To paraphrase Karen Smith (see Question #2 in Starting a Learning Assistance Center), professional development resources are key to deepening our knowledge and skills in learning assistance, to keeping up with trends and developments in the field—and our colleagues and bosses expect it of us.
A good start is to read Karen Smith's short article linked above. Indeed, many of the ideas, information, and recommendations for professional development in the field of learning assistance presented here are either based on those in Karen Smith's article or updated and expanded to include new resources and reflect changes in the field since that article was written.
First on the learning assistance professional's list of resources is Martha Maxwell's Improving Student Learning Skills, A New Edition. Although published in 1997, this book remains relevant decades later. This is a seminal work that should be in every professional's personal library.
A few of the more recent books relevant to learning centers and learning assistance that we recommend are
A good place to start is right here on LSCHE! Review LSCHE's resources for areas that seem most appealing or address a current need.
See what other learning centers are doing by browsing LSCHE's extensive listing of learning center websites and clicking on some of the links there. This can also be used to help guide in-person visits to centers of interest either locally or when traveling.
Subscribe to LRNASST, the primary Listserv for learning assistance professionals. Read current postings, browse the LRNASST archives (from 1995 - present), ask questions, and join the discussions. In addition to LRNASST, some of the professional organizations maintain their own listserv or active mailing list.
Visit the websites of important organizations in the field especially those that are part of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations.
We recommend joining at least one of the member organizations of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA). Because of the overlapping nature of these organizations and spring/fall timing of their conferences, many learning center administrators belong to more than one.
Network with colleagues at national and regional conferences, training sessions, professional institutes, and on LRNASST to gain valuable insight to ways of improving your center and achieving excellence.
The CLADEA member learning assistance organizations have annual conferences. ICLCA and CRLA have their conferences in the fall, while ACTP and ACTLA hold theirs in the spring. ICSI has a conference every two years. Many of the regional associations also sponsor annual conferences or training sessions that are distributed throughout the year.
In addition to annual conferences, some learning assistance organizations conduct institutes during the summer with limited attendance to delve more deeply into particular topics. The NCLCA Institute, the CRLA Train-the-Trainer Summer Institute, and the NCDE Kellogg Institute are prime examples.
Other organizations that are of interest to learning center professionals such as the International Center for Supplemental Instruction, the Peer-Led Team Learning International Society, the National Organization for Student Success, the Foundation for Critical Thinking, and the UNM Mentoring Institute hold annual or biennial conferences.
All of these and more are listed in the LSCHE conference calendar.
Also watch for notices of upcoming special events in an organization's journal and on LRNASST.
In addition to the opportunities to discover more about learning assistance available at professional conferences, institutes, and training sessions and on the LRNASST listserv, several institutions provide formal learning opportunities.
Several universities offer certificates, master's programs, educational specialist degrees, and doctoral (Ph.D. and Ed.D.) programs. For more information see Degree Programs here in LSCHE.
Present sessions at local, regional, national, or international conferences as one way of increasing knowledge and improving practice in learning assistance. This also helps you gain credibility within your institution.
Presentation Tips from DO-IT https://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0
Presentation Magazine https://www.presentationmagazine.com
Harvard Business Review How to Give a Killer Presentation
Time How to Give a Memorable Presentation
Getting an article published in a professional journal, especially a juried journal, is one way to improve your status on campus as well as publicize to your colleagues and administration that learning support centers and their programs and services are academically relevant. Here are some references and tips to help you publish.
Writing for publication is both an opportunity and a challenge. Some of these challenges are identified in Kenneth Henson’s interesting list of “Six Myths that Haunt Writers,” which focuses specifically on academic writing: (1) I’m not sure I have what it takes; (2) I don’t have time to write; (3) I don’t have anything worth writing about; (4) The editors will reject my manuscript because my name isn’t familiar to them; (5) My vocabulary and writing skills are too limited; and, (6) In my field there are few opportunities to publish. Reverse these myths and write to publish.
Writing for publication, according to Frank Christ, a longtime learning support center professional, is a learning assistance professionalism mandate. Christ has given two keynote presentations in which he exhorts all learning assistance professionals to publish so that learning assistance does not perish. The first keynote was at an ACTLA conference; the second keynote, at an NCLCA conference. Both may inspire you to begin your journey as a researcher, presenter, and author.
Some Tips for Successful Publication
Begin by reading 6-10 past issues of a journal that you think may be interested in what you want to write about.
Read carefully the specific submission directions for manuscripts that are published in most journals.
Before sending off your article, have one or more colleagues review and critique it.
Also consider writing for association newsletters. Although newsletters are edited and not juried, you will get your name on a citation, and you will gain experience and confidence in professional writing. Remember that most professional associations have both a general newsletter and chapter or state newsletters that will accept short articles for publication.
Writing for Publication References.
To help you get published, here are some web sites and articles that relate to acceptable research and writing.
Good Practice in Educational Research Writing offers advice from a British perspective.
How to Win Acceptances by Psychology Journals: 21 Tips for Better Writing by R. J. Sternberg, R. J. (1993). APS OBSERVER (newsletter of the American Psychological Society).
How to Get Published: Guidance from Emerging and Senior Scholars. AERA on Publishing Educational Research:
Writing for Publication: Rationale, Process and Pitfalls by Peter Witt.
