Promoting professional learning through on-going and interactive support: three cases within physical education

Abstract

This paper reports on three cases where university teacher educators have provided an ongoing and interactive support system for teachers learning a particular curriculum and instructional model in physical education in their own schools. Located in diverse contexts (Ireland, Spain and Taiwan), each of these initiatives was grounded in the idea that previous efforts at professional development in settings outside the school led to less than successful implementation of innovative practice once teachers returned to their own settings. The three cases provide a description of the rationale for the professional development initiative, followed by a more extensive description of the professional development itself and its resultant outcomes. The third part of each scenario serves to highlight the challenges faced by the providers and the teachers during the course of the professional development. Three major themes (time, accessibility and modeling) that were common across sites are discussed in terms of the implications for professional development not only in physical education, but across subject areas irrespective of geographical location.