Professional development

About: Professional development is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 81108 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1316681 citations.

A Hierarchy of Management Training Requirements: The Competency Domain Model:

Abstract: The triple threat to most organizations today, both public and private sector, are the simultaneous demands for improved quality, reduced costs, and constant innovation. For those in leadership roles - executives, managers, supervisors - this translates into a need to constantly upgrade knowledge and skills. And in turn, this means that training professionals must be able to respond to these skills and knowledge training needs accurately, quickly and cost effectively. Faced with this complex demand, the temptation for trainers is often to go with 'flavor of the month' training programs that are currently popular. Or they may rely on tried and true programs that seem to have worked for the last decade or two. While both approaches may provide some people with some needed training, neither is a sufficient approach to the challenges outlined above. Aside from a high quality crystal ball, what works? As one large organization discovered, the best solution seems to be a comprehensive framework that delineates a distinct hierarchy of skills and knowledge, or competencies, needed by managers in an organization. The Situation The organization found itself with a large number of middle managers and supervisors reaching retirement age, with no organized plan for replacing them. As there were a number of retirement options available to these individuals, it was difficult to predict when over an eight year period any or all of them might leave. Because of a policy of promotion from within and also because of the unique technical nature of the work, it was determined that internal development of existing staff was the best option. The mandate given to the training team charged with designing internal staff development programs included: 1. Development of multi-skilled supervisors and managers who could fit a variety of positions because the exact types of vacancies could not be identified ahead of time. 2. Identification of the knowledge and skills (competencies) required for each type of managerial job. Existing job descriptions addressed responsibilities and authorities, not competencies. 3. Delineation of the hierarchy of managerial competencies within each group of managerial jobs. 4. Identification of competencies common across job groups at different managerial levels. 5. Development of appropriate training responses for each job group, incorporating on-job competency development through coaching, job competency profiles, job learning assignments and workshop seminars. Cost effectiveness was also a critical requirement. Training and development provided to managers had to: * Provide relevant training to those who needed it, not to those who did not. Old 'broad brush' training efforts wasted a lot of time and money on irrelevant training. * Provide job useful learning, with an emphasis on practical strategies and skills, not on theory. * Be provided to managers prior to or early on in any career shifts, to avoid the cost of untrained managers making unfortunate mistakes. Fortunately, some research work had already been done in this organization on the development of job profiles for managerial positions. The job profile development process was initially guided by Robert Katz's concept of a hierarchy of managerial skills. From this initial field research on job profiles emerged an expanded version of Katz's original three level model, both of which are discussed below. The Competency Domain Model: Background The competency domain model described in this article follows a line of research and thought that goes back to Robert Katz's 1955 work "Skills of an Effective Administrator".(1) Katz identified a hierarchy of skills needed by managers at different levels in organizations. Three fundamental skill areas - Technical, Human, Conceptual - were identified as having varying degrees of relevance for supervisors, managers and executives. …

African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education

Abstract: African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education, edited by Vernon C Polite & James Earl Davis New York: Teachers College Press, 1999 272 pp $5400, cloth $2395, paper Reviewed by Jeanita W Richardson, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia In African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education, Vernon C Polite and James Earl Davis have compiled works by various authors who provide valuable insight into the complex, multidimensional issues associated with the schooling of African American males As suggested in the foreword by renowned scholar Edmund Gordon, descriptive data most often found in the literature fails to reflect the successes of African American males in juxtaposition to prevalent systemic challenges While not addressing many of the noneducational data-driven interventions suggested by Gordon, this volume does depart from the usual myopic description of African American men and boys Using a combination of empirical studies and policy analyses, the editors present a volume that attempts to shed light on prevailing dilemmas without blaming the targeted foci of the studies Rather than bemoaning the well-documented educational inadequacies generally assigned to Black males, the authors offer suggestions for change in the context of successful scenarios grounded in their empirical research Michele Foster and Tryphenia B Peele discuss the positive engagement of African American males in education, as well as, the potency of teacher/student relationships and how the understanding, sensitivity, and persistence of teachers directly impact student learning Further discussions include the role of teacher education programs in adequately challenging preservice practitioners' notions of consistency, stereotypes, classroom management, and personal biases as they relate to Black male students Bernard A Carver pursues an often overlooked aspect of computer technology in schooling (ie, how computers are used in general and how often they are used with African American males in particular) Carver explores the notion of what it means to be "information rich" and "information poor" Of particular relevance in the study is the relationship between technological literacy and educational and economic viability In both chapters, the critical importance of the relationships between parents, teachers, and students are highlighted as pivotal to improving the educational engagement of African American males Professional development for in-service teachers focused on revealing personal biases and practical techniques for enhancing the educational experiences of Black males are also suggested The underrepresentation of African Americans as "gifted" and the overrepresentation of this same group in special education are considered by Donna Ford, Tarek C Grantham, and Deryl Bailey, and Beth Harry and Mary G Anderson Ford, Grantham, and Bailey call attention to the many shortcomings of the identification process, which have resulted in an underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs Harry and Anderson discuss the social construction of special education students and the role subjective interpretations of behaviors, learning styles, and culture have played in the classification process Both chapters call for more inclusive evaluative instruments in the identification process that do not presume uniqueness in students to be categorically viewed as an educational deficiency Peter Murrell Jr, Joseph A Hawkins, and Vernon C Polite in each of their discussions reveal demoralizing influences in urban and suburban schools that cannot be narrowly assigned to poor students Low expectations, disproportionately high rates of expulsion and suspension, as well as overrepresentation in special education courses remain common in economically constrained urban schools and affluent suburbs …

