Professional Development Planning
(an excerpt from the President's report to the Phi Delta Kappa membership) This week I started working on my 2018/19 professional development plan. At NorQuest College, each faculty member is expected to fill out a plan that lists current work responsibilities, service agreements, and chosen competency focuses. But the real focus of a professional development plan is in establishing overall goals (which are linked to program and college goals) and professional development priorities (which are concerned more on developing skills as an instructor or faculty member). Once these goals and priorities are identified, each faculty member is expected to engage in regular conversations with their chair or manager, at least three times a year. These “check points” are set aside to discuss just how goals and priorities are being met through the course of the year and what kind of evidence (student and peer feedback) can verify this. Many of you are, no doubt, very familiar with such a process. And, depending on how it is facilitated and embraced, such a process can be quite pointless or very powerful. I have seen instances where educational managers (principals, chairs, directors and deans) and staff saw the professional development process as little more than time-wasting and hoop-jumping. Individual professional development plans were hastily thrown together, quickly glanced over and then ignored for the rest of the school year while the staff and administrators got on with the “real work” of teaching. And opportunities for growth were wasted; because individual faculty and managers did not “have time” meaningfully identify, plan for, or follow-through on professional learning. This I feel is quite pointless! I’ve also seen educational managers who have used such a process to stimulate and support staff through significant growth. The process helped faculty to pinpoint development areas and access opportunities for learning and skill development. These same managers also successfully leveraged the professional development of their staff to move their whole department and institution forward and to build leadership and mentorship capacities. This is powerful! Powerful professional learning is marked by clarity, commitment, considered implementation and timely follow-up. Moreover, it is characterized by continual reflection. Educators, no matter what role they play (in instruction, course development, support, or administration), need to reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses and consider the needs of the students and the communities they serve as they plan their professional development. When faculty and managers invest time and energy in such a process, there can be tremendous dividends; educators become more confident and competent in meeting the needs of their students and in building engaging and inviting learning environments. So this year, how will you approach you own professional development planning; pointlessly or powerfully?
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AuthorJeff Kuntz Ph.D. ImagesExcept where indicated, images used in the blog posts are personal photos, images from NorQuest College or images from Pixabay. Pixabay is a vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos and music. https://pixabay.com/ Archives
March 2024
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