Mary C. Zatta, Ph.D., Director of Professional Development, Training and Educational
Resources Program, Perkins School for the Blind, Mary.Zatta@Perkins.org
Betsy McGinnity, Executive Director, Training and Educational Resources Program, Perkins
School for the Blind, Betsy.mcginnity@perkins.org
Since its founding in 1829, Perkins has had as one of its core missions to be the teachers of teachers.
Initially this involved having a teacher and student come together to campus for a year-long training program.
Later this evolved to include formal partnerships with Boston University and Boston College. For the past
twenty years, Perkins has been involved in providing professional development to educators who work with
children who are blind, deafblind, visually impaired and who have multiple disabilities beginning with teachers
in New England and, with the advent of Perkins eLearning, extending to teachers throughout the US and
beyond.
The need for professional development (PD) for these educators has remained constant. Often
teachers working in public schools and/or as itinerants are quite isolated. They cannot get the PD they need
through their local school districts. They need to stay current with developments in the field, training in new
technologies and teaching techniques, medical advancements and the changing nature of the schools age
population with vision loss.
With the onset of education reform and a focus on student outcomes as well as the requirements for
teachers to be highly qualified, the effectiveness of different kinds of PD has been examined. Research shows
that effective PD "engages teachers in learning opportunities that are supportive, job-embedded,
instructionally-focused, collaborative, and ongoing" (Hunzicker, 2010, p. 177). The Institute for the Advancement
of Research in Education at AEL (2004) found that effective PD is focused on what teachers teach and gives them the
VIDBE-Q
Volume 62 Issue 2
Professional development delivery: Past and present
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