Project IDEA
Corner
Professional Development: An IDEA Whose Time Has Come!
By
Rebecca Davis and Barbara Baird
Project IDEA
"One's
mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
"IDEA" is
a word of many meanings. For the 66 Texas adult education teachers who
have participated in the Project IDEA professional development initiative
over the last 5 years, it has meant an active process of observing, critically
analyzing, and reflecting on their own practice in order to improve it.
This professional
development initiative was built on an idea: an idea which was aptly stated
in the Report of the State Board of Education Task Force on Adult Education
and Literacy which said that professional development needs to be "a
process whereby educators strive to collectively and progressively over
time discover, develop, and apply learner-center program and instructional
strategies to meet the diverse needs of learners." It was an idea
that was funded by the Texas Education Agency and developed by the Adult
Education Professional Development Consortium.
So, what's the big
idea about IDEA? Since its inception, Project IDEA has created the infrastructure
needed to support an on-going, collaborative, inquiry-based process that
results in positive and lasting effects on teaching and learning. A variety
of initiatives and activities encourage IDEA teachers to participate in
on-going professional growth opportunities and receive recognition; form
networks and become active professionally; articulate their views with
others and provide insight into the learning process and the profession,
and; link theory with practice by trying out new strategies and professional
behaviors.
The Project IDEA (Institute
for the Development of Educations of Adults) staff and Adult Education Professional
Development Consortium (AEPDC) mentors would like to recognize and extend
their congratulations to the 2000-2001 ECHO cohort who successfully completed
Project IDEA activities in June 2001. We would also like to thank all
of the sponsoring programs for allowing their master teachers to embark
on this professional development initiative.
Congratulations
ECHO 2000-2001
- Cynthia Arnold
- Austin Learning Academy
- Kathryn Burns
- Northeast Texas Community College
- Olga Escamilla
- Education Service Center Region 20 (San Antonio)
- Cheryl Fennessey
- Judson Independent School District (San Antonio)
- Enocencio (Chenco)
Flores - Austin Community College
- Annette Fox -
Northside ISD (San Antonio)
- Pam Gorney - Austin
Community College
- Darlene Heckman
- Austin Community College
- Eduardo Honold
- Socorro ISD
- Carolyn Killean
- North Harris Montgomery Community College (Houston)
- Melanie Mayeaux
- Houston Community College
- Jim Ratliff -
ESC Region 6 (Huntsville)
- John Seymour -
El Paso ISD
- Beatrice Stewart
- Harris County Department of Education (Houston)
- Cletis Tatum -
ESC Region 17 (Lubbock)
- Jeanne Van Tiem
- North Harris Montgomery Community College (Houston)
- Shannon Williford
- ESC 6 (Brenham)
Welcome
FOCUS 2001-2002
Activities are currently
underway with the 6th Project IDEA cohort who named themselves FOCUS.
They completed the initial Teacher Action Research (TAR) Institute on
October 3-5, 2001 in San Antonio. The Institute was facilitated by Barbara
Baird and Dr. Rebecca Davis from the Project IDEA staff, national consultant
Dr. Heide Spruck Wrigley, and AEPDC mentor/facilitators. The 18 participants
are:
- Claire Anderson
- Paris Junior College
- Diane Bair - ESC
Region 20 (San Antonio)
- Patricia Rodriquez
Baker - North East ISD (San Antonio)
- Sheila Bas - Harris
County Department of Education (Houston)
- Maria Cesnik -
Ysleta ISD (El Paso)
- Bette Barron Cyr
- Houston READ Commission
- Tristyn Davis
- North Harris Montgomery Community College (Houston)
- Antonio Garza
- AVANCE of El Paso
- Teresa Gonzalez
- North Harris Montgomery Community College (Houston)
- Jamie Holley -
Community Action, Inc. (Kyle)
- Narda Martinez
- Ft. Worth ISD
- Linda Nemec -
Cuero ISD
- Ignacio Parra
- El Paso ISD
- Juan Carlos Rodriguqez
- San Marcos Even Start
- Estela Sanchez
- North Harris Montgomery Community College (Houston)
- Rosanne Loya Thompson
- Socorro ISD
- Katie Willden
- Northside ISD (San Antonio)
- Ann Woody - North
East ISD (San Antonio)
What
Teachers Say About Project IDEA
So, is Project IDEA
an idea whose time has come? To get an idea, we asked the participants.
The following is a sample of what they said about Project IDEA when asked
what contribution participation made to their continuing professional
development.
- Project IDEA is
like the 'gold standard' of professional development...I believe
my participation in Project IDEA has had a greater immediate impact
on the students than any other professional development I have done.
- Project IDEA has
caused me to give the students more control in the classroom. That is
an important change because adults appreciate having a choice. I also
began to place more of the responsibility for learning on the students.
- Most other kinds
of development are for very short durations. Project IDEA was long-lasting
so what we were learning stayed with us for a long period of time. Since
it was also a part of our class sessions it was incorporated into many
of the lessons. Project IDEA as a method of professional development
is ideal for strengthening the strategies learned and then practiced.
- It has turned
me around in the classroom. I can now teach with my back to the students
as they lead and I follow. It is freeing to learn that I can let go
and learning happens very smoothly, led by the wishes of the class members.
I have learned to wait for silence to be broken by other voices than
my own.
- Other types of
professional development do not include or provide the opportunity to
work with your classroom as your project develops. Most professional
development is a training that you sit at and [receive] limited information.
I enjoyed receiving the information and having peers to discuss the
development and project as it progresses.
- Project IDEA taught
me how to listen more to what the students had to say.
- Project IDEA's
scope and the quality of the facilitators simply sets it apart.
- It has helped
me to think outside 'the box.'
- There's more hands
on activities, real classroom research and more interaction. Project
IDEA provides theory and practices to use with the students.
- It's very different.
Few other professional development opportunities offer the possibility
of focusing on an important aspect of teaching over an extended period
of time with feedback from facilitators and peers. It's unique -- really.
- It has broadened
my horizons to what is available in the field of Adult Education. It
was a valuable hands-on experience that left me and my students feeling
like we could accomplish our goals.
What
Others Say About Project IDEA
The fall 2001 edition
of Adult Learning (Vol. 11, No. 3) published by the American Association
for Adult and Continuing Education focuses on Action Research and contains
a collection of articles that show how action research has been used successfully
in a variety of adult education settings. Project IDEA was cited in the
article The Practitioner-Researcher: A Research Revolution in Literacy
by B. Allan Quigley. The article notes that Project IDEA is one of the
few teacher action research models for alternative professional development
currently being conducted in the United States.
Do
YOU want to know more about Project IDEA?
If so, contact:
Barbara
Baird, Project Director
e-mail: barbarab@epcc.edu
915- 831-7731
fax: 915-831-7778
or
Dr. Rebecca Davis, Project Coordinator
e-mail: rebecca.davis@tamuk.edu
361- 592-4735
fax: 361-595-4558
  
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