Belcher, W. L. (2019). Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Carriuolo, N., Boylan, H., Simpson, M., Bader, C., & Calderwood, B. (2007). Special feature: Advice for novice researchers who wish to publish their results. Journal of Developmental Education, 31(2), 28-31. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42775268
Porter, S. R. (2007). Writing and publishing a research paper in a peer-reviewed journal. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 14(2), 115-123. EBSCO.
Thomson, P., & Kamler, B. (2013). Writing for Peer Reviewed Journals. Routledge.
Earn awards, scholarships, grants, and recognition for your work and your learning center from the professional associations serving the field of learning assistance. Awards that you, your learning center, or staff receive can provide excellent publicity to increase a learning assistance program's recognition on campus.
Note: For International Tutor Appreciation Week information, see the Celebrate! tab on the LSCHE page Learning Support Center Management.
Several of the learning assistance professional organizations offer important certifications.
ACTP has certifications for Tutor, Tutor Trainer, Academic Coach, and Peer Academic Coaching Program.
CRLA has the International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) and International Peer Educator Training Program Certification IPTPC (Formerly known as IMTPC).
ICLCA has the Learning Center Certification and Learning Centers of Excellence Certification and Learning Center Leadership Certification.
The International Center for Supplemental Instruction has developed four core principles, called the Core Four, for Supplemental Instruction programs to follow to achieve accreditation.
The title of Academic Fellow is a prestigious recognition of an academician’s leadership, research, and publications in his or her field of expertise. Many associations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science honor as fellows their most exemplary members through their professional leadership and accomplishments.
In 1998, Dr. Martha Maxwell, then the Director of the Learning Center at UC Berkeley, now Emerita from UCB, wrote an article, “Fellows in learning assistance and developmental education: A proposal” in the Journal of College Reading and Learning (29 (1), 41-47) in which she proposed that there be a fellows program for learning assistance professionals in higher education. A link to the article is available at https://cladea.info/fellows/.
In 1999, the American Council of Developmental Education Associations (ACDEA) approved for implementation Martha Maxwell’s proposal to establish a Fellows program that would recognize distinguished professionals in learning assistance and developmental education by initiating them as Council Fellows. The Council agreed that each member association (CRLA, NADE, NCLCA, and NTA) would elect three people as Fellows and NCDE would elect one and that this would form the core organization. Future Fellows would be selected by the existing Fellows in consultation with the Council. In 2001, Dr. Gene Kerstiens proposed a selection process for Fellows of the ACDEA, a proposal that ACDEA approved. In 2007, ACDEA was reconstituted and replaced by CLADEA, the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations, and all ACDEA Fellows became CLADEA Fellows.
A group of 13 Council Fellows was inducted at the 2000 NADE Conference in Biloxi, Mississippi. The thirteen founding Fellows and subsequent Fellows are listed below and on the cladea.info site at https://cladea.info/fellows/
Fellows of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education and Year of Induction
2024 Victoria S. Appatova, Michael Frizell
2021 Deborah Daniel, Jodi Holschuh, Elaine Richardson
2021 Alan Craig, Patricia Mulcahy-Ernt, Gretchen Starks-Martin
2018 Sonya Armstrong, Jacqueline Harris, Janet Norton
2017 Karen Agee, Johanna Dvorak, Penny Turrentine
2015 Rebecca Goosen, Howard Masuda, Sherrie Nist-Olejnik, Eric Paulson, D. Patrick Saxon, Rick A. Sheets
2012 Rosemary M. Karr, Saundra Y. McGuire
2011 John Gardner, Jim Valkenburg, Janet Zadina
2009 Barbara Bonham, Nancy Carriuolo, Russ Hodges, Jack Truschel, William G. White, Jr.
2008 Robert McCabe, Vincent Tinto
2006 Jane McGrath, Jane Neuburger, Carol O’Shea, Kate Sandburg, Michele Simpson, Rita Smilkstein, Linda Thompson
2005 Susan Clark-Thayer, Jeanne Higbee, Karen Patty-Graham, Norman Stahl
2004 Carol Bader, Nancy Bornstein, David Caverly, Phoebe Helm, Lucy MacDonald, Georgine Materniak, Gladys Shaw
2001 Kathy Carpenter, John Roueche, Claire Ellen Weinstein
2000 Founding Fellows
David Arendale, Hunter Boylan, Martha Casazza, Frank Christ, K. Patricia Cross, Alvin Granowsky, Gene Kerstiens, Martha Maxwell, Cathy Nuse, Walter Pauk, Michael Rose, Karen Smith, Milton “Bunk” Spann
The NCLCA Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center Award provides national recognition to the work done by learning centers and fosters their future growth and development.
Each year, NCLCA may recognize two learning assistance centers for excellence: one two-year college (Technical, Community, etc.) and one four-year college or university. Awards will be announced and presented each year at the annual conference.
For details on applying for the award and for a list of past winners of the NCLCA Frank L. Christ Outstanding Learning Center, visit the NCLCA website at https://nclca.wildapricot.org/FChrist_Award/
Current CRLA awards and past winners including the Rick Sheets Outstanding Tutor Award.
Learning Support Centers in Higher Education
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