Professional Development 3 million years ago when dinosaurs

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 – Don’t put people to sleep in their chairs

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

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

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; wiki. PE

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 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)

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.

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 • CEU’s – 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. 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

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.