Author : Ann-Catherine Sullivan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 482 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (466 download)
Book Synopsis Experienced Elementary Physical Educators' Perceptions and Insights on Professional Development and the Teaching-learning Process by : Ann-Catherine Sullivan
Download or read book Experienced Elementary Physical Educators' Perceptions and Insights on Professional Development and the Teaching-learning Process written by Ann-Catherine Sullivan and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A recent influx of Federal, State and Local agencies have developed agendas which focus on improving the status of teaching in America's schools. Much of the thrust of the agendas has focused on developing professional development programs for educators. Teachers' stages of development literature indicate that individual's professional development needs change over time and across contexts. In this light, one model of professional development will not meet the needs of all educators. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to describe the professional development opportunities of four experienced elementary physical educators and the extent to which these experiences informed the teaching-learning process. The secondary purpose of the study was to attain the experienced teachers' perspectives on the impact of individual professional development on student learning and thirdly to identify the constraints and supports for professional development opportunities. The qualitative data collection methods included: teacher interviews, observation of teaching, collected documents, and e-mail communication with the four participants. The quantitative data included participants' responses on the Teachers' Concerns Questionnaire-Physical Education (McBride, 1993) and on the Perceived Needs Questionnaire-Physical Education (Conkle, 1995). Data analysis procedures included questionnaire mean scores, constant comparative methods, and document analysis. Findings indicated that individual experiences and life cycles may have an effect on the concerns of teachers as well as the types of professional development pursue. Further, the school context and district support impacts the types of opportunities teachers explore. Specifically there is a lack of alignment between state and local professional development policies and the professional development needs of elementary physical educators. Many of the professional development "best practices" such as accommodating for individual differences, conducting development over a sustained period of time, and implementation of follow-up activities were not implemented in practice. Further, the topics of school building level professional development sessions were not relevant for the participants. Thus, mandated attendance at opportunities provided within the district did not meet the professional development needs of the participants. Few instances were found in which knowledge gained through professional development informed teaching practice. The participants described the development of a network of physical education peers who assisted with providing support and decreasing isolation.