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Professional development (PD) for adult education practitioners is a critical element to the quality and success of adult education programs and can have a significant positive impact on educators and learners. The predominant belief is that professional development has the potential to improve teaching, learning, and program outcomes. Providing consistent and relevant PD provides adult education professionals with opportunities to obtain resources and strategies to address the challenges and the wide range of skills and life experiences of the adult learners with whom they work. Darling-Hammond et al. report seven features of effective teacher professional development:
1. Focuses on content that teachers are responsible for teaching,
2. Incorporates active learning consistent with adult learning principles,
3. Includes collaboration that considers job-embedded contexts,
4. Models and uses modeling of effective practice,
5. Provides expert support and coaching,
6. Includes opportunities for feedback and reflection, and
7. Occurs over a sustained duration to allow for learning, practicing, implementing, and reflecting (2017).
Inherent in these seven features is the emphasis on ongoing PD through modeling of effective practice, coaching, and feedback and reflection. The ongoing nature of PD can be formal, such as a workshop or series linked to a specific theme or curriculum, follow-up studies on a topic or technique through the formation of professional collaborative learning groups, and the establishment of partnerships among teachers for coaching and mentoring. Effective PD enhances the skills, knowledge, and motivation of adult educators, enabling them to create a positive, inclusive, productive, and engaging learning environment, and ultimately improves the learning outcomes and experiences of adult education students. When instructors are motivated and engaged, they are more likely to pass the enthusiasm on to their adult students.
Adult education settings often include learners with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. Effective professional development equips teachers with strategies to support this diversity, ensuring all students have equal opportunities to succeed. Quality professional development focusing on instructional methods, strategies, and understanding the unique characteristics of adult learners leads to improved instructional practices for adult educators and skills development for adult learners.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDSAND REGULATIONS
High-quality professional development with the goal of improving outcomes for adult learners was emphasized in the authorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 2014, as noted by Smith: