NCTE's Pathways for Advancing Adolescent Literacy is a yearlong professional development experience that focuses on building teacher knowledge to advance student success. The structure and content are based on the NCTE Principles of Effective Professional Development and the NCTE Principles of Adolescent Literacy Reform,
Scroll down to learn more and to find answers to frequently asked questions including pricing information.
Pathways helps teachers who are asking questions such as:
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How can I support my students as readers and writers while at the same time teaching content?
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We're concerned about the achievement gap. We've identified particular segments of our population that are not achieving at the same levels. What do we do next?
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We hear so much talk about students not being motivated. Is there really anything we can do about this?
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With the current emphasis on testing, how do we support our students without compromising what we know constitutes good teaching?
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What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century and what are the implications for our teaching and professional development?
How Does Pathways Work?
Pathways begins with building teacher knowledge around the questions that matter most to you.
Examine inquiry questions to determine directions & priorities
- Choose from research statements to determine the articles you want to read and discuss
- Use “My Notes” feature to annotate your readings
- Participate in discussion forums with your colleagues and nationally-recognized experts
Then Pathways provides opportunities to extend your knowledge.
- Access “In the Classroom” resources to adapt and try strategies and lessons
- Join on-line discussions about your experiences
- Participate in face-to-face and online discussions with colleagues in your learning team
- Utilize web seminars and NCTE’s audio library from nationally recognized experts
- Access peer-reviewed publications on numerous topics
Throughout the journey, assess your knowledge and reflect on teaching that advances student learning.
- Identify what data you will use to determine directions & priorities
- Identify professional development objectives in your ePortfolio
- Log how you are using new strategies in your ePortfolio
- Upload student artifacts associated with specific professional development goals
- Use the Report features to keep track of your activities & progress
What makes this experience different from other PD experiences? NCTE’s Pathways is not a one-size-fits-all program and much more dynamic than an online course. There are multiple pathways to pursue based on upon your local needs. Additionally, the Pathways community features provide continual opportunities to share your thoughts or questions with colleagues and leading literacy scholars via the team and national discussion forums. All experiences are grounded in NCTE's Principles of Professional Development.
What level teachers does it support? Grades 6-12.
Why should I enroll a cross-discliplanry team in Pathways? The Pathways experiences are intended to support cross-disciplinary teams of teachers who are interested in exploring ways to support adolescent students with the literacy challenges they face in all of their classes, whether those challenges be with reading, writing, speaking, thinking, or listening, and whether they occur in the science, math, social studies, or English classroom.
Content Area Teachers Will…..
- Learn strategies to help readers succeed with complex texts they encounter across the disciplines.
- Incorporate writing to learn strategies in content classrooms.
Administrators Will…..
- Support their faculty with a cutting-edge professional development experience.
- Deepen their understanding about what quality teaching looks like and how that is the single greatest indicator of student achievement.
Staff Developers and Curriculum Coordinators Will ….
- Engage teachers in a professional development model that is easily implemented at the local level.
- Gain inspiration and ideas from leading literacy consultants who are working in districts around the country.
Librarians and Media Specialists Will…
- Learn practical solutions to combat censorship
- Consider strategies for motivating adolescents to engage with young adult literature that interests them.
Reading Specialists Will…
- Engage with the leading educational research and assessment and teaching strategies
- Stay abreast of the latest resources and trends in literacy education.
Team or individual?
- The Individual enrollment option is intended for those educators who wish to engage in a deep professional learning experience but do not have such opportunities offered through their school.
- The Team enrollment option supports the collaborative needs of teams with added features including Site Facilitator training, a team discussion forum, a common location for shared team files, team voucher for supplemental PD resources from NCTE. Teams might consist of educators from a school or district, state groups such as affiliates or language arts coordinators, or any other group that wishes to engage with professional resources in an online environment that promotes collaboration and communication.
How much does it cost to participate?
- Individuals: $119 (member)/$159 (non-member)
- Teams: Team pricing is based on the number of team members. The cost is $500 plus $150 x the number of team members. So if you have 5 team members the price is $500 + $750 = $1250. If you have 10 or more team members the per person price is discounted to $135 per person. So the cost for a team of 10 is $500 + $1350 = $1850. The base price of $500 covers the cost of the site facilitator training, membership and subscription to 3 NCTE journals for the site facilitator, team support tools (private team discussion forum and file sharing area). The team pricing also includes a team voucher valued at $25 x the number of team members, so a team of 10 receives a voucher valued at $250 that can be used toward other NCTE resources or services (such as books, memberships, journals, convention registration, consulting services, etc.).
Do I have to enroll at a certain time of year?
No! Because of the self-paced, self-directed format of Pathways, participants can enroll at any time during the year. You will receive one full year of access from the date that you enroll.
Why have schools chosen to participate in Pathways?
- Integrates easily into existing professional development structures and priorities
- Offers sustained professional development that continues beyond the one-day workshop model
- Includes tools to assess teacher and student learning
- Creates a professional community for teachers across the disciplines and a national network of educators who value professional learning and collaboration
- Provides access to a variety of multimodal resources in an online environment
Why choose online professional development vs. face to face? NCTE’s Pathways supports professional learning communities who operate face-to-face and/or in an online environment. Local school-based study groups can continue to interact in face-to-face meetings and enhance their learning by expanding their conversations to a national audience of peers. The online environment also allows schools to engage with a wider range of resources at an affordable price. For teams such as affiliates of professional organizations that are not centrally located, Pathways offers the ability to communicate and share team files in one central location.
Who serves as site facilitators? Typically school districts identify a potential Site Facilitator from within their staff, e.g., reading specialist, literacy coach, curriculum coordinator, instructional resource teacher. Site Facilitators should demonstrate qualities such as:
- experience in mentoring adults and facilitating professional learning;
- involvement in learning from their own practice and ability to support colleagues in the same process
- knowledge in the field of literacy and literacy research consistent with NCTE and Initiative goals and philosophies;
- knowledge of language development theory, practice, and research;
- ability to work with the educational change process in a skilled and humane way.
What if we do not have someone who is able to serve in the site facilitator role?
NCTE’s Professional Development Consulting Network offers a range of experienced consultants who can serve as your site facilitator remotely and/or lead on-site professional development experiences in your school/district. Contact NCTE Professional Development staff to learn more.
What are the minimum technical requirements to participate in Pathways?
Participants must have internet access. Minimum operating system requirements: Microsoft Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4.x or Windows 2000, Windows XP, Macintosh System 7 or current version of UNIX/Linux. For full information, visit http://www.ncte.org/profdev/online/adlit/125090.htm.
What research base informs the experiences?
The Pathways experiences and resources draw on multiple research bases including inquiry & constructivist learning theory (Grennon, Brooks & Brooks, National Center for Research on Teacher Learning), school change research (Darling-Hammond, Joyce & Showers), and the wealth of literacy research that has been conducted over the past thirty years. See http://www.ncte.org/profdev/online/adlit/126069.htm for full research citations and to view the Adolescent Literacy Pathways Research Statements.
What steps should I take to join? Go to http://www.ncte.org/profdev/online/adlit/125093.htm to learn more or enroll in the Adolescent Literacy Pathway.
Questions on Pathways or other NCTE PD opportunities?
Contact NCTE’s E-Learning Coordinator at or call 800/369-6283 x3627.
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