Professional Development Conference Research Articles

Hampton University launches School of Religion

Hampton University, a renowned historically Black university in Virginia, recently announced the establishment of a School of Religion. The university has hosted the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference (HUMC, a professional development conference) for more than a century and took this year's conference as the time to announce the new school.

English Language Teachers’ Awareness and Practice of Digital Teaching

Raising English language teachers' awareness and practice of digital teaching is essential for creating interactive, engaging, and effective learning environments that cater to the diverse needs and interests of students. This study aims to explore the digital teaching awareness of secondary level English teachers and the technology-driven activities implemented in their classrooms. Employing a qualitative approach within the narrative inquiry framework, data was gathered from 12 secondary level English teachers through semi-structured interviews, direct observations, and document analysis. The results reveal that secondary level English teachers in Nepal develop their digital teaching skills and knowledge by engaging in professional development programs, including workshops, seminars, and conferences, as well as through self-directed learning from online platforms like YouTube. Additionally, they enhance their digital teaching strategies by utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, along with web-based tools. These findings provide valuable insights and resources for English teachers, which can be applied in the classroom to promote interactive, technology-enhanced learning and teaching activities. Furthermore, the results can inform policymakers at educational institutions to ensure the efficacy of digital language learning practices.

Hampton University launches School of Religion

Hampton University, a renowned historically Black university in Virginia, recently announced the establishment of a School of Religion. The university has hosted the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference (HUMC, a professional development conference) for more than a century and took this year's conference as the time to announce the new school.

Enabling technologies of health and safety practices in the fourth industrial revolution: Nigerian construction industry perspective

Globally, different approaches have been applied to improve workplace safety practices due to the complexities of construction activities that pose different dangers to workers’ safety and wellbeing. This study uses Lagos, Nigeria, as a case study and investigates awareness of 4IR technologies in H&S practices among construction professionals in the Nigerian construction industry. A quantitative research approach was developed to retrieve a structured survey questionnaire from construction stakeholders in the study area. Retrieved data was analysed in three stages: data reliability and validity, descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The descriptive analysis findings and the Kruskal–Wallis H test revealed no significant difference in professionals’ awareness of 4IR technologies in H&S practices in the construction project delivery in Lagos, Nigeria. The findings of the EFA returned four-factor components of H&S practices enabling technologies in the Era of 4IR as data and robotic technologies, process-based automation, output communication technologies, and wearable hazard detectives’ technologies. This study recommends innovative strategies from the professional bodies through academic and professional development (workshops, training, conferences, and seminars) to improve knowledge of 4IR technologies in H&S practices among professionals.

Open Access Publishing for English Language Learners

Open access publishing for English language learners reinforces the notion that valuable perspectives can be shared with the academic community before attaining an idealized threshold of English language proficiency. This report offers a description of three case studies that illustrate how open access repositories can be used to provide publishing opportunities for English language learners and stimulate interest in academic writing. Historical background on open scholarship publishing is included, along with implications for policy. The report expands on a panel discussion presented by the authors at the 2023 EnglishUSA Professional Development Conference.

Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health: An International Professional Development Conference on Affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People.

Increasing workforce capacity to provide knowledgeable, skilled, and affirming care for transgender and gender diverse people is critical to reduce health inequities; however, few clinicians receive sufficient training on this topic. This article describes Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health (AETH), an annual international conference that offers continuing professional development on evidence-based medical and behavioral healthcare for transgender and gender diverse people across the lifespan. Registration data and post-conference evaluation data were descriptively analyzed to assess conference reach, participant satisfaction, and participant intentions to change practice. Between 2015 and 2022, AETH trained 2677 participants from all US states and 24 countries. Based on post-conference evaluations, 2017-2022, participant satisfaction was high (mean ≥4.4 on a 5-point scale) on all measures, including meeting learning objectives, quality of presentations, and relevance to practice. Participants reported intentions to: implement new information or skills (86.7%); create or revise protocols, policies, and/or procedures (63.2%); and seek additional information (64.2%). To increase equity, the conference waives fees for transgender and gender diverse participants and offers free online sessions. The conference also holds sessions specifically for transgender and gender diverse participants to promote opportunities for community-building, self-care, and professional networking. The broad reach of AETH demonstrates a large demand for more continuing professional development on transgender and gender diverse healthcare. This conference has expanded the availability of training designed to increase and enhance clinical workforce capacity to meet the health needs of transgender and gender diverse communities in the US and across the world.

