About Us
PDS Vision
The Pennsylvania Adult Basic Education Professional Development System (PDS) will provide adult education practitioners with professional development so that they have the skills to offer every adult learner access to an effective and equitable education system with the capacity to prepare them to transition to postsecondary education, training, and employment, and support their children’s literacy and educational development.
PDS Mission
The PDS will support practitioners in their work with learners and partners by offering them accessible training, technical assistance, coaching, and other targeted support so they are able to:
- Develop a program-based, practitioner-led PD structure which is grounded in day-to-day practice.
- Access resources to support their program improvement and professional development efforts.
- Create workforce development system partnerships and address WIOA requirements.
- Provide student support services that support learners’ career pathways.
- Collect, enter, and analyze accurate learner data for program improvement and decision making.
- Improve their digital literacy skills, provide distance learning opportunities, and use technology in instruction.
PDS Methodology
The PDS will accomplish this by:
- Modeling the best practices for instruction, use of technology, and working with partners.
- Providing high quality professional development in varied formats, lengths, and delivery methods.
- Using data to inform decisions and measure the impact of our efforts.
- Gathering input from the field through needs assessments, focus groups, and consulting groups.
- Providing resources which are grounded in research, instructional design principles, and graphic design principles.