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The purpose of this evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of the use of Learning Portfolios (LP) as an alternative to the traditional professional development activities used for recertification requirements.

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1. Have on-time recertification
applications increased through the increased learning opportunities available
through the Learning Portfolio project?

2. Are Learning Portfolio participants more
satisfied with the recertification process?

3. How are participants using what they learned
from their portfolio projects as part of the scope of their duties at the
library?

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Staff Participants

Staff Supervisor

Staff Development Coordinators

Library Directors

State Library Employees

Maryland State Department of Education

Library Patrons

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Example of Completed Portfolio from the Beta Test

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Example of Completed Portfolio from the Beta Test

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Maryland libraries fall within the scope of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). In fact, the rules that govern the education goals of a public librarian are very similar to those of a teacher. Public Librarians must keep a record of their professional development activities for a five year period. This record is then used to document that 90 clock hours of training has taken place during the past five years. While librarians can be considered educators, they are different from the traditional educators and so are their professional development needs. There is currently a shift towards informal and microlearning. This type of non-traditional learning needs a different approach toward documentation than the original methods. To address this need, the Division od Library Development and Services developed Learning Portfolio as a way to track the informal and microlearning as an alternative of tracking professional development.

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1. Archival records will be used to collect the number of recertification applications that were submitted late vs ontime.

-compare % submitted late prior to LP vs after LP

-compare % submissions that utilized LP

2. Surveys utilizing the Likert-scale will be used to gauge the participant satisfaction with the Learning Portfolio Project usage for recertification.

3. Combination of survey and observation will be used to collect qualitative data about the skillsets