Sustain a Professional Development Infrastructure

Understand and leverage the existing structure and practices for providing PD in your agency. Establish, if necessary, an infrastructure. Steps for this include:

• Identify a person to provide leadership and accountability for all PD efforts.
• Work within your agency to ensure that there are policies and procedures to support effective PD.
• Secure financial and human resources to support PD and collaboration.
• Establish a clearly defined process to support PD providers.
• Establish a system to record and manage your data.

Sustaining a PD infrastructure relies on a clearly defined plan and high standards of practice. Steps for this include:

• Establish and implement an overall PD plan that addresses all required PD activities and incorporates the PDPs.
• Ensure PD plan is in alignment with state and local PD policies and practices.
• Develop a process for recruitment, development, and assessment of qualified PD providers; consultants may be external or in-house.
• Provide skilled PD providers who can implement the results-based PD plan.
• Confirm that PD providers:
  • Apply the fundamentals of effective training design and delivery.
  • Have content expertise and experience.
  • Apply adult learning principles.
  • Meet the needs of diverse learners by using a variety of teaching and learning strategies.
  • Create a safe and functional learning environment for participants.
  • Are skilled at managing conflict/controversy.
• Provide ongoing assistance for PD providers to foster continuous growth.