Department of Educational Administration
College of Education
Michigan State University
EAD 863
TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Fall, 2002
Professor Ann E. Austin Professor John M. Dirkx
417 Erickson Hall 19 Erickson Hall
(517) 355-6757 (517) 353-8927
Course Meetings: Tuesdays, 4:10- 7:00 p.m.
Office Hours: Please set up by appointment.
Course Credit Hours: 3
Course Overview
One area of postsecondary education of considerable interest to many organizations is professional development. Within universities and colleges, faculty members, administrators, and professional staff are expected to continue to improve their expertise and abilities to teach, lead, research, and carry out the multiple missions of the institution. Within workplaces and service organizations, employees are expected to engage in on-going improvement through continuing professional education. Professional development has become even more important in recent years with the increasing pressures on academic organizations and other workplaces for greater evidence of quality work and outcomes.
This course is based on the premise that professional development is a profoundly important activity that involves the multiple dimensions of an individual (including the heart, mind, and body), as well as the culture, environment, expectations, and needs of the organization. Put more simply, professional development is an issue of great importance to the individual and the organization, and can be of great benefit to both.
The purpose of this course is to examine and unpack multiple understandings about the meaning, purposes, and approaches to professional development in various contexts. This course is not specifically about teaching strategies, adult learning, or program planning (Other courses in our program focus more directly on these aspects of training and professional development). Yet, aspects of each of these topics are relevant to this course. Among the key questions we will consider are the following:
Ø What are the ways in which professional development and training are defined and conceptualized?
Ø What purposes do professional development activities serve and what theories about human development and organizational purposes guide professional development?
Ø What are the values and beliefs that relate to different approaches or perspectives to professional development?
Ø What are useful strategies for professional development?
Ø How does professional development and training differ in various settings and what strategies are most appropriate in which contexts?
Content Outline
To follow explore the key questions related to training and professional development, the course is organized into three parts:
1) Conceptualization of training and professional development
First, we will explore how various authors define and conceptualize professional development, and the underlying assumptions that underlie these various conceptualizations. The first part is organized around three different conceptual approaches (professional development from a technical viewpoint, professional development from a reflective practitioner viewpoint, and professional development as inner work of growth and development). The readings and discussions also may lead us to other ways to conceptualize the meaning and purposes of professional development.
2) Strategies used in training and professional development
In the second part of the course, we will focus on various strategies that are used in training and professional development. Specific emphasis will be placed on exploring how these strategies are shaped and formed by the ways in which we conceptualize training and professional development, and the underlying assumptions we bring to the implementation of these various strategies.
3) Contexts and settings for training and professional development
In the third part of the course, we will consider training and professional development in several different settings: universities and colleges (including faculty development and development of administrators and student affairs professionals); continuing education within the professions; continuing education and training in the workplaces; and professional development as organized by professional associations. The third part of this course will be in a seminar format, in which small groups of students will explore and report on training and professional development within their particular contexts of choice.
The course is designed for individuals who hold or in the future will serve in professional roles in which they are responsible for organizing training and professional development opportunities for colleagues. Also the course should help those who work in postsecondary learning settings to plan for and engage in their own professional development. The course is designed primarily as an elective for master’s level students, but may be useful for doctoral students interested in professional development and training.
Course Materials
The books listed below have been ordered through the University Bookstore in the International Center. Each of these books is a good addition to a professional library..
Palmer, P. 1998. The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I, II, III, VII.
Intrator, S. M. 2002. Stories of The Courage to Teach: Honoring the teacher’s heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I and II.
Schon, D. A. 1987. Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I and II.
Stegner, Wallace. 1987. Crossing to Safety. New York: Random.
A coursepak, containing readings not available in the above texts, will also be available for students to use. We will also be using Blackboard, on which additional readings on the Web will be posted.
Course Assignments/Expectations
1. Class Participation face-to-face and online (15 points)
During each class session, we will discuss issues and questions related to the readings for the week. Students are expected to have read assigned readings before attending class. Class discussion typically will be used to encourage higher order thinking: synthesis, application, analysis, and evaluation. Thus, we may not always review the details of every reading, but will assume that students have mastered the basic content in their own reading and will come prepared to enter the conversation.
Also, we will use a variety of Classroom Assessment Strategies, both to illustrate these techniques for supporting learning and to monitor learning processes in the course. Some class sessions may require students to do short written work or to address questions prior to the class session.
Additionally, short questions will be posted on the course website. Students will be expected to respond to at least five questions during the course of the semester. Each response will receive 2 points. Thorough reading and preparation prior to each class session, and attendance and involvement in class, are essential to the quality of the course and the learning of each participant.
2. Description and Analysis of a Professional Development Experience - Due: September 30 (15 points)
Each student will write a 3-4 page paper describing a professional development experience in which he or she has participated. In addition to the description, the paper should draw on the readings and class discussion to identify and discuss the conceptual or theoretical assumptions that seemed to guide the particular experience. Guidelines for writing this paper will be posted to the class website.
3. Seminar Presentation and Paper - Due: Sessions will occur on one of the class session dates in November. The paper should be passed in on the same date.
(30 points)
The third section of the class will be devoted to exploring in more depth various contexts for training and professional development. This study will be approached through a seminar format, in which students will work in teams to prepare and lead a class session and write a paper concerning professional development in a particular context. Each team will select from one of the following contexts: faculty development in universities and colleges, professional development as organized by professional associations, continuing education in the workplace, and professional development in student affairs. If some students have some other context of interest, we can arrange a team in that area.