In Search of Scholarly Impact

In Search of Scholarly Impact

Designing narrative for professional development: A programme for improving international health care practitioners’ cultural competence

To maintain and improve skills for practice, health care professionals across all disciplines need to engage in ongoing professional development. However, helping clinicians learn and apply new knowledge in practice can be challenging. This article reports on a purpose-designed professional development programme targeting experienced practitioners of a particular music therapy, focusing on their cultural competency. The author conceptualised a workshop format with a relevant clinical scenario at its centre. She describes how she developed the programme, which she subsequently delivered to an international community of 57 practitioners attending professional development conferences. To capture participants’ reactions and evidence of their new thinking applied to an everyday clinical practice, she used Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). Her analysis of the data, which provided feedback on the training scenario and structured group discussion materials, found that this continuing professional development training workshop was effective in challenging clinicians to think differently, and to plan the application of their newly acquired knowledge to their everyday practice. This paradigmatic case study contributes new knowledge towards the current reform of health systems, where achieving person-centred health care depends on the ongoing professional development of established health practitioners. Replacing traditional health care, where the patient receiving treatment is accorded a passive role, person-centred health care engages patients’ active participation in their therapy. Practitioners who have graduated a while ago therefore need to change some of their ingrained practices and approaches in treating their clients and patients, which will then lead to improved health outcomes.

Experiences of Gender Inequity Among Women Physicians Across Career Stages: Findings from Participant Focus Groups.

Background and Purpose:Gender inequity in academic medicine persists despite efforts to the contrary. Even with increasing representation of women physicians in academic medicine, leadership positions and promotion to tenure are still not representative. This study describes the experiences of women physicians at various stages of their careers, uncovering current challenges and potential areas for improvement toward gender equity.Methods:Three focus groups were conducted (n = 28) as part of a national professional development conference: Growth, Resilience, Inspiration, and Tenacity (GRIT) for Women in Medicine: GRIT. We thematically analyzed participant responses to assess perspectives on the impact of experiences, barriers to professional growth, opportunities for improvement, and definitions of success.Results:The major issues the participants faced included subthemes of (1) systemic barriers to success, (2) implicit biases, (3) self-advocacy, and (4) burnout and stress. Solutions for issues that were discussed included (1) fostering supportive communities, (2) encouraging personal and professional development, and (3) the need for system-wide policy changes. We found that most women needed or benefited from the fostering of communities and desired opportunities for developing professional skills. Participants felt institutional transparency for grievances determined the level of support and confidence in reporting instances of mistreatment. Participants tended to define success according to (1) personal success and (2) leaving a legacy.Conclusions/Implications:Despite policy advancements and a social evolution away from discrimination against women, women in medicine continue to experience inequities across career stages. Potential solutions include fostering supportive communities, encouraging personal and professional development, and system-wide policy changes.

Self-development Tools Utilized by Plastic Surgeons: A Survey of ASPS Members.

Background:The plastic surgery literature is devoid of research on the topic of professional development tools that may be used to enhance performance as a plastic surgeon. After an extensive review of the medical literature, we selected the most frequently referenced professional development tools utilized by plastic surgeons, which included the following: goal setting, positive visualization, scheduled practice, critically analyzing mistakes, professional development conferences, involvement in sports, motivational videos, podcasts & audiobooks, daily morning routines, self-development books, and advice from mentors.Methods:A 10-question survey was sent to 2542 members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The algorithm used to select ASPS members to survey was based on member demographics that would best reflect the views of the entire active society membership. Responses were compared based on demographic factors such as type of practice, gender, and age.Results:A total of 286/2542 (11.25%) ASPS members participated in the survey. Analyzing mistakes (96.3%), goal setting (88.51%), and advice from mentors (85.2%) were most commonly attributed to self-development. Respondents in an academic practice favored conferences and advice from mentors. Participants in a solo practice favored self-help books and morning routines. No statistical differences were observed based on training background.Conclusions:ASPS members attribute their professional development to setting measurable goals, carefully analyzing surgical mistakes, and guidance from mentors. This information opens the door for continued analysis of professional development within plastic surgery as well as supplement training practices at the resident and post-graduate level.

Change Is Inevitable

Change Is Inevitable

Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

Each for Equal: Gender Inequity in Dentistry in Australia.

