CDC Professional Development Practices

At a glance

The ultimate goal of CDC's six Professional Development Practices is to effectively implement skills and strategies that enhance knowledge and transfer of learning.

Training overview

The CDC Professional Development (PD) Practices, based on research and best practices, provide the best conditions for implementation.

  • The six CDC Professional Development Practices are Sustain, Design, Promote, Deliver, Follow-Up, and Evaluate.
  • They encompass the delivery of PD in group (trainings, presentations, meetings) and one‐to‐one settings (general technical assistance, coaching/mentoring).

Resource‎

Professional Development 101: The Basics

The six Professional Development Practices were developed by CDC's Healthy Schools in partnership with RMC Health.

How to implement PD practices

Sustain a professional development infrastructure

  • Identify a person to lead PD efforts.
  • Set up procedures and policies that promote timely, research-based, and responsive PD.
  • Secure financial and human resources to support PD and collaboration.
  • Develop and implement a PD plan using the PD-related components in the cooperative agreement work plan.
  • Ensure continual learning among program staff.
  • Develop a process for recruiting, developing, and assessing qualified PD providers (may be in-house). Ensure that PD providers are skilled to:
    • Apply the fundamentals of effective training design and delivery.
    • Be familiar with the specified content.
    • Apply adult learning principles.
    • Use a variety of strategies to meet needs of diverse learners.
    • Create a safe learning environment for constituents.
    • Manage conflict and controversy.
  • Provide ongoing technical support for PD providers.

Design professional development offerings

Group setting

For each training or presentation offered:

  • Identify the target audience.
  • Conduct a pre-assessment, and review available data to guide creation of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) objectives.
  • Develop a comprehensive training design (agenda).
  • Select an action plan template and develop an action plan.
  • Develop an evaluation plan.
  • Create a plan for follow-up support.
  • Develop, design, and organize materials.
  • Manage, or hire someone to manage, logistics (registration, site selection, transportation, AV/technology).

One-to-one technical assistance (TA)

Develop a TA protocol that includes:

  • Response time.
  • Site data review (when available).
  • Topics to be covered.
  • Follow-up support.
  • Materials to be sent.
  • Data entry process.

Promote professional development services

Determine the PD services that will match target audience needs.

  • Develop a comprehensive promotional plan by:
    • Developing SMART objectives that describe the desired promotional results.
    • Developing and pretesting messages and materials that will resonate with target audiences.
    • Creating a promotional timeline.
    • Identifying measures of success.
    • Recruiting partners who can support and help achieve promotional objectives.
  • Implement the promotional plan.
  • Collect evaluation data.
  • Record data in a data management system.
  • Monitor and adjust the promotional plan, materials, and messages as appropriate.

Deliver professional development

Provide an environment conducive to learning.

  • Use qualified providers.
  • Follow the training design and technical assistance protocol.
  • Collect participant data.
  • Provide and manage materials.
  • Manage AV and technology when needed.
  • Collect evaluation data.
  • Record data in a data management system.

Support follow-up

Group setting

  • Before each event, plan for follow-up support.
  • Choose follow-up support strategies.
  • Share follow-up support expectations before and during the event.
  • Schedule follow-up support, if applicable.
  • Conduct follow-up support at appropriate intervals.
  • Collect participant data.
  • Collect evaluation data.
  • Record data in a data management system.

One-to-one technical assistance (TA)

  • Plan for follow-up support, if needed, during the early phases of technical assistance.
  • Choose a follow-up strategy.
  • Schedule follow-up support.
  • Conduct follow-up support.
  • Record data in a data management system.

Evaluate professional development processes

  • Create a plan to measure the SMART objectives in the cooperative agreement work plan.
  • Identify or develop instruments to collect evaluation data from multiple sources.
  • Assess needs of the target audience.
  • Collect process data.
  • Collect outcome data.
  • Keep evaluation data in an organized data management system.
  • Identify or develop a data entry protocol.
  • Use evaluation data to:
    • Revise PD plans.
    • Refine training designs.
    • Refine TA.
    • Inform the design of follow-up support.
    • Report indicators of success.
    • Inform decision makers and stakeholders.

Resources

Sustain—How to Build a Training Cadre

Design—Professional Development 101 and 201

Promote—A Guide to Promoting Professional Development

Deliver—Professional Development 201 and Understanding the Training of Trainers Model

Follow Up—Professional Development Follow-Up Support Toolkit

Evaluate—Guide to Evaluating Professional Development

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Content Source:
Division of Adolescent and School Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  • Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's School Health Branch, in partnership with RMC Health.