Alison Gardiner
Column-editor : James M. Mensch and James M. Mensch
Dena Deglau, Phillip Ward, Mary O’Sullivan and Kim Bush
Erin E. Centeio, Heather Erwin and Darla M. Castelli
As public health concerns about physical inactivity and childhood obesity continue to rise, researchers are calling for interventions that comprehensively lead to more opportunities to participate in physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and attitudes of trained physical education teachers during the implementation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program at the elementary level. Using a collective case study design, interviews, observations, field notes, open-ended survey questions, and an online forum monitoring guided the interpretation of teacher perceptions and development of emergent themes. Qualitative data analysis was conducted for each individual teacher and then across the ten teachers which produced four major themes: (a) Leading the Charge: Ready, Set, Go!, (b) Adoption versus Adaptation: Implementation Varies, (c) Social Media’s Place in the Professional Development (PD) Community, and (d) Keys to Successful Implementation. It can be concluded that, based on these findings, elementary physical education teachers are ready and willing to implement CSPAP. Key factors that may influence this implementation are discussed.
Natalie Jayne Lander, Lisa Michele Barnett, Helen Brown and Amanda Telford
The purpose of this study was to investigate instruction and assessment of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) by Physical Education (PE) teachers of Year 7 girls. Of 168 secondary school PE teachers, many had received little FMSs professional development, and although most assessed student FMSs proficiency, the quality of assessment was variable. Neither years of experience nor confidence influenced the quality of assessment tools used; however, greater FMSs training improved assessment practice regularity. Teachers more recently out of preservice were more confident in demonstrating FMSs. The results suggest that FMSs education for teachers should be a priority inclusion in both the training of preservice teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers.
Anna Stodter and Christopher J. Cushion
Recent perspectives concerning the learning and professional development of sport coaches have underlined a need to investigate social, relational, contextual and theoretical issues in increasingly sophisticated and pragmatic empirical approaches ( Lyle, 2018 ; Townsend, Cushion, & Smith, 2017
Stephen M. Roth
Higher education faculty have many responsibilities, with teaching as arguably the most public of those yet also the task for which many are least prepared. Professional development around teaching and learning can provide faculty with the knowledge and skills needed to improve student learning while also improving job satisfaction. The present paper describes the use of faculty learning communities as a best practice for professional development around teaching. Such communities engage a group of participants over time and provide a way to impart knowledge and resources around teaching and learning, encourage application of new skills in the classroom, and evaluate and refect on the effectiveness of those trials. Research shows that time spent in faculty learning communities translates into improvements in both teaching effectiveness and student learning. Resources are provided for administrators interested in developing and supporting faculty learning communities around teaching and learning.
Nathalie Aelterman, Maarten Vansteenkiste, Lynn Van den Berghe, Jotie De Meyer and Leen Haerens
The present intervention study examined whether physical education (PE) teachers can learn to make use of autonomy-supportive and structuring teaching strategies. In a sample of 39 teachers (31 men, M = 38.51 ± 10.44 years) and 669 students (424 boys, M = 14.58 ± 1.92 years), we investigated whether a professional development training grounded in self-determination theory led to changes in (a) teachers’ beliefs about the effectiveness and feasibility of autonomy-supportive and structuring strategies and (b) teachers’ in-class reliance on these strategies, as rated by teachers, external observers, and students. The intervention led to positive changes in teachers’ beliefs regarding both autonomy support and structure. As for teachers’ actual teaching behavior, the intervention was successful in increasing autonomy support according to students and external observers, while resulting in positive changes in teacher-reported structure. Implications for professional development and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Jana L. Fogaca, Jack C. Watson II and Sam J. Zizzi
trainees’ development, would be know-how (i.e., intake, treatment plan, and execution) and professional development (i.e., reflections, working principles, and coping with dilemmas). A weakness of this study, however, was that it relied on supervisees’ notes on what they would like to discuss in
Andy Gillham, Michael Doscher, Jim Krumpos, Michelle Martin Diltz, Nate Moe, Shepard Allen and Reese Bridgeman
that they recognize the need to be more flexible and adapt to current situations the longer they coach. Interestingly, SCC have also commented that their professional development had to include activities focused on managing relationships with athletes, coaches, and administrators while simultaneously