While there is an increasing number of women entering the dental profession, they are still underrepresented in leadership roles in major dental organizations, academia, and journal boards. Keynote and invited speaking roles in professional and scientific conferences recognize expertise and leadership and are key factors in career advancement and academic promotions. The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in representation at dental continuing professional development (CPD) events and conferences in Australia. An analysis of the gender of speakers was conducted with CPD and conference programs that are publicly available online from the federal and Victorian branches of the Australian Dental Association, the peak national body for dentists. The planned 2020 Victorian Branch CPD program featured 30 events, with a mean 2.5 speakers per event. There were 58 scientific presentations in the schedule, 22 (38%) of which were allocated to female speakers. Seven CPD events in 2020 included only female speakers, and 13 included only male speakers.The 37th and 38th Australian Dental Congresses featured 25% and 36% of female speakers, respectively. All keynote speakers were male for both events, and men accounted for 86% and 93% of international speakers. While women are approaching parity in local and state-level CPD events, there is a large discrepancy in the male-to-female speaker ratio for major national conferences. Suggestions to improve gender imbalance include having women on the convening committee and developing and implementing policies to address the imbalance. There has been significant progress in addressing gender inequity in dentistry, but gender-balanced leadership in major conferences still needs to be addressed. The findings of this study show that while women may be approaching parity with small continuing professional development events, they are still underrepresented as speakers in major conferences. It is recommended that active policies be implemented to reduce the imbalance to ensure gender-balanced leadership in one aspect of the dental profession in Australia.

Rethinking the Approach to Continuing Professional Development Conferences in the Era of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required a substantial change to the approach used for traditional, in-person continuing professional development (CPD) conferences. Running a virtual CPD conference will necessitate consideration of digital platforms and conversion of large group and small group sessions, abstract presentations, and networking events to a digital medium. This paper will discuss these challenges and present strategies to address them for CPD conference planning in the era of COVID-19.

Using Telegraphic Input With Children With Language Delays: A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists' Practices and Perspectives.

Purpose Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) often simplify their language input when talking to young children with language delays, but there is some controversy regarding whether simplified input should be telegraphic (e.g., Ball under, Doggie go, More toy) or grammatical (e.g., The ball went under; Go, Doggie! More toys). The purpose of this study was to evaluate SLPs' practices and perspectives on using telegraphic input when working with children with language delays at the prelinguistic, one-word, or two-word stages of spoken language development. Method Practicing SLPs were recruited from a university-sponsored professional development conference focused on current best practices in speech-language pathology. Respondents completed an online survey that included questions about their own practices, as well as their overall perspectives on the usefulness of simplifying language input in different ways. Results The vast majority of SLPs (82%) reported using telegraphic input. SLPs reported using telegraphic input more frequently when prompting for verbal imitations than when describing play or providing a directive/request. Surprisingly, only 30% of SLPs who reported using telegraphic input felt that it was useful. SLPs reported that receptive language is the most important child characteristic to consider when deciding what kind of language input to provide. Conclusions These findings suggest the need for more purposeful clinical decision making in the context of providing simplified language input. In addition, in-depth, qualitative studies are needed to characterize the complex interactions among beliefs, experiences, practices, and perspectives pertaining to simplified language input.

Learning from a State Professional Development Conference for Science Teachers: Beginning Secondary Science Teachers’ Experiences

ABSTRACTAlthough there is growing understanding of beginning secondary science teacher learning and development in the United States, little is known about their learning experiences at professional development (PD) conferences. To increase knowledge in this area, this study investigated the experiences of 68 beginning secondary science teachers at a state conference for science teachers. Free-choice learning was the theoretical perspective in this qualitative study, and data consisted of surveys, written reflections, interviews, and classroom observations. Findings in the domains of conference experience, alignment, lifelong learning, and classroom implementation suggested that the conference facilitated the beginning science teachers’ learning about inquiry, nature of science, and problem-based learning. Additionally, the data revealed that the conference served as a type of differentiated PD as the teachers selected sessions based on personal interests and relevance. Although the beginning teachers were eager to attend future conferences, their desire to present at future conferences was mitigated by their limited years of teaching experience. The participants’ positive experiences suggest that teacher educators should encourage new science teachers to attend science teacher conferences, induction specialists should leverage existing conference structures, and policymakers and school division personnel should provide support for beginning teachers to attend conferences. Maximizing the potential of science teacher conferences could provide an efficient form of ongoing, differentiated PD for beginning teachers.

Recovery Mentors as continuing professional development trainers for better recognition of the epistemic value of the experiential knowledge and improved access to recovery-oriented practices.

