How to plan PD needs?

We often think that we need "professional refreshment", so to speak, but how do we know what we need?

I think we are best to begin by evaluating our baseline. What is our baseline education level (for example, do we have a undergraduate degree? Is it in this field? Or another field - read more here)? This can often help us to clarify what it is that we want to learn more about. 

Then we need to think about the type of professional development we think we need. Are we clear about the difference between education and training - read more here? Do we need education (learn the theory and the application)? Or training (application)? Do we want to achieve a recognised qualification? Are we feeling out of date? Are we feeling our practice has become stale? Do we need different/new theories? Do we have curiosity? Do we want refresher training on techniques? Do we want to steam-line what we do?

Next we need to get pragmatic and to think about logistics. Where are we located, versus where are potential educators/trainers located? Would those educators/trainers deliver via an online video platform? Do we need to seek a one day session, an online programme we can work through in our own time, a few evening webinars over a set span of weeks, or a combination of all of these? 

More logistics: how much time do we realistically have to study? If studying through an institution, there are usually time limits on how long we can take to complete a qualification - and the minimum is usually one paper per semester. That is pretty much the most that those of us who are working full time and parents and volunteers and and and can fit in... but we need to remember that this can seem achingly slow for us to reach our goal. 

There is also a formula for how many hours we need to budget for each paper: if doing formal education in Aotearoa, generally we budget ten hours per course credit. So if we are signing up to a 30 credit post-graduate paper, we know we will have to diarise 300 hours to complete the course. Undergrad papers are usually 10 to 15 credits (so 100 to 150 hours). Also - if we can study remotely - we need to budget in any on-campus requirements along with flights and accommodation. If we were doing training, we need to consider how long the course runs, and whether we have to be on-site, in person for the duration. 

We need to consider if there are any assessment requirements for our course, what they are, where they need to occur, and if we can make the dates. Some courses have no assessment other than showing up. Some require us to watch a series of webinars and write a short essay with no deadline, which is assessed by others taking the course. Others have an exam which takes place in the days immediately after course-end where a fail means the entire course must be retaken. The latter type of big-stakes investment means we really have to budget enough time from the outset. 

Next we need to work out how we learn best: in-person, on-campus? Or virtually, online? Or in a blended model? Which brings us to our next question: can we afford our preferred model of learning? What can we afford? This brings us to: what is actually available in our desired field? Could we learn via a MOOC (massive open online courses; read more here)?

Then lastly: do we prefer to learn from many people, or do we prefer to become used to one presenter and one method of delivery? 

To summarise, the key decisions that we need to make with regard to professional development are:

• Baseline: education vs. training vs. location vs. time
• Type: formal education qualification vs. informal training
• Assessment: Assessed (usually formal qualifications) vs. peer-assessed, vs. not assessed
• Channel: in person vs. online vs. self-paced online
• Delivery: one presenter vs. multiple specialists

It is quite interesting to think through these issues. And now we know this, we can draw up our list - say - formal education course, assessed, leading to a qualification, on-campus from multiple specialists, or self-paced MOOC training course with peer-assessment.

Good luck with your search!

Sam