PROFESSIONAL DEVEL0PMENT PROJECT

For a graduate course at the University of Maine, I have conceptualized a professional development workshop that would be proposed to the Penobscot Nation Culture and Heritage Preservation Department staff.

This post will present a framework for a workshop to assist Penobscot Cultural and Historic Preservation Office staff with updating multimedia educational materials to support revitalization of the Penobscot language.

Title

Workshop to assist Penobscot Cultural and Historic Preservation Office staff with updating multimedia educational materials to support revitalization of the Penobscot language

Timeframe

The timeframe would be tentatively in Spring 2026. An initial meeting would be requested to present the project proposal in December 2025 or January 2026. The objective would be to obtain interest and commitment of the Penobscot Cultural and Heritage Preservation Office (CHPO) staff. This is a critical first step (Davis, 2015).

Audience

The target audience is the Penobscot Cultural & Historic Preservation Office (CHPO) staff. The CHPO has three staff: director, tribal historic preservation officer, and language coordinator. These staff are well-qualified, culturally knowledgeable; and have technical expertise as evidenced by the currently available language resources posted on the media webpage. 

Overview

This project is designed to support the Penobscot CHPO staff in their mission to “revitalize, sustain, and encourage the use of the Penobscot language by providing continuing education opportunities” (Cultural & Historic Preservation – Penobscot Nation). This project is relevant to the CHPO long-term focus and reflects good timing to their recent activities in language revitalization (Davis, 2015). The Penobscot CHPO webpages include digital language resources, with the most significant postings between 2013 and 2016. Those language media webpages have been mostly unchanged except for a posting in November 2024.

The specific goals are to assist the CHPO staff with a literature search, collection, and documentation of legacy recordings of Penobscot language speakers; to create a digital registry; and to update the Penobscot language media resources with legacy recordings of Penobscot language speakers. 

The last reputed first language Penobscot speaker, Madeline Tomer Shay, passed away in 1993. There are many recordings of Madeline Shay, some of which are featured on the CHPO webpages. There are also two other speakers represented among the currently available language recordings. This limited sample size of Penobscot speaker recordings is a vulnerability of the Penobscot language program. The current program was designed by Penobscot staff who acquired the Penobscot language as a second language, who may be referred to as L2 speakers. Further, those L2 speakers have relied heavily on the works of the late Frank T. Siebert, Jr. The Siebert works included an updated writing system and an extensive bilingual manuscript or dictionary. While monumental, other linguists have remarked that the “Siebert-based spelling” produced regularized transcriptions, causing pronunciation “variances (to be) essentially silenced” (Dana, 24). At this juncture, adding more recordings of Penobscot language speakers would provide a wider range of voices and present the variations in pronunciation of the Penobscot language.

Workshop Learning Objectives

1. Complete a literature search of recordings of Penobscot language speakers, both in legacy media (VHS, cassette, CD) held in Penobscot Nation archives and more broadly in digital archives or collections (Day 1).
2. Create a digital asset registry of recordings of Penobscot language speakers, using spreadsheets or database applications (Day 2).
3. Screen, select, and publish recordings of Penobscot language speakers to the CHPO language media webpages (Days 3 and 4).

Format

The project would be completed in a four-day workshop held at the Penobscot Nation CHPO and museum. The specific dates would be contingent on CHPO staff agreement and scheduling.

Day 1: 

Morning Session:

1. Administer Pre-Test following the Kirkpatrick model (Martin et al., 2014, ch. 23) to assess prior knowledge and experience of CHPO staff in workshop content.
2. Search for Penobscot language recordings
   • Facilitate discussion about the significance of additional recordings both legacy media and digital versions.
   • Conduct search of physical archives for legacy media (VHS, cassette, CD) held by Penobscot Nation; and at Indian Island School library.  

