For additional listings, check out the Event Listings and click on "Program Support" or any of our priority areas any time.
PSPD offers individual and program-based coaching for staff in any role looking to grow and strengthen their practice in any of our key priority areas, which include educational leadership and program management, advising, career pathways, digital literacy, and ADA coordination. We also offer individual coaching and support for those looking to acquire a professional ABE license. If interested, please submit a Contact Us request.
All PD offerings are online and facilitated unless indicated otherwise.
Professional Development: “On Demand” When Your Schedule Allows! (Self-Paced Modules)
Different times work best for busy adult educators to attend PD. Did you know you can access PD when it’s most convenient for you? Visit our online asynchronous courses, including series that focus on Digital Literacy and Advising. You can find these courses on the Program Support's On-Demand PD Google Site, which offers more than 30 sessions organized according to seven strands.
Advising & Student Support Services
Advising Community of Practice Launch Week (Self-Paced)
Have you been looking for a way to connect with other advisors? Join us as we launch the online Advising Community of Practice (CoP), a space for advisors to collaborate, network, share resources, and solve tricky situations together. The Advising CoP is a Canvas-based discussion platform for advisors in adult education programs in Massachusetts. It includes a resource page and discussion forums that are set up to allow advisors to ask and answer questions, share best practices, share resources, and work through common challenges related to their role. It can be accessed anywhere and anytime by busy advisors looking for support. Everyone is welcome to participate, either by adding their own questions or requests or responding to others. A moderator will ensure that all questions receive a response, that all responses and resources are shared correctly, and that all topics are timely, relevant, and appropriate.
- Dec. 1, 2025 | 9:00 a.m.
- Dec. 2, 2025 | 9:00 a.m.
- Dec. 3, 2025 | 9:00 a.m.
- Dec. 4, 2025 | 9:00 a.m.
- Dec. 5, 2025 | 9:00 a.m.
Support Staff Sharing Groups are peer-facilitated meetings where support staff provide program updates, discuss and troubleshoot common challenges, and share resources, promising practices, and more. This group is open to anyone who works in an adult education program and provides support staff services.
- Dec. 11, 2025 | 10-11:30 a.m.
Career Pathways
MassSTEP Sharing Group meetings provide an opportunity for anyone working on a MassSTEP program to connect with their peers and brainstorm solutions to common challenges together. MassSTEP Sharing Group meetings are open to anyone who works as part of a MassSTEP program, regardless of title or role. In each meeting, we address a different topic that is relevant to your work at the moment and what’s happening in your program.
- Dec. 11, 2025 | 3-4:30 p.m.
Digital Literacy
Differentiating Instruction with Newsela
Learn ways to leverage Newsela's auto-differentiation tools to support learners as they access diverse text content, engage with new information, and express new knowledge.
- Nov. 21, 2025 | 10-11:30 a.m.
EdTech in Action: Instruction with ScreenPal (Online Blended)
EdTech in Action sessions are your chance to explore and engage with educational technology—the ideas, tools, and techniques that use digital technology to facilitate changes in knowledge, skills, or attitudes. Each session introduces a new EdTech tool and presents two replicable EdTech routines that you can adapt for your classroom or for administrative use to build students' digital skills. In this second session, you will learn about using ScreenPal as an instructional tool—not just for the classroom, but for program onboarding as well.
- Dec. 1, 2025 | Part 1: open for pre-work
- Dec. 11, 2025 | Part 2: 1-2:30 p.m.
- Dec. 18, 2025 | Part 3: Reflection Activity thru Jan. 8, 2025
Educational Leadership
Directors must balance complex staff and student needs, local policies and protocols, and state guidance as they design, lead, and adapt programs, instructional practices, and program culture. The Directors Sharing Group is a peer-facilitated opportunity for directors to network, share resources and strategies, ask questions, and learn from and with one another.
- Dec. 3, 2025 | 2-3:30 p.m.
LACES
Measurable Skill Gains in LACES
This training will provide an overview of the various Measurable Skill Gains (MSG) types and their impact on your data.
- Dec. 9, 2025 | 1-2:30 p.m.
LACES Follow-Up Surveys – Not Just Messaging!
This training discusses Table 5 outcomes and the process of conducting follow-up with students. The NRS Table 5 reports on employment and credentials obtained after students exit the program as an indicator of performance. This training describes the criteria for students to be reported on Table 5 and to qualify for Table 5 outcomes. We will also share suggestions for identifying students who need follow-up, conducting follow-ups, and entering data about students’ employment and educational progress after exiting your program.
- Dec. 10, 2025 | 11:00 a.m.-1 p.m.
