Communities of Practice: A Possible Professional-development Model for Physical Activity Leadership

Mentor’s Perspective: Impact of Working in a Professional Development Partnership

“…Many PE teachers are the only PE teacher at their respective schools and are unable to form a community with others who teach the same subject matter (Johnson et al, 2017). When individuals do not have a community in which they can learn from, they can feel isolated and professionally stagnant (Curtner-Smith, 2001;Stroot & Ko, 2006;Gaudreault et al, 2017).…”

“…(Lave & Wenger, 1991). A CoP generates a space where learning is alive, collaborative, open, highly interactive, and is often informally structured (Johnson et. al, 2017 (Wenger, 1998).…”

“…It is imperative for PE teachers to participate in discussions around their own curriculum, assessment strategies, and pedagogy (Armour & Yelling, 2004). Therefore, there is a need for PE teachers to have their own communities from which they can learn and increase their professional development (Patton & Parker, 2015;Johnson, Moorcroft, Tucker, Calvert, & Turner, 2017).…”

“…Teachers need to form a community to help reduce the feeling of isolation (O'Sullivan, 2007). It is beneficial for PE teachers and other practitioners in the related field to be able to meet regularly, participate in professional discourse, and ultimately be able to form a Community of Practice (CoP) (Johnson et. al., 2017).…”

“…Often teachers teaching in a specialty area, such as PE teachers, find themselves without a community of other practitioners who teach the same subject matter (Curtner-Smith, 2001;Stroot & Ko, 2006;Parker et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2017). Due to this lack of community, PE teachers often encounter lower perceived academic value, and this can lead to feelings of isolation (Curtner-Smith, 2001;Stroot & Ko, 2006) and feelings of marginalization intensifying (Richards, Templin, & Graber, 2014;Templin, Sparkes, Grant, & Schempp, 1994).…”