Each team should select a specific exemplar of their context, and for which staff members of that context might be interviewed for this project. In addition, class members are encouraged, if possible, to observe a training or professional development activity planned and implemented by this particular site. Each team’s presentation and paper should address: a) description of professional development in the context, including various approaches and strategies, examples, organization of professional development, and target audience; b) discussion and analysis of the conceptual and philosophical assumptions underlying professional development in the context; c) critique of the approach to professional development in the context, including recommendations for different approaches or improvements.
To do this assignment, teams will want to consult websites, other materials, or conduct visits to find examples and descriptions of professional development strategies in specific organizations representing the context. Class members are asked to work in teams to prepare the presentation and paper, in order to model the kind of assignments and professional development experiences that often occur in work contexts.
Additional information about this assignment will be posted to the class website.
4. Reflective Analysis Paper - Due: The Reflection Paper is due one week after the seminar presentation. (10 points)
Each participant individually will prepare a reflective analysis and assessment of the class session for which his or her team was responsible. This analysis should: a) discuss the quality of the seminar and paper; b) discuss the group process, including the contributions of the author and the author’s assessment of the contributions of the other team members; c) offer suggestions for ways in which the seminar or paper could have been improved; and d) discuss what the author learned through working on this project about professional development and about working in a team.
5. Capstone Theory Paper – Due: December 2 (30 points)
Each student will conclude the course by writing a paper (approximately five to seven pages) explaining his or her theory of professional development. This paper should address what the author sees as the purposes of professional development in a context that he or she identifies, conceptual and philosophical assumptions (about learning and motivation and organizational development, for example) that the author believes should guide professional development, strategies that the author believes are particularly effective in the chosen context, and the reasons for believing those strategies to be particularly useful. This paper is intended to be a useful statement of the author’s thinking and beliefs about professional development, and might be used in a professional portfolio documenting the author’s expertise.
WEEKLY PLAN AND READINGS
PART I: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS A FIELD OF PRACTICE AND STUDY
August 26, 2002 Introduction and course overview
Introductions
Review of course focus and requirements
Beginning the conversation: A conceptual framework to guide our inquiry
- What is meant by the terms “training” and “professional development”?
- Relationship of learning to development
- Individual vs. organizational vs societal focus
- Our conceptual approach
September 6, 2002 Our conceptual framework (continued)
PART II: CONCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
September 9 Professional Development from a Technical Perspective
Centra, J. A. 1989. Faculty evaluation and faculty development in higher education. In J.C. Smart (ed.), Higher education: handbook of theory and research. New York: Agathon Press, pp. 115-179.
Bergquist, W. H., and Phillips, S. R. Models for faculty development. A handbook for faculty development: Volume 2, pp. 3-12.
Webb, G. 1992. On Pretexts for Higher Education Development Activities. Higher Education, 24, 351-361.
Riegle, R. P. 1987. Conception of Faculty Development. Educational Theory, 37 (1), 53-59.
September 16 Professional Development from a Reflective Perspective
Schon, D. A. 1987. Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I and II.
Qualters, D. 1995. A quantum leap in faculty development: Beyond reflective practice. To improve the academy. Vol. 14, Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press, 43-55.
Begin reading Stegner, Wallace. Crossing to safety. Finish by October 7.
September 23 Professional Development as Inner Work
Palmer, P. 1998. The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I, II, III, VII.
Intrator, S. M. 2002. Stories of The Courage to Teach: Honoring the teacher’s heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Parts I and II.
September 30 Assessing and Comparing Perspectives
McMillan, L. A., & Berberet, J. 2002. A new academic compact: Reenvisioing the relationship between faculty and their institutions. Bolton, MA: Anker. Excerpts from Chapter 2, “Professional Development across the Faculty Career.”
Smith, G. 1992. Responsibility for staff development. Studies in Higher Education, 17 (1), 27-41.
“A Conceptualization of Teaching Related Activities.” http: aahe.ital.utexas.edu/sotl_tutorial/ula/ulal.html
Tiberius, R. G. 2002. A brief history of educational development: Implications for teachers and developers. To improve the academy, 20. Bolton, MA: Anker, 20-37.
Paulsen, M. B. & Feldman, K. A. 1995. Taking teaching seriously: Meeting the challenge of instructional improvement. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 2. Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, pp. 9-18.
PART III. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
October 7: Individual Strategies
Finish reading Stegner.
Schon, Part III
Palmer, Part IV
Wood, D. R. 1992. Teaching narratives: A source for faculty development. Harvard Educational Review, 62 (4), 535-549.
Kreber, C. 2001. Designing teaching portfolios based on a formal model of the scholarship of teaching. To improve the academy, Vol. 19. Bolton, MA: Anker, 285-305.
Murray, J. P. 1997. Successful faculty development and evaluation: The complete teaching portfolio. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 8. Washington, D.C. The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, pp. 9-36.
Boice, R. 1987. Is released time as effective component of faculty development programs? Research in Higher Education, 26 (3), 311-326.
Taylor, L. 1994. Reflecting on teaching: The benefits of self-evaluation. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 19 (2), 109-122.
October 14: Collaborative Strategies
Schon, Part IV
Palmer, Part V
Cox, M. D. 2001. Faculty learning communities: Change agents for transforming institutions into learning organizations. In To improve the academy, Vol 19. Bolton, MA: Anker, 69-91.
Austin, A. E. 1992. Supporting the professor as teacher: The Lilly teaching fellows program. Review of Higher Education, 16 (fall), 85-106.