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
Dont put people to sleep in their chairs

Regular,
consistent,
variable, and
continuous
professiona
developmen
new give
up

Organizing PD
Department chairs (or
ADs 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 didnt even realise
(Eng. Sp.) that help is sort of around the
corner and that theres, 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) LETS 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

CEUs 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. Dont give in to the cynicism.
Every year, you should be a better teacher than the
year before
Dont 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.