1. Preparing High Qualified Professionals in Secondary Transition: Use of Technology to Support Professional Development Dr. Mary E. Morningstar mmorningstar@ku.edu www.transitioncoalition.org NSTTAC National Summit May 18-21, 2010

2. Seamless Professional Development Coursework Staff Development ResearchBased Effective Practices in Professional Development Deepens Content Knowledge and/or Pedagogy Uses Multiple Sources of Data Promotes Equity for All Students Is Long Term and Adequately Resourced Includes Program Evaluation Builds Broad-based Support Develops Leadership Capacity Higher Education + State Partners Bergeson, Heuschel, Billings, Anderson (2003) Question for today: How can states develop comprehensive, sustained, high-impact professional development systems for transition?

3. Does Training Really Matter? Research Questions: 1.What are the levels of preparation & implementation of critical elements of transition services? 2.Are highly qualified professionals more likely to engage in transition practices? 3.What are the predictors of implementing transition practices? Randomly selected 6,180 participants from national list of secondary special education teachers: LD, MR, ED/BD, Non categorical/high incidence (Resource), Special Education –Randomly selected stratified sample of 1800: 1,200 LD; 200 MR; 200 ED/BD; 200 Non-categorical –Participants for present study (557; 34% returned) –Completed at 46 item survey: Secondary Teachers Transition Survey

4. Secondary Transition Teacher Survey Transition Skill & Frequency of Implementation

5. Results: Training MATTERS!!!! 1.How prepared are secondary educators? M=2.69 (1=not prepared; 4=very prepared) 2.How often do they implement transition practices? M=2.70 (1=never; 4=often) 3.Does feeling prepared increase frequency of implementation? Significant correlation (r[547]=.720, p=.000, two tailed) 4.What Influences Implementing Transition Activities? Model RR Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1.423 a.179.172.51170 F(3,471)=33.96, p=.000 Number of Transition Courses (b=.261, p=.000) R 2 =.07 Transition Staff Development Hours (b=.284, p=.000) R 2 =.08 Fully Certified (b=.10, p=.010) R 2 =.01

6. www.transitioncoalition.org

7. SEA Partnerships Online training Face to face training State Needs Assessment Communities of Practice PD Hub

8. ... KU TransCert Program Evidence-based research Aligned with CEC competencies & Kohler’s Taxonomy Translated from courses User-validated Addressing critical needs

9. Open-Access: Free to All State-Specific: Specialized

10. 4 week short courses Weekly Readings & Online Modules Threaded Discussion Activities and videos Projects Topics Introduction to Transition Education & Services Family and Student Involvement Transition Assessment Vocational Training & Employment Interagency Collaboration

11. Online and Face-to-Face Training, Action Planning & Ongoing Technical Assistance Quality Indicators of Exemplary Transition Programs Needs Assessment Online Community of Practice; Follow-up Support and Technical Assistance Action Planning & Goal Setting Improved Practices & Impact

12. Comprehensive Approach: Step 1- Needs Assessment Transition Planning Family Involvement Student Involvement Curriculum & Instruction Access to General Curriculum Interagency Collaboration Transition Assessment Quality Indicators of Exemplary Transition Programs Needs Assessment 7 Domains & 40 Items

13. QI Results

14. Step 3: Action Planning & Goal Setting

15. Step 4: Follow-up Support and Technical Assistance Communities of Practice –IDEA Partnership –District-supported online COP –Transition Coalition developed COP Telephone calls Video conferencing On site & Events Work with administrative team Online Community of Practice; Follow-up Support and Technical Assistance

17. What do you Need to Consider? What systems do you currently have in place for providing professional development? –Are they working? How is it supported? What else do you need? How are professional development needs determined? Do you use a formal system to identify state/local needs? –Is it determined based on SEA priorities (e.g., new transition forms, new policies/procedures with VR, etc.) –Who are the critical stakeholders in determining PD needs? What standards, competencies or endorsements for transition professionals are in place in your state? What resources do you have for providing ongoing professional development? –(staff, TA Centers, RRCs, IHEs, SIGs/SPDGs, online resources…) How will you evaluate the effectiveness of your PD system? What are your priority areas?