BEING IFFECTIVE IN CPE Elements of effective practice Ethical dimensions of practice Concepts of professionals both as learners and participants Institutional context of practice Approaches to program development and evaluation

The 4 elements are synthesized into a unified picture of effective practice To offer a comprehensive statement of what constitutes effective practice By providing criteria to evaluate and improve current efforts in CPE

Continuing Educators as Professionals CPE is a form of professional practice Functionalist, Conflict, and Critical Viewpoints provide three fundamentally different understandings of professional practice Critical Viewpoint offers most accurate understanding of professional practice

The Critical Viewpoint asserts that practice can’t be understood as the application of standardized principles CPE educators must make choices about the nature of the problem to be solved as well as how to solve it Therefore there is a need to be aware of the range of choices to be made

Understanding Effective Practice CPE educators’ practice must be rooted in a coherent account of its ethical, contextual, and epistemological bases All the bases are interconnected and are implicit in all forms of practice

Ethical Basis of Practice Any attempt to change professionals is based on ideals of what they ought to be, to know, to do, or to feel What is right and wrong Practice can be judged as effective only with respect to a particular ethical framework

Usually CPE educators unaware that they make ethical choices in their practice Ethical framework must be founded on certain values based on SOP, Code of Ethics, Religion, etc. Ethical dimensions must be made explicit

Contextual Basis of Practice Practice is always conducted in a context composed of varying personalities, shifting expectations, conflicting goals, and limited resources Therefore it would be inappropriate to judge practice against some fixed ideal of good practice

Effective practice must be judged by what is best in a given set of circumstances The primary context is institutional setting Guidelines can be used to judge practice Guidelines must be developed out of the actual situation being evaluated Context is not an adjunct to understanding effective practice; rather, it is woven into the very fabric of practice

Epistemological Basis of Practice CPE educators must be able to describe how they do what they do. The description provides an understanding of the epistemological basis of practice What kind of knowledge or knowing characterizes effective practice? Or What does one need to know to be an effective CPE practitioner?

Schon has offered an epistemology of professional artistry In contrast to the epistemology that views practice as the application of knowledge, CPE educators’ knowing is in their actions. CPE educators constantly make judgments for which they cannot state a rule or theory therefore they need to construct the situation to make it solvable The ability to do this, to reflect-in-action is the core of effective practice

This epistemology (RIA) describes how CPE educators make decisions in program planning and etc. Effective practice in CPE means making the best judgment in a specific contest and for a specified ethical framework Judgments are made as a result of KIA and RIA

Improving Practice To improve practice, the abilities of CPE educators to make their best judgments must be facilitated through a process of learning Also must be based on a model of CPE educators as learners.

1. CPE educators must reflect on their RIA by describing what they have done 2. Practice can also be improved by participating in formal educational programs Experientially based methods, such as case studies, simulations, and role plays are useful for building repertoires of practical knowledge 3. CPE educators must see themselves as researchers of their own practice 4. CPE researchers also must do research to improve practice of CPE educators