Supporting Active Learning for Adults:

The Who, What, and How

Camille CatlettFPG Child Development Institute

Professional Development

NPDCI Definition of Professional Development

“Professional development is facilitated teaching and learning experiences that are

transactional and designed to

support the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the

application of this knowledge in

practice…..

Definition (continued)

The key components of professional development include:

a) characteristics and contexts of the learners (i.e., the “who” );

b) content (i.e., the “what” of professional development); and

c) organization and facilitation of

learning experiences (i.e., the “how”).1”

Your Professional Development Interests

Who are the learners? Getting to know the audience Applying the concept of multiple intelligences to adult learners:

How do they prefer to learn? How will they learn most effectively?

What is the content? Creating the balance between the big concepts and the details What do the learners know ? What do they need to know? Keeping the content relevant and applicable

Your Professional Development Interests

How will the content be delivered? Creating a good mix of activities to move

students toward mastery Creating a balance between structure and

flexibility Encouraging participation Finding and using good instructional materials Answering questions Managing time Finding good examples of syllabi, PowerPoint

presentations Handling nerves

What Do We Know About Adult Learners (the who)?

Adult learners are…

self-directed want the learning to be relevant to

their lives and experiences goal-oriented practical eager to be respected

(Lieb, 1991)

Adult learners are stimulated by… environments that feels safe and

supportive environments that foster intellectual

freedom and encourage experimentation and creativity

opportunities to be treated as peers active involvement in learning regular feedback mechanisms

(Billington, n.d.)

WHAT Drives the Content of Professional Development?

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State Standards & Licensure

Competencies and Credentials

OSEP Outcomes

National Professional Organizations (e.g., NBPTS, ASHA, AOTA, APTA)

Head Start Performance Standards

HOW is PD provided?

Traditional methods Preservice teaching and inservice training

Promising but unproven strategies Consultation Coaching Mentoring Communities of practice

One thing we can say with certainty about professional development is that workshops alone are not effective.

A recent survey of Part C and 619 Coordinators indicated that workshops were the primary mode for delivering training and technical assistance.

(NPDCI, 2011)

Effective Professional Development …

…is grounded in specific practice-focused content.…is intense, sustained over time…is organized around a sequenced approach to learning…emphasizes application to real life situations…builds on learner’s current level of understanding …includes guidance and feedback to the learner…is aligned with instructional goals, learning standards,

and curriculum materials

(Trivette, Dunst, Hamby, & O’Herin, 2009; Winton, 2006)

Your Professional Development Interests: Who are the learners?

Getting to know the audience Straw polls Surveys Draw out personal experiences through reflection and

dialogue School memory

Dealing with learners who are apathetic/noisy/late/unprepared Establish clear guidelines and expectations

Ground rules or agreements Model respectful interactions with students and colleagues

Your Professional Development Interests: What is the content?

May be predetermined; check for flexibility What do you want participants to know and be

able to do afterwards? Opportunities to promote core values, e.g.,

inclusion Infusion Extension

Start with the basics and build (Winton, McCollum, & Catlett, 2007)

readinglecture

readinglecture

role playingfield applicationcase studies

role playingfield application

demonstrationobservationinterviewingproblem solvingbrainstormingdiscussion

guided reflectionself-analysisclinical supervision

guided reflectionfollow-up planscoaching

Attitudes, values

Skill

Knowledge

Awareness

Complexity of synthesis and application required

Low High

A model for matching training approach to desired training outcomes and complexity of application (Winton, McCollum, & Catlett, 1997 ; adapted from Harris, 1980)

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What is an ampersand?

Draw an ampersand

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UDL: Multiple Means of Representation

kinestheticVisualauditory

Building Dispositions: What We Know

Five most influential experiences in building culturally responsive dispositions (Kidd, Sanchez, & Thorp, 2008)

Material resources Interactions with diverse children, families and

colleagues Diverse internship experiences Discussion and dialogue Critical reflection

Features to Shoot for

Relevant & realistic

content Active, engaging

sequential process Opportunities for

discussion, processing & reflection

Support from a facilitator

Evaluation

Your Professional Development Interests: Instructional Design and Delivery

Creating a good mix of activities to move students toward mastery

Force yourself to limit the verbal (or visual) lecture The Change-Up in Lectures (Middendorf and Kalish,

1996) Alternative: true/false quiz Use meaningful activities and energizers

Put Yourself on a Continuum vs. juggling Apple activity

Cooperative and small group learning

Use video segments effectively

Use video segments effectively

Your Professional Development Interests: Instructional Design and Delivery

Creating a balance between structureand flexibility

Prepare more than you can possibly use so you can speed up or slow down

Know your material well

Encouraging participation

Make expectations for participation clear in course or workshop criteria

Your Professional Development Interests: Instructional Design and Delivery

Finding and using good instructional materials Natural Resources, Baby Talk Resources for Supporting Each Young Learner

Handout

Landing Pads

SCRIPT-NCSupporting Change and Reform in Preservice Teaching in

North Carolina

http://scriptnc.fpg.unc.edu/resource-search

EDU 144 Landing

Pad

See For Yourself

http://www.ecetp.pdp.albany.edu/videolibrary.shtm

See for Yourself

Your Professional Development Interests: Instructional Design and Delivery

Answering questions

Managing time

Handling nerves

Organizing your content/syllabus

Your Professional Development Interests: You’re a Learner, Too!

Assessing your teaching effectiveness Constant monitoring and feedback

Coffee, tea, water

Remembering what it is

like to be a student

Professional development that does not produce change is as useful as a parachute that opens after the first bounce.

PJ McWilliam

All learning occurs in the context of relationships.

For more information

Camille Catlett

FPG Child Development Institute

CB #8185 UNC-CH

Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8185

Phone (919) 966-6635 Fax (919) 843-5784

Email catlett@mail.fpg.unc.edu