Purpose

Unit 1.1 Introduction and Definitions of PD:

Professional development strengthens

education delivery and increases skill-building
capacity.
Learning Objectives
1. Define professional development.
2. Identify key professional development terms.
3. Identify three professional developmental
practices.
4. Describe how these practices can improve your
state’s professional development capabilities.
5. Identify strategies to support each professional
development practice.
What is Professional Development?
• The aim of personal and professional development is to help you
manage your own learning and growth throughout your
career.
•
Professional development can:
1)
2) increase your confidence and
3) credibility increase efficiency develop
4) your ability to influence and lead
5) enable networking keep your
knowledge and skills current help you
6)
to achieve career goals enable you to
7) become a better employee.
•
Professional development is something to be valued,
cherished and actively pursued.
•
 It is proven to enable career development and progression,
allowing you to excel and shine within your current role and as
you progress.

What is Professional Development?

• Systematic process that strengthens
how professionals obtain and retain
knowledge, skills, and attitudes
• Consciously designed processes and
activities developed to improve
organizational practices
What is Professional Development?
• Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional
credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending
conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.

• It has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an

evaluative stage.
• There is a variety of approaches to professional development, including
consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson study, mentoring,
reflective supervision and technical assistance.

• Professional development refers to the continued training and education of

an individual in regards to his or her career. The goal of professional
development is to keep you up-to-date on current trends as well as help
you develop new skills for the purpose of advancement in the field.

• Some professions actually require professional development in order to

renew certification or licensure and ensure employees are up to standard.
• However, you can typically pursue professional development on your own
through programs offered by educational institutions, professional
organizations, or even your own employer.
What is Professional Development?
• What Can I Study?
• Computer skills, customer service, budgeting, and project management are just
a handful of subjects available for you to study.
• Professional development topics can also be specialized depending on your
profession, whether it be in law, education, the healthcare field, or the
service industry. For example, if you're a teacher, you may be focusing on
• new ways to utilize technology in your teaching methods.
• How Are Professional Development Programs Structured?
Each program is unique and can vary depending on the subject matter and
type of training. Generally, professional development is delivered in a
• classroom setting.
However, your program can incorporate different learning methods
• depending on the needs of your job.
Some professional development programs require you to participate in
• applied work experiences as part of the curriculum.
• Others may have you attending workshops or seminars.
Some programs actually pair you with a mentor to give you one-on-one
instruction during their duration.
What is Professional Development?
• Can Professional Development Be Taken Online?
• Many colleges offer professional development courses totally online or in blended
formats that combine online instruction with classroom settings.
• Online courses offer increased convenience, as you may be able to
• complete your coursework whenever you want and take your time going
through the material.
However, even if the material is presented entirely online, there may still be
• synchronous course requirements, such as video conferences or assignments,
depending on the program.
• Make sure to research individual programs to make sure you can commit the
• time and money, and that the course is in line with your professional
aspirations.
Study.com Resources
As you consider steps towards advancing your career, take a look at
Study.com's vast online library of Professional Development Courses to see if
•
any of these courses match your goals. To help you juggle this training with
your work responsibilities, the site also offers an array of Time Management
Courses containing strategies to help you maximize your efforts and improve
productivity
 These courses are fully mobile and self-paced, complete with video lessons,
practice quizzes, and written curricula to help you stay on track to achieve your
professional goals.

What is Professional Development?

OUR WORKING DEFINITION:
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and
• Development (CIPD) describes professional
development in this way:

“Professional Development (PD) is a combination of

approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you
manage your own learning and growth. The focus
of PD is firmly on results – the benefits that
professional development can bring you in the real
world. Perhaps the most important message is that
•
 one size doesn’t fit all. Wherever you are in your career
now and whatever you want to achieve, your PD should
be exactly that: yours.”

What are the benefits of

• PD?
• • PD helps ensure you have the knowledge and skills
necessary to succeed as a school business professional
•
and benefit the school you work in. It helps you to:
•
build professional confidence and, in turn, the reputation
of the school profession adapt positively to change by
• continuously updating skills support any career goals by
focusing on relevant training and development
be more productive and efficient by reflecting on your learning
and highlighting gaps in your knowledge and experience and
planning action accordingly.

