Professional Development on Inclusion eNews, January 2009
A regular email newsletter and update from the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion
December 2008
Two New Online Discussions Begin Today
Join other community members online the first two weeks in February where we will be hosting two discussions related to Professional Development, January 30th – February 13th. Share your experiences and ideas (big and small). We want to hear from you!
Coaching
Have you ever been a coach or had a coach to support your professional development?
Communities of Practice (CoP)Join facilitator Dathan Rush to share your insights and experiences about Coaching. Dathan is an author and implementer on coaching models used to support early intervention professionals. He is the Associate Director of the Family, Infant and Preschool Program at the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center.
Contribute to the online conversation on coaching through posting your questions, comments, examples, insights and/or ideas online at:
http://community.fpg.unc.edu/discussions/wiki-pd-approaches/discuss-coaching
Are you a member of a Community of Practice (CoP)? How do you develop and sustain a CoP? What are the differences between various types of communities and work groups?
Join NPDCI for an online exchange about CoPs.. NPDCI has proposed that the purpose of a CoP is to improve practice by: engaging in shared inquiry, learning with people who have a common goal, and implementing that learning. What do you think?
Contribute to the online conversation on Communities of Practice through posting your questions, comments, examples, insights and/or ideas online at:
http://community.fpg.unc.edu/discussions/wiki-pd-approaches/discuss-community-of-practice
Speaking of Inclusion
Visit the NPDCI’s blog “Speaking of Inclusion..." Each week we invite your comments on inclusion insights, stories and resources.
Recent Blog posts:
Early Education Coordination Challenges Facing Secretary of Education-Designate Arne Duncan
by Pam Winton
President-elect Obama’s choice for Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, if affirmed, will play a critical role in carrying out Obama’s platform on early education. One of the challenges that Duncan will face is the current lack of coordination and collaboration among the federal government’s early childhood programs. Some, such as Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant, are under the oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services. Others such as Title I, Even Start, Early Reading First and IDEA Preschool and Infants and Toddlers Programs are operated by the Department of Education. Because children and families need support from well-coordinated programs whose staffs are able to work collaboratively, they are the ones who suffer most when services are fragmented.
What suggestions do you have for Duncan about how to build collaboration between the Department of Education programs and those operated by Health & Human Services? What examples for effective collaboration do you have to share from your state?
read more and comment
The Buzz on Collaboration
by Camille Catlett
New ways of thinking about collaboration are making headlines these days. For example, the recently authorized Higher Education Opportunity Act includes a new program of grants to states to create cross-sector, integrated, and comprehensive professional development systems for early childhood educators working with children from birth to five.
Bringing together agency and initiative representatives, faculty and family members, practitioners, and other “sectors” to collaborate on professional development will require more than, as Barbara Wolfe says, “a whip and a chair.”
NPDCI has recently posted a new resource (link to The Big Picture) to support collaborative, cross-sector approaches to professional development. It highlights a seven-step sequence for considering the key components and contexts of a statewide early childhood professional development system. It includes a definition and conceptual framework for professional development, as well as suggestions for facilitation, guiding questions, key considerations, and planning forms.
More Blog Postings:
- Have Your Say on Obama's Early Childhood Platform (1 comment)
The willingness to link policy decisions to research findings is a welcome change and one that we expect will continue. - Obama Administration Support for Early Childhood Education (2 comments)
What evidence do you hope the president-elect will consider in designing policies for early childhood education? - Supporting Parents as Partners (2 comments)
The involvement of parents and family members of young children with disabilities is integral to early childhood field and inclusion.
Quick Poll
Last month we asked, "Do you think the attention given to children with disabilities by the presidential campaigns will translate into policy improvements post-election?" Opinions were fairly even across the board with 41% replying "Yes", 37% replying "No" and 22% replying they were "Uncertain".
This month we want to know about your participation in Communities of Practice. "Are you a Member of a Community of Practice and if so, what type of CoP is it?"
"Word of Mouse"
Your word is better than ours. Forward this issue to a colleague and let them know about the work our community is doing.
This newsletter is a monthly mailing from the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion (NPDCI).
