Evaluating Program Conditions for Professional Development

 

For teacher inquiry, reflection, and growth to be successful, early childhood programs must support the conditions for mentoring and professional development. After reading the text, with special attention to Table 8.5 Reflecting on Conditions Conducive to Reflective Supervision and Professional Learning.

Explain how you might respond if you were a coach working with a program with observable growth opportunities in the ability to support professional learning, reflection, and mentoring. Using the text and one outside source, address the following in your initial post

You must respond to both A and B; and C or D:

1. Discuss what you perceive to be the two most important conditions a program can have to support professional learning. Provide a rational to support your selection.
2. Identify and explain the two conditions that you perceive are most likely to derail a supportive professional learning environment
3. Discuss the potential benefits and/or disadvantages of first working with the supervisor, administrator, or program manager to increase his or her skills in reflective supervision prior to working with an entire staff.
4. Describe one program setting with which you are familiar to share with your peers (i.e., Head Start, family childcare, for-profit preschool, etc.) and the best choices for coaching for increasing the learning potential at this type of program.

Table 8.5 Reflecting on Conditions Conducive to Reflective Supervision and Professional Learning

Gathering and reflecting on information about the capacity of an organization to support professional learning, reflection, and mentoring

Questions
Please give an example from your experience in this program or school.

Response examples of conditions conducive to reflective supervision and professional learning (Parlakian, 2002).

When have you developed shared goals and responsibilities with others?

· Collaborative mission statement
· Evidence of shared responsibility and control of power.

Do teachers have a commitment to spend time reflecting on their work?
Can you recall a time when you felt you grew professionally?

Do regular individual or group meetings occur?
What happens at meetings?
How does it feel to be in these meetings?
What do you take away from the meetings?

· Empathy, support, encouragement, collaboration.
· Administrate tasks and program issues discussed
· Challenges discussed
· Emergent issues, updates
· New topics discussed
· All discussions not dominated by daily responsibilities
· Telling someone what to do not seen as best way to be effective
· Learning to apply concepts
· Listening to all
· No one seen as the only expert
· Discussion that is centered around what is happening rather than around questions about problems
· Understanding that staff changes require time to build new relationships

How do you show respect and trust for each other?

· Acceptance of strengths and vulnerabilities.
· Recognition of strength in diversity; learning about each other’s cultures, communication styles, and histories; allowing for many ways to communicate; noticing whether one style is dominating staff discussions, resulting in some staff doing most of the talking while others remain silent.
· Parallel process, supervisor and staff reflection; supportive conversations among teachers and children; regular conversations among families and staff.
· Understanding that teachers must experience reflective support in order to give it.
· Open, supportive interactions with peers and supervisors the norm.

Is there sensitivity and responsiveness between teachers and children and between teachers and supervisors?

· Staff cannot be sensitive to children if they are not treated with respect by their supervisors.

Do you understand the professional standards in your program?
How are they developed, or from where do they come?

· Excellence and norms are defined and clearly communicated; the ways to achieve these are negotiated in the group.

Is it safe to have open communication?

Are the professional skills in place to facilitate discussion?

· Thoughts, ideas, and feedback are valued.
· Active listening and thoughtful, open-ended questions are usual.

· Individual and group supervision, facilitation occur regularly.