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
Search Results
Physical Education Teachers’ Experiences of Nurturing a Community of Practice Online
Heidi J. Ferreira, Luiza Gonçalves, and Melissa Parker
Community of Practice: Preparing Preservice Teachers to Lead Movement Integration in a School–University Partnered Program
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
Initiating and Sustaining a Teacher-Initiated Community of Practice as a Form of Continuing Professional Development: Internal Leaders’ Perspectives
Bomna Ko, Yun Soo Lee, and Tristan Wallhead
innovative teaching practices ( Goodyear et al., 2014 , 2019 ). Thus, although the transition of teachers’ learning from online CPD to their teaching has not been examined, several studies have presented the potential for online CPD in facilitating teachers’ change and learning. Communities of Practice as
What Makes Teachers’ Professional Learning More or Less Effective?: An Evolution of Community of Practice for Physical Education Teachers
Keejoon Yoon, Sunghae Park, and Hyunwoo Jung
PE-CoPs for Teachers’ Professional Learning Communities of practice (CoPs) are defined as “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” ( Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder
Coach Development: In Situ Examples of Translating Research Into Practice Within Strength and Conditioning
Andy Gillham and Christoph Szedlak
and coach actively work together to encourage learning by making sense of their experiences ( Blumberg, 2009 ). This collaborative process has been encouraged within S&C and includes interactive and reflective activities such as reflective practice and community of practice (COP; Gearity et al., 2020
Cultivating a Community of Practice to Enable Coach Development in Alpine Ski Coaches
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.
From Committee to Community: The Development and Maintenance of a Community of Practice
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.
Blogs: A Tool to Facilitate Reflection and Community of Practice in Sports Coaching?
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.
The Alberta Women in Sport Leadership Project: A Social Learning Intervention for Gender Equity and Leadership Development
Diane M. Culver, Erin Kraft, Cari Din, and Isabelle Cayer
mentors in the AWiSL program to support the increase in gender equity and leadership diversity in 12 Alberta sport organizations. The main intervention strategy is the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP) to support social learning. Although this project is ongoing, it serves as an important
Creating Value in a Sport Coach Community of Practice: A Collaborative Inquiry
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.
