Professional development consists of ongoing, focused activities designed to nurture individual growth and improve the quality of programs serving Ohio’s adult learners.
Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP)
Staff paid by ABLE funds must complete annual Individual Professional Development Plans (IPDP), which are supervised by the program director and submitted to the Southwest ABLE Resource Center. As part of their IPDP, staff members are required to participate in one or two professional development activities each year, depending on the number of hours they are paid by ABLE funds.
Program Professional Development Plan (PPDP)
Administrators of programs funded by Ohio ABLE must submit to the Southwest ABLE Resource Center annual professional development plans for their program as well as for individual staff members. The needs identified by these plans help to determine regional and statewide adult education priorities and activities for the year. Ohio ABLE funds will support specified costs associated with qualifying professional development activities as outlined in Ohio ABLE’s Professional Development Fiscal Policy/Guidelines
Options for Professional Development Activities
Most activities that improve job performance and have the approval of the program director will qualify as professional development, but the activity must be directly related to the staff member’s role in ABLE. Some options include:
+ Workshops
+ Conferences
+ Classroom visitations
+ Institutes
+ Demonstration projects
+ Focus groups
+ Peer mentoring
+ Action research
+ Local program activities
+ Presenting/facilitating
+ College courses
