Transcript Minnesota’s Professional Development Plan to Prepare for

Ready for 2014: GED Professional
Development in Minnesota
Amy Vickers, Minneapolis Adult Education
Astrid Liden, Minnesota Department of Education
Objectives for today
 Explore the guiding principles of the MN GED
2014 PD initiative as an effective PD model
 Apply principles from the MN GED PD
experience to inform your approach to largescale PD challenges in your own contexts
 Access resources/tools developed through MN
GED PD work
So…who stays for the last session of
the conference?
 Which high school
equivalency exam(s)
is/are being used in
your state?
 What are your
challenges in
preparing and
delivering PD for your
state’s test(s)?
Our challenge
Minnesota ABE professionals will
understand the content domain and
format of the 2014 GED test.
We will acquire the strategies, skills, and
resources needed to confidently prepare
learners to pass the test and equip them
with 21st century skills.
ABE in Minnesota
 Large state with significant distances between programs
in rural areas
 More than 500 delivery sites
 Over 1,100 teachers, 170 paraprofessionals,180
administrators, and 2,400 trained volunteers
 Majority of ABE programs are required to use K-12
licensed teachers or teachers with a college degree in
ESL
 About 75% of paid instructors are part-time
ABE PD in MN
 ABE PD Specialist at MN
Department of Education
 Eight state-funded
professional development
providers
 Statewide PD committee
 Recent move to
centralized coordination of
regional PD
Minnesota ABE’s Related PD Priorities
 Anticipating the integration of College and Career
Readiness Standards for Adult Education
 Prioritizing technology-based PD as a strategy for
reaching ALL practitioners.
 Statewide webinar tool
 Collaborative identification of best practices and
development of resources
 Cultivating more practitioner presenters and leaders
Minnesota’s 2014 GED PD Initiative
 Limited GED-focused PD in recent years
 Proactive approach to change in GED test
 ABE grant funded GED PD project established in July 2012
 Grant awarded to large ABE program with a designated
project coordinator
 Goal of maximizing existing PD structures and resources
Year 1 Process: July 2012 – June 2013
Convene PD
planning groups
Create a vision
Gather &
disseminate
information
Identify &
prioritize PD
needs
Develop PD &
communications
plan
Deliver
targeted PD
Year 2 Process: July 2013 – June 2014
Analyze
Evaluate
PD
Data
Identify
PD
Needs &
Priorities
Deliver
PD
Plan PD
Activities
Guiding principles
1. Follow a data-driven planning cycle
2. Work collaboratively
3. Develop practitioner leaders
4. Use varied delivery modes
5. Find new ways to utilize technology
6. Take a long-term broad perspective
1. Follow a data-driven planning cycle
 Use a variety of
data sources
 Involve
stakeholders
 Set clear objectives
& prioritize
 Be responsive
DISCUSSION
What data are
you using to
identify needs?
What potential
“game changers”
are on the
horizon?
2. Work collaboratively
 Maximize existing PD
structures and expertise
 Develop diverse
planning teams
 Shared responsibility and
excitement
 Innovations are shared &
advance the field
2014 GED Advisory Group example
Practitioners who…
 Have expertise in different
content areas
 Are involved in a variety of
statewide initiatives
 Represent different regions
of the state
 Work in different types of
programs
3. Develop practitioner leaders
 Problem: ongoing need for
effective PD presenters
 Solution: Develop local
leaders in varied contexts
-------------------------------------- Builds buy-in and sustainability
 Keeps PD grounded in reality
of the classroom
 Fosters a culture of reflection
and professionalism
GED Writing Cohort example
 Full-day institute led by national expert + ½ day cohort
meeting
 3 monthly webinars led by national expert
 Online professional learning community facilitated by local
teacher leader
 Full-day training incorporating …
 Best practices in effective workshop facilitation
 Guided workshop development with local PD leaders
 Cohort participants lead workshops at regional and
statewide PD events
DISCUSSION
How are you developing
practitioner leaders?
How could you build in more
opportunities for leadership?
4. Use varied delivery modes
Consider the audience and the purpose.
How can impact be maximized and barriers be
minimized?
Vary the scale
F2F, remote, or hybrid
Short-term or long term
Self-accessed or facilitated
Mathematical Reasoning example
 Webinar to introduce module through the lens of the existing
numeracy PD initiative (MNI) (March 2013)
 Regional “Exploring the Math Module” workshops (Spring 2013)
 Math Institute content refresher for algebra, geometry, data (May
2013)
 ABE Summer Institute (August 2013)
 Pre-conference content refresher (formula sheet)
 Sessions on instructional strategies
 Regional instructional strategy workshops (Fall 2013)
 E-quip math webinars(Fall 2013)
Tools and resources
 Centralized info on
website:
www.2014inMN.org
 FAQ on website and
distributed at PD events
 Program planning tools
and activities for
administrators and support
staff
 Digital literacy resources
5. Find new ways to utilize technology
 Leads to creative and
innovative thinking
 Possible to reach a wider
audience
 Engages tech-oriented
practitioners & those who
want to develop
technology skills.
 Culture of digital literacy
will be shared with learners
E-quip Math PD Series example
Topics to date:
1. Exploring the Tools of the Computer-based Testing
Environment
2.Connecting and Interpreting Graphs and Functions
3.Connecting Coordinates, Lines, and Equations
4.Solving Quadratic Equations
5.Finding Surface Area and Its Related Dimensions
Archived at: www.2014inMN.org
E-quip Math Webinar Model
Part II: Building a
Foundation
Part III: Modeling
Instruction
(10 minutes)
Part I: Do I have the background
knowledge needed to get the most
out of this webinar?
PRE-webinar Preparation
Part IV: Reflecting
on the Experience
(10 minutes)
(30 minutes)
Part V: What could this
look like in my context?
POST-webinar Follow-Up
GED Ready Reflection Webinars
example
 1 hour webinar on each of the GED Ready subtests
 Conversation between host, guest “expert” and
participants, guided by reflection questions that
were available in advance
 Encouraged a statewide discussion
 Modeled a conversation that could happen
locally
DISCUSSION
What strategies are you using to
reach your practitioners?
6. Take a long-term broad perspective
Invest in a foundation
Long-term vision
should inform
decisions
GED PD served both
as a catalyst to move
us forward & an area
to pilot emerging
ideas
Instructional shifts example
 We are already on the path
to incorporating CCRS
 As practitioners, we have
developed a shared
language around current
research-based instructional
practices
 Digital literacy is actively
integrated into instruction
Resources available at
www.2014inMN.org
 MN ABE 2014 GED planning process & PD plan
 MN 2014 GED PD survey
 One page FAQ about new GED test
 One page summary of instructional shifts
 Program planning tools and activities for administrators and
support staff
 Recorded E-quip episodes
 Recorded webinars
 Digital literacy resources
Thank you!
 Astrid Liden
 [email protected]
 Amy Vickers
 [email protected]
 www.2014inMN.org