Have you ever attended a professional development (PD) activity and wondered why you spent your time participating? Have you ever attended professional development and felt that your practice significantly improved because of it?

Join the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List for a three-part discussion of quality professional development that will culminate in finalizing a set of PD quality standards that AALPD will use to advance quality professional development in the field.

Part I: Quality Professional Development
November 12 - 16

What makes quality professional development? Join us to discuss what subscribers identify as quality PD, and to explore the benefits and issues with building a professional development system based on quality standards.

• What are characteristics of quality professional development?
• How do you know it when you see it?
• What is the value added in having PD standards?
• What are the drawbacks?
• PD Providers: Are standards really going to help you provide better PD?
• Practitioners: Are standards really going to help you identify quality PD?

Part II: Reflection Week
November 19 - 23

AALPD will disseminate a set of quality professional development standards and indicators that the AALPD PD Standards Committee has drafted. This is a quiet week to:

1. Reflect on the quality characteristics generated by list subscribers during Part I.
2. Review the AALPD draft PD Standards. Ask yourself the questions listed in Part III below, to prepare.

Part III: AALPD Professional Development Quality Standards
November 26 - 30

Join us to discuss the draft AALPD PD Quality Standards. Based on this important discussion, a final draft of the AALPD PD Quality Standards will be sent to the AALPD Membership for an up or down vote. A final version will be placed on the AALPD Website, and will become the foundation for a program and state self-assessment tool to advance quality professional development in our field.

Questions for Discussion

• How well does this draft measure up with what subscribers have indicated is quality professional development?
• From this draft:
• What are the most important PD standards or indicators from your perspective?
• What are the most important standards to advance PD in your area/state?
• What PD Standards would be easy to implement?
• What would be hard to implement?
• Is there anything missing?
• Is there anything that isn't clear?
• What would need to be in place in order to make these standards possible?

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From the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD)
Standards Committee and Executive Board
http://www.aalpd.org/
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Last updated: Wednesday, 04-Mar-2009 09:19:23 EST