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Professional Development Plan

The professional development plan should provide a framework for faculty in their development as professionals in the areas of teaching, advising and mentoring, service and professional involvement. A Professional Development Plan provides a framework to guide professional development such that it is: Intentional, Comprehensive, and Continuous The goal of the professional development plan requires that it should be a fluid and flexible document. The plan should be developed and revised through thoughtful reflection and evaluation. The main purpose of the professional development plan is to enable faculty to articulate their short-term goals for the upcoming year/s (1-2 years) and long-range goals for the next 2-5 years. The plan should include at least a three-year window. The professional development plan should be reviewed and revised annually in consultation with your department head, and every three years in consultation with your school dean and/or the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Components A professional development plan should include 1. Prioritization of faculty roles for the upcoming year 2. Short-term goals and objectives and strategies for achieving them. a) Strategies should be specific. 3. Long-range goals and objectives for 3 to 5 years and strategies for achieving them. a) Minimum three year window b) Strategies may be less specific in nature.

Characteristics of Effective Professional Development Plans 1. reviewed and revised annually by faculty member 2. consistent with department, school, and college goals & objectives 3. structure and framework of PDP is useful to faculty member 4. format is determined by faculty member variety of formatting is essential to ensure the professional development plan meets the individual needs of the faculty member; the faculty member may choose to use outline or bullet style paragraph style objectives/strategies/ or outcomes style 5. fluid and flexible 6. length of the plan is reasonable (1 –3 pages) depending on format selected

Refer to Appendix A for an outline that includes examples of goals and strategies in the areas reflected by the faculty role model.

Appendix A Examples of goals and strategies for a professional development plan: These examples are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather should help generate ideas. Prioritization of faculty role areas for the upcoming year. Example 1. Example 2. Level 1- Teaching Level 2- Service and Professional Involvement Level 3 - Academic Advising & Mentoring Level 1- Teaching Level 2- Service and Academic Advising & Mentoring Level 3 - Professional Involvement Sample short-term goals and objectives for the next one to two years: Teaching Example 1: Implement a case study approach for learning management strategies in my XXX 300 course. I plan to investigate varied cases for use in class and obtain feedback from students at various points during the semester regarding its effectiveness. Example 2: Improve my ability to facilitate guided discussions of current issues in my XXX 230 class. I intend to observe classes taught by professors who do this well.  I also plan to research current issues and develop questions and reflection experiences to enhance class discussions.   Academic Advising and Mentoring Example 1: Provide support and resources for individuals interested in undergraduate research by developing guidance for both the initial development of a problem and follow through to data collection. I intend to attend a conference session on undergraduate research, talk with the director of undergraduate research at Meredith and participate is training offered at Meredith.   Example 2: Become an advisor to transfer students in my department. Become knowledgeable of scheduling issues for student majors entering in their junior year. Also, increase my knowledge of general education requirements and issues facing juniors. I plan to discuss scheduling issues with an informed senior faculty advisor in my department, and to attend general education training sessions sponsored by the college.   Service Example 1: To mentor a new faculty member in my department. To assist my colleague in understanding department and college expectations, culture and procedures. To provide support and answer questions as needed. I will read a book on effective mentoring and discuss it with a colleague. I will review the faculty handbook. Example 2: To serve as chair of the service learning committee and work with committee members and others on the campus to enhance the quality of service learning opportunities incorporated across the college curriculum. I will discuss committee chair responsibilities with other faculty who have served as effective committee chairs. I will attend workshops on service learning. Professional Involvement Example 1: Present a session at the ABCD national conference on the “The Impact of Achievement Motivation on Performance of Women in College Astrology Courses.” I will use the results of my research to present a paper at the conference. I will develop a proposal to be submitted to the conference.   Example 2: To work with colleagues at ABC University and XYZ College to develop the first five chapters of a book dealing with Creative Strategies to Teach Literature. To implement a timeline for completion of the book within the next 18 months.   Long term goals and objectives for next two to five years: Teaching Example 1: To integrate an ethics thread in the senior seminar course. Example 2:   To enhance the academic challenge of my courses by promoting more opportunities for critical thinking through class assignments in my courses. Academic Advising and Mentoring Example 1:    To improve my student advising skills by becoming more familiar with college support resources including web advisor. Example 2:      To increase my knowledge of internship/practicum opportunities in order to more effectively mentor students’ professional development. Service Example 1: To assist my department with curriculum review and revision. Example 2: To expand my understanding of effective faculty development and provide leadership in this area through committee service. Professional Involvement Example 1: To present a workshop to NC teachers on strategies to promote best practices in the teaching of science.   Example 2: To submit an article for publication related to energy efficient environmental design.

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