Professional Development & Training

CDC Training Tools for Healthy Schools: Professional Development

Professional development (PD) is a systematic process that strengthens how professionals obtain and retain knowledge, skills and attitudes. Effective PD is consciously designed to actively engage learners and includes the planning, design, marketing, delivery, follow-up and evaluation of professional development offerings. The tools and resources on this site can be used by those who provide PD services for staff in state departments of education, state departments of health, school districts, school communities, and national organizations.

What is Professional Development (PD)?

Professional development is a consciously designed, systematic process that strengthens how your staff obtains and retains knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The ultimate goal of professional development is the effective implementation of skills and strategies that help your organization achieve its purpose. Refer to Understanding Professional Development [PDF – 113 KB] for additional information.

PD Practices at a Glance

Sustain an effective infrastructure that promotes and implements PD and collaboration.
Design instructionally sound PD activities.
Market in a focused manner to sustain contacts and provide consistent services.
Deliver streamlined instructional activities that are responsive and timely.
Follow up to support growth and meet goals.
Evaluate for continuous improvement.

Guide to Promoting Professional Development

By learning to promote your Professional Development services more effectively, you can reach the professionals who can most benefit from your PD events, resources, and technical assistance.

The Guide to Promoting Professional Development [PDF – 4 MB] provides information, resources, and examples to help you:

Identify appropriate audiences for your PD services.
Reach these audiences with relevant and well-defined
services that are based on best practices.
Design and share appealing materials that will increase
interest, investment, and participation from these audiences.

CDC-Recommended PD Practices

The CDC Professional Development Practices [PDF – 506 KB] are based on research and previously identified best practices that provide optimal conditions for implementation to occur. These recommended practices encompass the delivery of PD in a group setting (i.e., trainings, presentations, meetings) or in one-on-one sessions (i.e., general technical assistance, coaching, and mentoring). For more details on the specific types of PD and how they should be developed and implemented, refer to the e-learning course, Professional Development 101.

Professional Development: How to Build a Training Cadre

Meeting your organization’s many goals can be particularly challenging for just one person, or even a few individuals, to accomplish given other responsibilities. Building a training cadre is a key component of Professional Development. This toolkit explains the need for a training cadre to sustain an organization’s professional development goals, and provides many resources to support your efforts.

Professional Development Follow-up Support Tool Kit

This tool kit provides information and resources for follow-up support after the completion of a professional development event. The tool kit includes worksheets that can be used to facilitate the follow-up process.

Professional Development Follow-Up Support Kit [PDF – 229KB]
Professional Development Practices [PDF – 160KB]
Professional Development Practices Inventory [PDF – 207KB]
Follow-up Support: Team Action Plan Template [PDF – 91KB]
Follow-up Support: Technology Survey [PDF – 90KB]
Professional Development Follow-Up Support: The Continuum [PDF – 250KB]
Evaluation Distinctions [PDF – 77KB]
Guide for Follow-up Support Planning [PDF – 107KB]
Providing Follow-up Support: Guiding Questions [PDF – 112KB]
Online Professional Development Follow-Up Support Tools [PDF – 138KB]

Understanding the Training of Trainers (ToT) Model

The Understanding the Training of Trainers (ToT) Model [PDF – 712 KB] brief helps those who are in charge of state and district-wide trainings to further their understanding of a the ToT model. The Training of Trainers (ToT) model is intended to engage master trainers in coaching new trainers that are less experienced with a particular topic or skill, or with training overall. A ToT workshop can build a pool of competent instructors who can then teach the material to other people. Instead of having just one trainer who teaches a course for a long time, there are multiple trainers teaching the same course at the same time in the ToT model, thus creating a broader reach; sustainability; and is much more cost and time efficient.

Professional Development: Follow Up Support Webinar

Description: This module is designed to help you develop an effective professional development training program. This module focuses on Follow Up Support and provides a detailed overview of the professional development process. The module will describe the Follow Up Support tool-kit and the resources needed to develop a learning event.