Showcase of Innovative Practice

Research-Based Professional Development
for Adult Educators

In the last several years, researchers in the field of adult education have examined professional development programs for adult educators. The year 2003 saw the publication of several of these research studies. The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) located in the Harvard Graduate School of Education released the final reports on How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education in November of 2003. The study was conducted to help professional development designers plan and deliver more effective professional development for adult educators and to identify factors which can influence how teachers change through professional development.

The NCSALL study was conducted from 1998 through 2000 with 106 adult education teachers from the states of Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. Each teacher participated in one of three 18-hour professional development activities presented as either a multisession workshop, a mentor teacher group, or a practitioner research group. With input from stakeholders in the adult education programs and through the review of current literature, the three models of professional development were selected as relevant models for adult education settings. Each of the three training models was designed using the current "best practices" for that professional development model. Experienced professional development leaders in each state facilitated the professional development activity after they received specific training by the research staff. The topic presented -- learner motivation, retention, and persistence -- was the same for each of the NCSALL professional development models. Teachers were considered to be "completers" if they attended more than 12 hours out of the 18 hours of training.

The study design sought to compare these three models of professional development in the adult education setting to determine the most effective model. In addition, the researchers wanted to identify factors that could strengthen or weaken the impact of professional development on teacher change:

• Individual factors - teachers' experience, background, and motivation as they engage in professional development
• Professional development factors - the quality and amount of professional development attended
• Program and system factors - the structure and support offered by the program, adult education system, and professional development system in which they work, including teachers' working conditions

Researchers collected data through interviews and questionnaires before, after, and one year after the professional development sessions. The researchers defined change as "teacher differences in thinking and acting," both on the topic of learner motivation, retention, and persistence and off the topic, but related to teacher knowledge or actions.

Eighty-four percent of teachers in the study were considered completers, and 95% of the completers showed at least some change in knowledge on the topic. Researchers arranged the types of change into a spectrum from minimal change, which includes changes not sustained over time (28%), to non-integrated changes in thinking (35%) or acting (13%), to integrated change (24%). Several teachers (5%) at the upper level of integrated change increased their knowledge, reflected on their learning, made plans for taking action, implemented their plans, and reflected on how each strategy worked with students. This group changed in more ways and sustained the change over time.

The study identified four arenas of change related to teachers' roles; teachers changed in their roles as classroom teachers (53%), as program members (20%), as independent learners (7%), and as members of the field of adult education (1%).

Surprisingly, the model of professional development attended was not a significant factor in teacher change, although there was some pattern to the type of change each model produced. The significant factors were the number of hours of professional development and the quality of professional development (as rated by both researchers' and teachers' perception). Teachers who attended with colleagues seemed to change slightly more.

Individual teachers changed more if
1) they felt a strong need to learn about the topic or good teaching,
2) they had fewer years of experience,
3) they held a bachelor's degree or less, or
4) they began their teaching career in adult education. A somewhat weaker factor was their level of commitment to working in adult education.

Program and system factors also played a role. Teachers changed more if they 1) had access to prep time, 2) had a voice in decision-making, 3) came from a program that did not already address the topic, or 4) received one or more job benefits. These other program and system factors contributed slightly to change: fewer restrictions on curriculum design, more working hours per week, and more hours of paid professional development release time.

Based on the study findings, NCSALL made these recommendations:

For Program Directors and States —
1) improve teachers' working conditions and their access to the decision-making process,
2) pay teachers to attend professional development, and
3) increase access to colleagues and directors before and after PD, establish the expectation that all teachers must continue to learn.

For Professional Developers —
1) professional development must be of high quality,
2) offer a variety of PD models for teachers, including some that are program-based,
3) help teachers acquire the skills to build theories of good teaching, and
4) add activities to each PD session that help teachers strategize how to overcome forces that influence their ability to take action.

For Teachers —
1) expect high-quality PD,
2) recognize the need to develop a theory and philosophy of good teaching and student success,
3) work to increase the opportunities for collegiality and teacher decision-making in their programs, and
4) advocate for better working conditions, PD release time, and paid prep time.

This NCSALL study gives a clearer picture of who adult educators are and what factors impact the effectiveness of their professional development. It gives us some suggestions of how to improve professional development for Texas adult educators, and, in turn, the quality of service those teachers can give their students.

The adult education system in Texas is already moving forward on many of the recommendations from this study. The newly established Project GREAT Regional Centers of Excellence are charged to improve the quality, availability and accessibility of professional development for Texas adult educators. Project GREAT is funded as a federal state leadership activity by TEA and Texas LEARNS.

Another important initiative to improve PD is the state's Adult Education Credential Model, developed and field-tested between 1998 and 2001 to help professionalize the field of adult education in Texas. As described in a December 2003 Literacy Links article by Emily Miller Payne and Tamara Thornton Clunis, the credential model provides a standardized plan to approach professional development leading to a credential for Texas adult educators. This model is consistent with NCSALL study's recommendations that all teachers are expected to continue learning, that teachers be offered a variety of PD models, including some that are program-based, and that teachers acquire the skills to build theories of good teaching. Although participation is voluntary, the credential model establishes a new standard for high-quality, comprehensive professional development planning for adult educators in the state, which can only lead to a greater perception and reality of professionalism for the field. The GREAT Centers are also charged with documenting teachers' progress through the credential model using the new CREDITS web-based information management system.

Other initiatives supported by Texas LEARNS are also intended to support quality professional development for adult educators in Texas. As described in this article, TCALL has begun a new initiative to provide training support for community-based literacy programs and volunteers in collaboration with TAALC–the Texas Association of Adult Literacy Councils. Professional development planning will also be integrated in a research and development project currently being undertaken by TCALL and Texas LEARNS to refine and conduct field testing of the learning standards contained in the Texas Standardized Curriculum Framework. See project update.

Belzer, A., and St. Clair, R. (2003). Opportunities and Limits: An Update on Adult Literacy Education. Columbus: Center on Education and Training for Employment, the Ohio State University.

Guskey, T. R. (June 2003). What Makes Professional Development Effective? Phi Delta Kappan, 84(10): 748-750.

Kerka, S. (2003). Does Adult Educator Professional Development Make a Difference? Myths and Realities No. 28. Columbus: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Ed., the Ohio State Univ.

Payne, E. and Clunis, T. (Dec. 2003) Texas Credential Model Update. Literacy Links, 8(1): 3, 11. http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/dec03/dec03c.htm.

Smith, C., and Hofer, J. (June 2002) Pathways to Change: A Summary of Findings from NCSALL's Staff Development Study. Focus on Basics, 5(D): 1,3-8. (ED 467 524) http://www.ncsall.net/?id=233.

Smith, C., Hofer, J., Gillespie, M., Solomon, M., and Rowe, K. (Nov. 2003). How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education. NCSALL Report #25. Cambridge, MA: Nat'l Center for the Study of Adult Learning Literacy. (PDF document.) http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf ***

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