Developing Systems of Professional Development in Transition: Resources

1
Developing Systems of Professional Development in
Transition Resources Strategies

• National Secondary Technical and Training
  Assistance Center
• October 20, 2007
• Mary Morningstar, Ph.D.
• University of Kansas
• mmorningstart_at_ku.edu
• Diane S. Bassett, Ph.D.
• University of Northern Colorado
• diane.bassett_at_unco.edu

2
Effective Professional Development Is

• sustained, intensive, ongoing and of high
  quality (Porter, et al., 2000 US DOE
  Eisenhower Program)
• Does not take place during workshops and
  inservice day presentations, but in the context
  of professional communities that have been
  locally developed to be responsive to teachers
  needs (McLaughlin, 1994)
• Question for Today
• How can states develop comprehensive, sustained,
  high-impact professional development systems for
  transition?

3
Professional Development Learning from the Best
How to Apply it to Transition
SEA Transition PD Goals
LEA Transition Goals
(Hassel, 1999)
4
Step 1 Include critical stakeholders

• LEA personnel
• SEA personnel
• IHE personnel
• Community members, organizations agencies
• Family members
• Students with Disabilities/Consumers

5
Partnering with IHEs

• Include IHE personnel in planning for SEA and LEA
  planning and development
• Work collaboratively with IHE personnel to
  integrate transition content into degree programs
  aligned with national transition standards
• Include IHE personnel in delivering conferences,
  regional PD
• Collaborate with IHE personnel to develop
  collaborative grants, research projects

6
Step 2 Develop a PD Needs Assessment Process

• Identify strengths and gaps at all levels
• Utilize comparison groups from other districts
  and other states
• Identify data sources
• Develop a plan that addresses gaps and ways to
  collect data
• Application to Transition
• Assess for Transition Content (teacher
  competencies programmatic evaluations)
• Assess for Transition Policies and Compliance
  (SEA/LEA Indicators data policy review
  compliance review procedures)

7
Needs Assessment for Content

• Transition Taxonomy (Kohler, 1996)
• Quality Indicators of Effective Transition
  Practices (Morningstar, 2006)
• TransQual Online (Cornell University)
• NASET National Standards and Quality Indicators
• CEC/DCDT Standards for Transition Specialists
  Secondary SPED teachers
• Secondary Teachers Transition Survey (STTS,
  Benitez Morningstar, 2005)

8
Step 3 Develop State, Regional, Local Goals for
PD

• Focus should be on statewide impact of PD
• Align SEA goals to LEA goals to school goals to
  individual goals involve IHEs in alignment of
  goals
• Application to Transition
• Use data collected to identify goals for
  comprehensive professional development
  (pre-service coursework to in-service training)
• Consider goals targeting (1) policies
  compliance, (2) effective practices, (3)
  consistent statewide training/TA, (4) interagency
  collaboration

9
Step 4 Identify PD content, processes and
activities

• Content What do transition stakeholders need to
  know? How does this link to the needs assessment
  goals?
• Process How will SEAs support provide ongoing
  PD to LEAs? How do LEAs ensure PD embedded into
  daily staff activities?
• Activities What specific activities can be
  integrated into pre-service education and ongoing
  PD?

10
2 Types of Learning Structures
INFORMAL
FORMAL

• Scheduled at a particular time
• Occurs for a pre-determined period
• Usually involves a defined learning group (i.e.,
  team, department, school, graduate class)
• Has pre-determined outcomes and evaluation
  processes
• Is planned, designed, and facilitated by an
  expert

• Uses all team members to bring their best ideas
  (i.e., building a house)
• Is educator-initiated and directed
• Occurs naturally as a part of educators work
• Can include formal or informal mentoring
• (Most of the award winning schools used informal
  structures over formal ones)

11
Examples of PD for Transition Process, Content
Activities

• State and Local Interagency Teams (e.g.,
  www.sharedwork.org Pennsylvania Arizona, WI)
• Regional Networks of Training and TA (e.g., CO,
  ID, MO, NM, WI)
• LEA Transition Mentors/Liaisons (e.g., ID, MO,
  WI)
• Ongoing Program Evaluation Action Planning
  (e.g., TransQual, Quality Indicators of
  Transition Needs Assess)
• Parent Transition Liaisons (e.g., MPACT, PACER,
  WI)
• Youth Development (e.g., State YLFs National
  Youth Leadership Network www.nyln.org)
• Transition Outcomes Project (OLeary)
• State Transition Institutes Post-Institute
  follow up (e.g., AR, NM, OK, KS, CO, etc.)
• Models of Success (e.g., Transitioncoalition.org
  MO)
• Online Communities of Practice (e.g.,
  Sharedwork.org Missouri COP Idaho COP)
• SEA LEA websites with transition information,
  resources, etc. (e.g., CO, NM, CA)

12
Examples of State/IHE Partnerships

• State endorsement/specialization in transition w/
  online courses (Kent State)
• College/university courses for degree or
  certification (e.g.,GWU, KU)
• Online Transition Certificate (KU TransCert)
• Online non-instructor led modules (KU, CO, CA,
  IRIS Center)
• SEA supported short-courses in transition
  (Transition Coalition)
• In progress

13
Thinking Across State, Local, School Levels

• What systems and structures do you need in place
  at the SEA level (e.g., website, interagency
  team, statewide institute, online modules,
  coursework/certificates)
• What systems and structures do you need at the
  REGIONAL level (e.g., regional training TA
  regional mentors, etc.)
• What systems and structures do you need at the
  LOCAL level (e.g., local CTTs LEA liaisons, etc.)

14
What do you Need to Consider?

• What systems do you currently have in place for
  providing professional development? Are they
  working? How is it supported? What else do you
  need?
• How are professional development needs
  determined? Do you use a formal system to
  identify state/local needs? Is it determined
  based on SEA priorities (e.g., new transition
  forms, new policies/procedures with VR, etc.)
• What standards, competencies or endorsements for
  transition professionals are in place in your
  state?
• What resources do you have for providing ongoing
  professional development? (staff, TA Centers,
  RRCs, IHEs, SIGs/SPDGs, online resources)
• How will you evaluate the effectiveness of your
  PD system?
• What are your priority areas?

15
Online Resources

• KU Transition Coalition www.transitioncoalition.o
  rg
• NSTTAC www.nsttac.org
• IRIS http//iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/index.htm
  l
• NASDSE Communities of Practice
  www.sharedwork.org
• NASET http//www.nasetalliance.org/
• National Center on Secondary Education and
  Transition www.ncset.org
• NICHCY www.nichcy.org
• DCDT Transition Standards http//www.dcdt.org/
• Transition Taxonomy http//homepages.wmich.edu/k
  ohlerp/pdf/Taxonomy.pdf
• California www.calstat.org/transitionGuide.html