Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-23.7 - High-quality professional development
(1)
Responsibility of
program. Adult education and literacy programs shall be responsible
for providing professional development opportunities for professional and
volunteer staff , including:
a. Proper
procedures for the administration and reporting of data pursuant to rule
281-23.8 (260C);
b. The development and
dissemination of instructional and programmatic practices based on the most
rigorous and scientifically valid research available; and
c. Appropriate reading, writing, speaking,
mathematics, English language acquisition, distance education, and staff
training practices aligned with content standards for adult
education.
(2)
Professional development requirements. Professional
development shall include formal and informal means of assisting professional
and volunteer staff to:
a. Acquire knowledge,
skills, approaches, and dispositions;
b. Explore new or advanced understandings of
content, theory, and resources; and
c. Develop new insights into theory and its
application to improve the effectiveness of current practice and lead to
professional growth.
(3)
Professional development standards. The department and
entities providing adult education and literacy programs shall promote
effective professional development and foster continuous instructional
improvement. Professional development shall incorporate the following
standards:
a. Strengthens professional and
volunteer staff knowledge and application of content areas, instructional
strategies, and assessment strategies based on research;
b. Prepares and supports professional and
volunteer staff in creating supportive environments that help adult learners
reach realistic goals;
c. Uses data
to drive professional development priorities, analyze effectiveness, and help
sustain continuous improvement for adult education and literacy programs and
learners;
d. Uses a variety of
strategies to guide adult education and literacy program improvement and
initiatives;
e. Enhances abilities
of professional and volunteer staff to evaluate and apply current research,
theory, evidence-based practices, and professional wisdom;
f. Models or incorporates theories of adult
learning and development; and
g.
Fosters adult education and literacy program , community, and state level
collaboration.
(4)
Provision of professional development. Adult education and
literacy program staff shall participate in professional development activities
that are related to their job duties and improve the quality of the adult
education and literacy program with which the staff is associated. All
professional development activities shall be in accordance with the published
Iowa Adult Education Professional Development Standards.
a. All professional staff shall receive at
least 12 clock hours of professional development annually. Professional staff
who possess a valid Iowa teacher certificate are exempt from this
requirement.
b. All professional
staff new to adult education shall receive 6 clock hours of preservice
professional development prior to, but no later than, one month after starting
employment with an adult education program. Preservice professional development
may apply toward the professional development requirements of paragraph
23.7(4)"a."
c.
Volunteer staff shall receive 50 percent of the professional development
required in paragraphs 23.7(4)"a" and
23.7(4)"b."
(5)
Individual professional
development plan. Adult education and literacy programs shall develop
and maintain a plan for hiring and developing quality professional staff that
includes all of the following:
a. An
implementation schedule for the plan.
b. Orientation for new professional
staff .
c. Continuing professional
development for professional staff .
d. Procedures for accurate record keeping and
documentation for plan monitoring.
e. Specific activities to ensure that
professional staff attain and demonstrate instructional competencies and
knowledge in related adult education and literacy fields.
f. Procedures for collection and maintenance
of records demonstrating that each staff member has attained or documented
progress toward attaining minimal competencies.
g. Provision that all professional staff will be included in the
plan. The plan requirements may be differentiated for each type of employee.
(6).
Waiver.The requirement for professional development may be
reduced by local adult education and literacy programs in individual cases
where exceptional circumstances prevent staff from completing the required
hours of professional development. Documentation shall be kept which justifies
the granting of a waiver. Requests for exemption from staff qualification
requirements in individual cases shall be kept on record and made available to
the department for review upon request.
(7).
Monitoring.Records of
staff qualifications and professional development shall be maintained by each
adult education and literacy program for five years and shall be made available
to department staff for monitoring upon request.
Notes
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