Professional Development
• “3 million years ago when dinosaurs stalked
the Earth”
– What comes to mind when you hear the words
“PE dinosaur”
• That will be YOU in 20 years
– You will be a dinosaur, but
what kind will you be?
• An older version of the same
person who graduated
OR
• A true professional, learning,
growing and adapting to combine
knowledge & experience
– Be wary of large asteroids though
Quote
• Getting your degree means that you are a
third of the way there in terms of what you
need to be an excellent PE teacher.
– Really, CCSU is giving you a credential to continue
to grow “on the job” professionally
• View PD as part of the job rather than an
optional adjunct to it.
Definition of PD
• All types of professional learning undertaken
by all teachers beyond the initial point of
training. (Craft, 1996, p. 6)
• Goal – positive and specific impact upon
student learning
Organizing PD
• Professional development should involve
teachers in the identification of what they need
to learn and, when possible, the process to be
used.
• Professional development should provide
learning opportunities that relate to individual
needs but are, for the most part, organized
around collaborative problem solving.
– The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few
(?)
Organizing PD
• Professional development should be
continuous and ongoing, involving follow up
and support for further learning
– Not a one-shot deal
– What are some examples of follow up?
• Just like in class, get people involved and
active during PD experiences
– Don’t put people to sleep in their chairs
Regular,
consistent,
variable, and
continuous
professiona
developmen
…new give
up
Organizing PD
• Department chairs (or AD’s or
district PE coordinator)
typically organizes PD
– Department chairs and
coordinators must see both
worlds, that of a teacher and
administrator.
– PD can also be organized by a
proactive teacher
Program and Teacher Evaluation
- Professional Development
• Meet as a physical education department to address:
– Achievement of standards
– Improvements to the curriculum
– New upcoming projects/initiatives
• Finding the time to meet:
– Meeting can be an obstacle for elementary teachers who may feel
isolated.
– Middle school and high school teachers find it difficult to meet
professionally due to scheduling, coaching, and non-PE faculty
development.
– Teachers must MAKE the time, not look for a convenient time.
Otherwise, such vital meetings often do not take place.
Types of PD
• What types of professional development
experiences have you heard of or have
experience with?
Types of PD
• On-site
– Physical best training
– WSI, CPR, First Aid Certification
– Contact local university
– Team challenge training (ropes facilitation)
– Organizations such as USTA
– Sport specific training (teachers teaching
teachers)
Types of PD
• On-Site
– Review NASPE documents (appropriate practices,
PE T eval tool, etc)
– Reading professional journals (each person
presents an article of meaning to them)
– Care to Share (dept chair provides internet
search parameters and teachers come in with
internet based “research” which is shared with
colleagues)
• You Tube; wikiPE
Types of PD
• On-Site
– Self-reflection through recall and/or videotaped
lessons
– Hosting a student teacher (contact Office of Field
Experiences after 3 years)
Types of PD
• Off-site
– Sport specific (group tennis lesson,)
– Conferences
– Certification in adventure facilitation
– Virtual learning created by the school district, a
university, or corporate entity (great to have
Pipeline online)
Types of PD
• Pop-Corn Method - Often a valuable
experience can be simply sitting down with
other PE teachers in your district or others
with a set of guiding questions
– What new activity did you learning recently?
– What change have you made that worked out for
the better?
– How are you measuring student learning?
Types of PD
• Pop-Corn Method is built around this idea:
– But I think we can learn from the people here, I
suppose I didn’t even realise (Eng. Sp.) that help is
sort of around the corner and that there’s, a deep
well of abilities and talents and ideas that you can
tap into right in your own school (Loughran &
Gunstone, 1997, p. 173)
NASPE PD
• Pipeline Workshops
– http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/pipeline/
– Topics include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Instructional Practices: Elementary, Secondary or K-12 Physical Education
Assessment Strategies: Elementary or Secondary Physical Education
Curriculum Development: K-12 Physical Education
Integrating Technology: K-12 Physical Education
Teaching Dance in Physical Education: Elementary or Secondary PE
6) LET’S GET MOVING: Physical Activity for Children Ages 3-5
– Each full-day workshop is $2,500 (up to 50),
includes materials and presenter honorarium and
travel expenses.
Whole School PD
• Often not meaningful for PE teachers due to
the different focus of our discipline
– OK to periodically request the PE staff conduct its
own PD in lieu of the whole school PD
• When asking, present a plan or topic you would like to
address and a rationale
Connecticut Requirements
• CT SDE Overview of PD
– http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2641
&q=320428
• CEU’s – Continuing Education Units
– http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2613
&q=321400
Potential Obstacles
•
•
•
•
Cost
Class coverage (cost as well)
Location/distance
Quality of the presenter (rated highly)
Potential
Obstacles
Partner Work
• Design your own PD experience for the
individuals at your school (MS, HS) or those
teachers at your grade level (ES).
Resources
• New Jersey PD manual for Health and PE
• The National Staff Development Council
(NSDC) created "Designing Powerful
Professional Development for Teachers and
Principals,"
– Available FREE at http://www.nsdc.org/
Conclusion
• Endeavor to make professional development meaningful.
Don’t give in to the cynicism.
• Every year, you should be a better teacher than the year
before
• Don’t be a bad dinosaur, stay up on new information, teaching
models/styles, activities, assessments, etc
• Part of being a professional is growing and staying current.
Would you want to have knee surgery with a doctor who
graduated in 1988 and still uses the same technique.
– Of course not, neither do your students
References
• Armour, K. M. & Yelling, M. R. (2004). Continuing
Professional development for experienced PE
teachers: Towards effective provision. Sport,
Education and Society, 9(1), 95-114.
• JOPERD (1999). How much time should teachers
devote to PD?. JOPERD, 70(7), 12.
• Mohnsen, B. (1998). Professional development:
When you want it and where you want it. JOPERD,
69(2), 14-17.