ObjectivesTo lay the groundwork for the arrival of Recovery Mentors (RMs) in some of its multidisciplinary teams, a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) conference was organized in a large public agency in the province of Quebec, Canada. The aim was to come up collectively with recommendations to improve access to recovery-oriented care and services for this vulnerable population by recognizing the epistemic value of their lived experience.MethodsA series of workshops were organized among health professionals to reflect on their practice and to discuss the role of RMs for improving epistemic equity and recognition of the experiential knowledge. In preparation for these workshops participants completed the Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA). The RSA is a 32-item questionnaire designed to gauge the degree to which programs implement recovery-oriented practices, which should notably include RMs in multidisciplinary teams (five-point Likert scale: 1= strongly disagree ; 5 = strongly agree). The interactive workshops were hosted by RMs as trainers who first shared their lived experience and understanding of recovery.ResultsEighty-height of the 105 participants completed the RSA. The highest score on the RSA was for the item Staff believe in the ability of program participants to recover (mean = 4.2/5). The lowest score was for the item People in recovery are encouraged to attend agency advisory boards and management meetings (mean = 2.2/5). Based on the average inter-item correlation, a reliability test confirmed an excellent internal consistency for the French RSA scale, with a Cronbach's Alpha of .9. Means and standard deviation for each item of the RSA questionnaires were calculated. The results did not differ by participant characteristics. Results to the RSA and results from the workshops that were co-hosted by RMs were reported in the plenary session and further discussed. The workshops, the RSA and the whole CPD conference raised awareness among health professionals about stigmatizing attitudes and epistemic inequity in actual service provision.ConclusionRMs could be invited to actively participate and attend advisory boards and management meetings more frequently and on a more regular basis for ongoing quality improvement towards better access to recovery-oriented practices. This CPD conference has shown the acceptability and feasibility of including RMs as trainers for better recognition of the epistemic value of the experiential knowledge of recovery. They can help health professionals to recognize and better appreciate service users as knowers and potential contributors to knowledge.

An Introduction to Research Work, Scholarship, and Paving a Way to a Career in Academic Medicine.

Despite high faculty attrition and challenges to expanding the number of clinician-researchers, career development to heighten trainees' pursuit of an academic research career remains a relatively understudied topic. Completing peer-reviewed publications during medical school increases a trainee's likelihood of becoming a future faculty member. There is a lack of educational content to guide trainees in selecting research activities, publishing, and gaining self-efficacy to pave a path towards a clinician-researcher track. The Kern model was applied to create a multimodal workshop that would heighten trainee awareness of various research opportunities, skills for conducting research, best practices in publishing, and also help them develop a personal plan to pursue research. The workshop included a presentation, reflection exercises, and a case scenario. The workshop was implemented among trainees attending professional development conferences at nine medical schools. A questionnaire assessed participants' change in self-efficacy in completing research scholarship and pursuing an academic research career. Sixty medical students and seven residents participated in the workshops. Paired-sample t tests indicated a statistically significant increase in participants' perception that academic medicine would allow them to engage in research work, and in their self-efficacy to publish and succeed along a clinician-researcher track. The workshop not only exposed participants to a variety of research activities but also provided a sense that all research types are valid, aiding some participants to identify new research opportunities. In addition, participants gained clarity on how to publish and develop a research path, which may help maintain interest in a clinician-researcher track.

Building a Community, Supporting Biology, and Finding a Home

Welcome to the new academic year! I hope you had an enjoyable summer and are looking forward to attending the NABT Professional Development Conference in St. Louis this November. In anticipation of this upcoming event, I began to reflect on the importance of community and the role it plays both personally and professionally. For years, a friend of mine tried to talk me into attending an NABT conference. I resisted because I felt a discipline-specific conference would be more interesting than one focused on biology education. When he asked again in 2001, I was still not very interested, but since I had never been to Montreal that sealed the deal. I had an amazing experience at that conference and have attended every one since. I was excited by the research presentations, the pedagogical strategies—many of which were given by secondary school teachers—and generally excited by the exposure to areas beyond my discipline training. The use of highly engaging teaching strategies and the creativity in classroom pedagogy was humbling. I remember feeling instantly at home with the people I met. These were people who loved teaching, students, …

Early Childhood Teacher Beliefs About STEAM Education After a Professional Development Conference

The success of new pedagogies depends on teachers’ beliefs about what they entail, and the promises and challenges they hold. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to understand the beliefs of early childhood teachers who attended a professional development conference on STEAM teaching, an emerging approach that combine STEM disciplines and the arts through problem-based learning to engage students and push deep thinking. Data from a post-conference survey (N = 41) and follow-up interviews (N = 4) showed teachers varied in their beliefs about STEAM and the supports they needed to implement it successfully. Implications for teacher education are discussed.