Organizing the Time for Professional Development
Current research shows that short-term professional development—sometimes known as one-shot workshops—does not usually have a lasting effect on teachers’ practices. This also would seem to apply to those who work with children in informal settings, since many of the same skills and abilities are involved. Taken from the examples of prior efforts working with out-of-school leaders, it is clear that participants can benefit greatly from receiving sustained professional development over the course of one year or more. An ideal plan would be to begin the preparation and support for those involved in implementing science and engineering activities with an intensive multiple-day institute, and subsequently add monthly meetings and specific workshop sessions to introduce new topics and activities. It is also possible to provide more specific coaching sessions for individuals by making site visits to directly observe activity leaders and answer their ongoing questions. Including time in the workshop sessions for participants to conduct science activities allows them to apply what is learned in the professional development directly to their work with children and encourages them to reflect on the best solutions for their particular setting.
Unfortunately, in many organizations, not enough time is allotted for professional development. Obviously, conducting a rather luxurious, extended model of professional development depends on having access to considerable resources and adequate time for professional development sessions. In Workshop Tools, we provide outlines for several different types of professional development programs of varying lengths, as well as some optional presentation scripts designed to introduce specific strategies to program leaders or to foster discussions about implementation issues. Using the time available for training as a guide, you can thoughtfully assemble these tools into an effective professional development program for out-of-school program leaders.
