Relationship Based Professional Development Consultation
"If the first law of consulting is that there's always a problem, the second -- which is trickier -- is to be sure you're solving the right problem." Unknown
Consultation can be defined as a relationship in work or educational settings in which the consultant facilitates the resolution of specific work related issues pertaining to individuals, clients or programs.
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Consultation goals are designed to identify individual or program needs and implement solutions that address these issues.
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Consultation relationships rely on the process and subject expertise of the consultant; they include the client and other available resources in applying a process approach to identified work related issues.
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Consultation is time and task focused (more than two contacts with the same individual), and provides information and expertise to strengthen work-related skills.
There are many types of consultation. Within the Early Childhood Development domain (not including special education) these include but are not limited to:
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Best practices
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Curriculum and/or lesson planning
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Training, staff development
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Educational environments (design)
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Observation (i.e., classrooms, teaching style, etc.)
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Literacy
There are a number of free-lance consultants who offer their services to specific populations -- in our case early childhood educators. However, many of these consultants do not list pricing information on their websites.
Consultation can play an important role in helping to ensure that teachers are able to best meet the needs of the children they work with. Han, Catron, Weiss, and Marciel (2005) examined a program's effectiveness in a pre-kindergarten intervention program that "was based around a teacher-consultation model, in which teachers are supported in their implementation of the classroom program through ongoing in-classroom consultation to ensure correct implementation and adaptation".
The results of this study show preliminary support for the teacher-consultation model for training teachers in implementing a school-based mental health program (Han, Catron, Weiss, & Marciel, 2005).
The Minnesota Center for Professional Development has adopted a set of Core Competencies for Effective Consultation. Consultation requires keen observation, problem solving skills, as well as effective communication. The following skills and competencies are important for developing a meaningful consultation relationship with a client. These competencies build upon the foundational General Core Competencies for Relationship Based Professional Development.
