July 2004 — SETDA

Print this article

Click here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal

SETDA: Professional Development for Professional Developers

By Mary Ann Wolf, Director of Leadership, Policy & Planning, SETDA

  • The face-to-face component helps to quickly engage participants in the community and facilitates meaningful discussion in the online portion of the course.
  • SETDA members are busy people. The number and duration of modules must be shorter and self-contained, allowing people to actively participate whenever possible without feeling out of the loop.
  • Participants respond to the connection with a particular person around a topic of interest. The recorded interviews and case studies sparked hundreds of entries on the discussion board. The direct involvement of Manchester and Young motivated and inspired the members to ponder and discuss the issues.
  • Several of the most important outcomes may go beyond the actual course. For instance, the development of the community of learners and the cohesiveness of the group continues to grow and make a difference for the individuals and SETDA.

Providing professional development to busy people who are responsible for the professional development of others is a tremendous, but worthwhile, challenge. In the end, the key lessons are consistent with learning in general: People like to learn about things that are meaningful to them, and they like to explore these topics in an environment in which they are safe to ask questions and explore ideas.

Cite this Site

Mary Ann Wolf, Director of Leadership, Policy & Planning, SETDA, "SETDA: Professional Development for Professional Developers," T.H.E. Journal, 7/1/2004, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16835

copy text (above) for proper citation