Classroom observation tasks : a resource book for language teachers and trainers

Abstract: Classroom Observation Tasks shows how to use observation to learn about language teaching. It does this by providing a range of tasks which guide the user through the process of observing, analysing and reflecting, and which develop the skills of observation. It contains a bank of 35 structured tasks which are grouped into seven areas of focus: the learner, the language, the learning process, the lesson, teaching skills and strategies, classroom management, and materials and resources. This book is suitable for teachers, trainee teachers, teacher trainers and others involved in school-based teacher support, teacher development and trainer training. It has a comprehensive introduction to the tasks and a rationale covering the theoretical issues involved and places the responsibility for professional growth in the hands of the teacher.

Medical humanities and their discontents: definitions, critiques, and implications.

Abstract: The humanities offer great potential for enhancing professional and humanistic development in medical education. Yet, although many students report benefit from exposure to the humanities in their medical education, they also offer consistent complaints and skepticism. The authors offer a pedagogical definition of the medical humanities, linking it to medicine as a practice profession. They then explore three student critiques of medical humanities curricula: (1) the content critique, examining issues of perceived relevance and intellectual bait-and-switch, (2) the teaching critique, which examines instructor trustworthiness and perceived personal intrusiveness, and (3) the structural/placement critique, or how and when medical humanities appear in the curriculum. Next, ways are suggested to tailor medical humanities to better acknowledge and reframe the needs of medical students. These include ongoing cross-disciplinary reflective practices in which intellectual tools of the humanities are incorporated into educational activities to help students examine and, at times, contest the process, values, and goals of medical practice. This systematic, pervasive reflection will organically lead to meaningful contributions from the medical humanities in three specific areas of great interest to medical educators: professionalism, "narrativity," and educational competencies. Regarding pedagogy, the implications of this approach are an integrated required curriculum and innovative concepts such as "applied humanities scholars." In turn, systematic integration of humanities perspectives and ways of thinking into clinical training will usefully expand the range of metaphors and narratives available to reflect on medical practice and offer possibilities for deepening and strengthening professional education.

Informal mentoring between faculty and medical students.

Abstract: Mentoring skills are valuable assets for academic medicine faculty, who help shape the professionalism of the next generation of physicians Mentors are role models who also act as guides for students' personal and professional development over time Mentors can be instrumental in conveying explicit academic knowledge required to master curriculum content Importantly, they can enhance implicit knowledge about the "hidden curriculum" of professionalism, ethics, values and the art of medicine not learned from texts In many cases, mentors also provide emotional support and encouragement The relationship benefits mentors as well, through greater productivity, career satisfaction, and personal gratification Maximizing the satisfaction and productivity of such relationships entails self-awareness, focus, mutual respect, and explicit communication about the relationship In this article, the authors describe the development of optimal mentoring relationships, emphasizing the importance of experience and flexibility in working with beginning to advanced students of different learning styles, genders, and races Concrete advice for mentor "do's and don'ts"is offered, with case examples illustrating key concepts