Capacity Building Plan for Trainers, Coaches and other Professional Development Specialists 

Research has shown that young children thrive and learn when they have positive and secure relationships with caring and knowledgeable adults who support their health, development and learning, and are attuned to their individual progress. To consistently and effectively perform this important, dynamic, complex and challenging work, early educators need professional preparation and ongoing professional learning opportunities

Therefore, ECE³ Alliance aim to develop a capacity building plan for trainers, coaches, and other professional development specialists in Hawaiʻi. Early childhood professionals have an ethical duty to stay current and relevant because they are helping develop the next generation of leaders. These professional learning opportunities should be provided by well-prepared and well-supported trainers or facilitators of professional learning. 

One of the strategies through the ECE³ Project has been offering a seminar on how to design effective and meaningful training for potential trainers, coaches, and preschool directors who want to learn how to provide adult learners with ongoing professional learning opportunities. This seminar was offered by HonCC instructors through a three and half day interactive seminar called “Building Bridges”. Through this course, participants learned about the needs and characteristics of adult learners, a wide range of training strategies, how to develop relevant training outcomes, and increased their knowledge of training design. Upon completion of this course, participants were eligible to become Professional and Career Education for Early Childhood (PACE) instructors through HonCC.