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Instructor Qualification System

Purpose:

To ensure that high quality professional development opportunities are available statewide to individuals working with children or on behalf of children. To accomplish this, an approval process determines that instructors are qualified and competent in their areas of instruction. This process is consistent statewide with clear guidelines, considers the credentials and experience of the instructors, and includes an appeals process.

Rationale:

This system is designed to promote collegiality among instructors. All approved instructors can be listed in the Instructor Registry. According to the process, some approved instructors, depending on experience, seek the support of other approved instructors. In addition, the Instructor Registry is a resource for those who seek to hire instructors who demonstrate specific levels of education and experience. In turn, the Instructor Registry can act as a promotional or marketing tool for instructors who participate in the system. An Approval Board reviews all applications to recommend instructors for specific categories in the framework below, and not with regard to their stated areas of content expertise.

Guidelines

Definitions

Instructors teach adults working with or on behalf of children. Instructors provide professional development at all levels in the Vermont Northern Lights Career Development Center system.

Instruction is an interaction among adults in which the instructor demonstrates, explains, or facilitates, and the learners have the opportunity to expand or change their knowledge, skills, or outlook on a topic relevant to early care and education and afterschool professionals.

For the purposes of the Instructor Qualifications System, instructors will demonstrate experience with groups of learners. If listed at all, hours of one-on-one instruction between the instructor and a single learner cannot equal more than half of the total hours required by the Instructor Qualifications System for that instructor.

Related fields to early childhood education and afterschool include but are not restricted to child development, child and family studies, early childhood special education, elementary education, human development, human services, infant studies, infant-child mental health, psychology, sociology or social sciences, nutrition, health, art and music education, special education, community education, and recreation.

Support occurs in three phases and is tailored to the needs of the instructor. Phase I, planning, includes developing instructional activities based on current knowledge and participants' needs, and incorporating adult learning principles. Phase II, implementation, may include co-presenting or observation. Phase III, evaluation, includes reflection and review of both the learning experience and the performance of the instructor. Master or Certified Instructors who support Affiliate I, Affiliate II, or Specialist Instructors accept responsibility for the quality of all three phases of support.

Guidelines

• Instructors will have education and experience in the content of the professional development offering demonstrated by appropriate work experience or academic credit.
• Instructor qualifications and review practices for higher education institutions supersede this document when applicants teach college level courses. Applicants who have taught college-level courses within the past 3 years do not need to submit a transcript or diploma and do not have to list a specific orientation to adult learning, but still must have the appropriate degrees in related fields to be Master instructors.

Renewal

Membership in the registry is limited, and to continue requires renewal. To be maintained in the registry, Instructors at the Affiliate I through Master levels, need to renew within three years and Specialists should renew every two years. Instructors who do not renew will still have their form in the system but no longer available to the public. . A renewal process is in place to alert and support instructors through this process with the Approval Panel.

All approved instructors can update their data at any time, including applying to change levels within the Instructor Registry.

Appeals Process

Applicants may submit additional information to the Approval Board if they disagree with the Board's initial decision. To do so, please submit a brief letter stating the request, along with supporting documentation, to Vermont Northern Lights Career Development Center, CCV Wasson Hall, PO Box 120, Waterbury, VT 05676, Attention: Instructor Qualifications. The Approval Board will issue its final determination after reviewing the request. If the applicant does not agree with the Approval Board's second and final determination, a formal appeal to an impartial Appeals Panel may be made. Please submit a letter specifically stating the nature of the appeal to the same address above. A three-person Appeals Panel comprised of knowledgeable but independent participants will review the entire file to determine the applicant's status. Applicants have the opportunity to appear before the panel if desired. The Appeals Panel's decision will be made within 30 days of receiving the appeal request. The Appeal Panel's decision shall be final.

Instructor Approval Panel

The Instructor Approval Panel will have 6-7 volunteer members consisting of representatives from the Vermont Northern Lights Career Development Center staff and others with broad representation from the professional development field. Members who are not staff of Northern Lights, can choose to continue or discontinue their membership on the panel, every six months.

© Northern Lights Career Development Center
Last modified November 25,2007