferences are attended by a team, they help to build camaraderie. You may also want to consider on-site technical assistance, which will allow professional "outside" observers to assess your program's day-to-day activities and offer specific, hands-on advice. Irrespective of the type of PD format that you choose, be sure that staff understand the purpose of the PD and intended benefits they will gain from it.

Assessing and Planning for Staff Development Needs

Evaluation. How will you maximize your staff development dollars to help your staff gain the necessary skills and research-based knowledge? One place to start is by analyzing your annual program evaluation. Your evaluation can identify areas where staff members' skills need to improve in order to boost the outcomes of your students. For example, if your adult learners are not obtaining their GED within an appropriate timeframe, then perhaps a PD providing methodologies for teaching basic skills for adults is in order. Your evaluation will guide you toward the PD topics that will enable your staff to help students meet their goals.

Planning. The best way to guarantee that your staff will have ample opportunities to increase their skills is to strategically plan for staff development. Consider the program outcomes you want to achieve and what skills your staff members need in order to achieve those outcomes. As program coordinator, you will want to be aware of your staff's strengths and needs—both individually and as a team—and to provide strategies for improvement. Remember, you will need to consider the cost to your program, both in time and money.

Scheduling. Time issues may vary according to the particular PD offering. The staff development event may require traveling, which means more time away from school. Sometimes, training is more effective if it is scheduled as several shorter sessions over time, rather than one 3-day session. Bear in mind that quality staff development is time well spent! Scheduling staff development in advance will allow you to work it into your staff's regular routine, so that it is not perceived as an "additional" duty. For instance, many programs use Fridays as a flexible day for planning, home visits, or professional development.

Collaboration. In these days of tight budgets, you may want to consider alternatives to traveling out of town. Perhaps you could collaborate with one of your community partners to bring in a guest speaker. Or, you might work with your local community college or university. Possibly, some of their graduate students could present a workshop related to your needs and receive graduate credit for it, instead of being paid. Another alternative might be to participate in the school district's planned in-service for teachers. You could brainstorm other ideas with your staff. During this brainstorming session, be sure that your staff can choose their own areas of development. Honoring your staff's interests will encourage them to see staff development as a benefit, not a chore.

Responsibilities. Along with the benefits staff will receive from participating in PD, staff members need to consider their responsibilities. You may ask staff to establish their own individual PD goals for improvement based on their needs and interests. Then, help them determine how to monitor their progress in implementing what they will learn.

Program Integration. As program coordinator, consider how your staff's professional development connects to your local evaluation.

• What does your evaluation tell you about the weaknesses or strengths of your program?
• What will your staff learn that will help improve student outcomes?
• How will you assess staff skills and student progress after staff members participate in PD?

Here is a Professional Development checklist to help you plan before, during, and after a staff development opportunity.

You have two options:

• Click here to begin the professional development activity online
• Click here to download a printable copy

For more information

If you found this information on professional development helpful, you might find other topics included in Pathways of value to you and your staff. Perhaps you could use some of the information for professional development during your staff meetings or in staff study circles. Topics include

• Assessing the Need for Family Literacy in Your Community
• Creating Collaborative Partnerships
• Program Design and Anticipated Outcomes

You may go to www.ed.gov/pubs and order the two free scientifically based reading research publications mentioned at the beginning of this article:

• Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read
• Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers.

Visit the National Center for Family Literacy Web site at to www.famlit.org and click on Tools for Literacy Programs in the left side bar. On this web page, you will find

• Training & Professional Development Calendar that provides details on these topics and others
• Information about the National Conference on Family Literacy
• Publications such as Pathways

References

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (2002), Title IX, Part A, Section 9101 (34) (A) (i) Retrieved October 17, 2006, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg107.html

National Center for Family Literacy. (2000). Pathways: A primer for family literacy program design and development. Louisville, KY: Author

Langevin Learning Services. Retrieved October 4, 2006, from http://207.107.10.214/bin/plus/selfAssTran.pdf

Copyright © 2006 by the National Center for Family Literacy. This document was produced at the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) (325 W. Main Street, Suite 300, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-4237).

Verizon Literacy Network is a joint project between NCFL and ProLiteracy Worldwide made possible by generous funding from Verizon Communications. This document is in the public domain and may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes without permission.