Afternoon Session:

1. Conduct a broad based literature search of digital archives and collections.
2. Assess search results of both physical media and digital media.
3. Identify any legacy recordings that may need to be converted to current digital formats.
4.  Compile a list of findings

Day 2: 

Morning Session:

1. Introduce the purpose of digital asset registers and highlight the Digital Preservation Coalition.
2. Adapt curriculum based on Digital Preservation Coalition PowerPoint presentation about digital asset registers. 
3. Discuss elements of digital asset management and establish a framework (data fields, metadata) for records to be input into a Penobscot digital asset registry.

Afternoon Session:

1. Create a Penobscot digital asset registry
2. Populate digital asset register, including links to Penobscot language recordings.

Day 3: 

Morning Session:

1. Review digital asset register of Penobscot language recordings.
2. Discuss selection criteria, including metadata associated with recordings, such as name of Penobscot speaker, dates or period of recording, and other relevant information to provide context of speaker, event, or subject area.
3. Screen language recordings. Time allocation to be based on the number and length of recordings. 

Afternoon Session:

1. Screen language recordings. Time allocation to be on the number and length of recordings.
2. Select recordings for publication on Penobscot CHPO language media webpages.

Day 4: 

Morning Session:

1. Publish language recordings to Penobscot CHPO language media webpages. This may require technical support from Penobscot Nation IT staff.
2. Test and verify that recordings are accessible.

Afternoon Session:

1. Reflection on workshop activities:
   • Acquisition of legacy recordings of Penobscot speakers
   • Creation of a digital asset registry
   • Publication of recordings to CHPO media webpages
2. A post test would be administered.  

Outcomes and Evaluation

The quantitative evidence that would best reflect achievement of project goals would be a digital registry of Penobscot language recordings and publication of additional recordings of past Penobscot language speakers on the Penobscot language media webpages. To achieve those outcomes, “backward” planning methods as described by Thomas Guskey (Martin, 452, 461) have been incorporated. Altogether, these would support the CHPO goal to revitalize, sustain, and encourage the use of the Penobscot language.  

A pre-test and a post test will be developed with theKirkpatrick evaluation model and administered to CHPO staff, for assessing reaction, learning, behavior, and results–on a Likert scale. Test results would be analyzed to assess workshop delivery and content, and levels of new knowledge and learning acquired by the CHPO staff.

Other Considerations

1. This project would require approval by the Penobscot Nation, and follow the protocols for cultural and intellectual property established by the Penobscot Chief and Council.
2. Additional approvals may be needed to obtain permission to conduct a search of Penobscot Nation archives for language recordings located in repositories owned by Penobscot Nation.
3. Approval of the School Board and Indian Island School Principal would be needed to collect any language recordings maintained at Indian Island School library. 
4. Financial support may be needed from the Penobscot Chief and Council, to accomplish the project goals. CHPO staff would request support.
5. Administrative support for procurement and technical assistance may be needed for this project, for a contractor to convert legacy media to current digital formats.
6. Technical support may be needed to publish recordings of Penobscot speakers to the CHPO language media webpages.
7. There may be a need to conduct follow-up after the workshop, to assist CHPO staff with periodic updates to the multimedia resources, and to perform refresher training, as needed.

Works Cited (some are graduate course materials)

Cultural & Historic Preservation – Penobscot Nation. (2025, March 26). Penobscot Nation. https://www.penobscotnation.org/departments/cultural-historic-preservation/

Dana, C. A., Lukens, M., & Quinn, C. M. (2021). “Still they remember me.” In University of Massachusetts Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1rnpj52

Davis, V. (2015, April 15). 8 top tips for highly effective PD. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/top-tips-highly-effective-pd-vicki-davis

King, K. P. (2017). Technology and innovation in adult learning. John Wiley & Sons.

Kirkpatrick Partners, LLC. (2025, November 25). What is The Kirkpatrick Model? / Kirkpatrick. https://www.kirkpatrickpartners.com/the-kirkpatrick-model/

Martin, L. E., Kragler, S., Quatroche, D. J., & Bauserman, K. L. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of professional development in education : Successful models and practices, prek-12. Guilford Publications. 

Media – Penobscot Nation. (2025, March 26). Penobscot Nation.