Professional Development

1. Professional Development

2. “3 million years ago when dinosaurs stalked the Earth” • What comes to mind when you hear the words “PE dinosaur”

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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 (?)

7. 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

8. Regular, consistent, variable, and continuous professional development…new give up

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Types of PD • What types of professional development experiences have you heard of or have experience with?

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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)

16. 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?

17. 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)

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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

21. Potential Obstacles • Cost • Class coverage (cost as well) • Location/distance • Quality of the presenter (rated highly)

22. Potential Obstacles

23. Partner Work • Design your own PD experience for the individuals at your school (MS, HS) or those teachers at your grade level (ES).

24. 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/

25. 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

26. 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.