that PE teachers experienced support from their local context during the pandemic, through informal communities that emerged as a vehicle for CPD ( Howley, 2021 ). Indeed, there is a growing body of research supporting teachers’ communities such as communities of practice (CoPs) as a less formal
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Heidi J. Ferreira, Luiza Gonçalves, and Melissa Parker
Tan Leng Goh and Kristin Scrabis-Fletcher
teachers, administrators, and other school-based resources) to overcome possible barriers in implementing effective and sustainable school-based PA programs. According to Webster, Beets, et al. ( 2015 ), forming communities of practice (CoP) is a strategy for bridging the external–internal resources to
Melissa Parker, Kevin Patton, Matthew Madden, and Christina Sinclair
Despite the benefits associated with teacher development through participation in communities of practice, many questions about these groups remain unanswered. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a group of elementary physical education teachers as a community of practice whose objective was to develop and disseminate district-wide elementary curriculum. Participants included four teachers, the district curriculum coordinator, and project facilitators. Results identify the importance of a catalyst, a vision for students and the project, the importance of support, the significance of personal and professional relationships, and the realization of empowerment as critical. Ultimately, the development of curriculum was a meaningful, purposeful, and authentic task that allowed the transformation of this group. Adhering to the assumption that learning takes place within social practice, these data provide valuable insight as to the contexts that underlie the ability to mediate change, the relationships between individuals, and their ability to transform individual and group identity.
Paul Garner and Denise M. Hill
Given the enduring focus of coach education on the development of professional knowledge (e.g., technique, strategy, and tactics), the current study aimed to explore how a Community of Practice (CoP) impacted coach development of interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge. Côté and Gilbert’s (2009) definition of coaching expertise was used as a model to observe learning in a community of practice (CoP; Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). A total of eight internationally qualified ski coaches (aged 27–44 years) took part in weekly meetings over a period of six weeks, with the lead researcher cultivating a CoP and ensuring coaching issues were the focus of discussion. Meetings were audio-recorded and the data transcribed and analysed thematically. Results revealed that coaches developed both interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge through enhanced emotional intelligence, gaining an athlete-centred approach, storytelling, group reflection and changing role frames. The findings are positioned within the extant literature, with implication for coach education practice identified.
John Stoszkowski and Dave Collins
A reflective approach to practice is consistently espoused as a key tool for understanding and enhancing coach learning and raising the vocational standards of coaches. As such, there is a clear need for practical tools and processes that might facilitate the development and measurement of “appropriate” reflective skills. The aim of this preliminary study was to explore the use of online blogs as a tool to support refection and community of practice in a cohort of undergraduate sports coaching students. Twenty-six students (6 females, 20 males) reflected on their coaching practice via blogs created specifically for refection. Blogs were subjected to category and content analysis to identify the focus of entries and to determine both the emergent reflective quality of posts and the extent to which an online community of practice emerged. Findings revealed that descriptive refection exceeded that of a critical nature, however, bloggers exhibited a positive trajectory toward higher order thinking and blogs were an effective platform for supporting tutor-student interaction. Despite the peer discourse features of blogs, collaborative refection was conspicuous by its absence and an online community of practice did not emerge.
Rachael Bertram, Diane M. Culver, and Wade Gilbert
Coach education researchers have suggested that coaches require ongoing support for their continued learning and development after initial certification. Communities of practice have been used in a variety of settings, and have been identified as an effective means for supporting coach learning and development. However, researchers have yet to fully explore the value that can be created through participating in them within sport settings. The purpose of this study was to collaboratively design, implement, and assess the value created within a coach community of practice, using Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat’s (2011) Value Creation Framework. Participants included five youth sport coaches from a soccer organization. Data collection included observations and reflections from the first author throughout the study, two individual interviews with each coach, and interactions via an online discussion platform. The findings revealed that the coaches created value within each of the five cycles of value creation in Wenger and colleagues’ framework, and that they created value that was personally relevant to their immediate coaching needs. The coaches’ learning led to an increase in perceived coaching abilities.
Robin J. Dunn and Sarah A. Doolittle
limited time for PE as it is and thus, adding this component, adds a layer of complication by potentially disrupting their content delivery. Communities of Practice An extension of collaborations among university-based educators and school or community-based teachers and coaches is the concept of
Pete Van Mullem and Kirk Mathias
aspect of coach development that has received considerable attention among sport researchers is communities of practice (CoP; Bertram, Culver, & Gilbert, 2017 ; Culver et al, 2019 ; Gilbert et al., 2009 ). A CoP is a group of people who share commonalities either through an issue, a set of problems
Michael W. Metzler, Jacalyn L. Lund, and Rachel Gurvitch
Ryan Snelgrove and Laura Wood
) and cognitive theory ( Korthagen, 2010 ). The SLT holds that learning occurs within a community of practice through interactive experiences to develop the skills necessary to perform in that setting ( Lave & Wenger, 1991 ). Therefore, students learn by being a part of a team that actively engages in