The PD cycle
• Any school business professional must take ownership of their career
and development
• The Continuous Professional Development Cycle shows that
professional development is, like much other learning, best thought of
as a circular series of activities.
• The process moves from identifying your development needs through
planning and then carrying out your learning activities, to reflecting on
your learning and then applying it and sharing it with others.
 It can also be as simple as asking yourself
The PD Cycle these three questions:
• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to be?
• How am I going to get there?
• Professional development is something that can, and
invariably does, happen in a variety of ways.
• Professional development isn’t always a linear activity; in fact,
almost 80% of your development will be completed in the
workplace by undertaking activities that might include special
projects, secondments or activities that are
new to you.
• You will in most cases have meetings
with yourself

3 Critical Components of an
Effective Professional
Development Plan:
Assessment
There is an established standard of
success to describe what an individual
who is successful looks like. There is a
means of assessing where the individual
is against this standard and continual
assessment of progress that has been
 made. What are the standards against which you assess performance
and what measures will you use to assess the individual against these
standards?
Challenge
It must be something that stretches people, pushes them out of their
comfort zones, and requires them to think and act differently.

We tend to think only of monetary support, but what are the

environmental support mechanisms. Who will provide guidance,
feedback, and assistance as the individual tries out new skills, or takes
on responsibilities that are beyond the scope of their current skill level?
Is there a tolerance for risk taking and some failure?

What is the difference?

• Workshop
– Educational program
– Techniques and skills in a
particular field
– Long-term benefits
• Training
– Instructional experience
– New skills and knowledge
– On-the-job application
Core Principles
• Collaborative
• Systematic
• Targeted
• Adaptive
• Customized
• Results-driven
Structure
• One-on-one consultation
• Small-group facilitation
– In person
– Phone
– E-mail
– Internet technologies
Six Professional Development Practices
• Sustain a PD infrastructure
• Design PD offerings
• Market PD services
• Deliver PD offerings
• Follow up with support
• Evaluate PD processes
Framework
 SUSTAIN

EVALUATE DESIGN

FOLLOW UP MARKET

DELIVER
Infrastructure
• Sustain: professional and agency
capacity
• Design: instructionally sound
activities
• Market: focused
• Deliver: streamlined, responsive,
timely
• Follow up: growth
• Evaluate: continuous improvement
Organizational Outcomes
Increases in:
• Skills and knowledge
• Implementation
• Quality, quantity, or
cost-effectiveness
• Sustainability
Partnerships
• Cooperation
• Collaboration
Effective Partnerships
• Mutual respect
• Coordination
• Reciprocal roles
• Shared participation
• Mutual accountability
• Transparency
Partnership Outcomes
• Increased contributions
• Synergy
• Program resilience
• Better alignment
Six Professional Development Practices
• Sustain a PD infrastructure
• Design PD offerings
• Market PD services
• Deliver PD offerings
• Follow up with support
• Evaluate PD processes
Sustain a Professional
Development Infrastructure
• Provides the underlying foundation for all the
practices
• Stage for success:
– Leadership
– Advocacy – Skilled
staff
– Alignment
– Evaluation
Key Characteristics
• Continuous learning
• Focus on relevant content
• Professional collaboration
Key Strategies
1. Identify a person to provide leadership.
2. Secure financial and human resources.
3. Establish and implement a PD plan.
4. Develop a process to ensure qualified PD
providers.
Design Professional Development
Offerings
Solid PD offerings are thoughtfully designed with
a specific purpose.
• Groups
• One-on-one settings
• In person
• Online
Effective Training Objectives
Without clear objectives, With clear objectives, design
participants: has:

• Are unclear about what is • Logical intended

expected outcomes
• Fail to grasp intended • Strong foundation
outcomes • Intent
• Lack transfer of learning • Boundaries
SMART Objectives
S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Reasonable

T Time-based
Learning Principles
• Need to know
• Are motivated to learn
• Have previous experience
• Need variety
• Need to be involved
Key Strategies
Group settings:
1. Identify the target audience
2. Develop SMART objectives
3. Develop a comprehensive agenda
4. Develop plans for evaluation and follow-up
support

Technical assistance:
1. Response time
2. Topics to be covered
3. Follow-up support
Market Professional
Development Services
• Contact people
• Know your audience
segments
• Promote health benefits
• Utilize various approaches
• Use models that work
• Build partnerships
Marketing Steps
1. Determine services
2. Develop a comprehensive marketing plan
3. Implement the marketing plan
4. Use data
Professional Development (PD)
Marketing - The Continuum
Key Strategies
1. Link PD services to target audience needs
2. Develop and implement a marketing plan
3. Monitor and adjust, as appropriate
Summary
• Sustain a PD infrastructure
• Design PD offerings
• Market PD services