Professional Development

Teachers report numerous barriers to technology use including budget, class size, and training. Physical educators may be willing to use technology in their teaching if given opportunities to prepare, practice and use appropriate resources. However, research shows that only 42% of physical education teachers receive staff development training on using physical activity monitoring devices, and only 37% of physical education teachers received staff development training on using technology overall.

Professional development typically is conducted by local colleges and universities, professional associations, and/or regional educational institutions (district offices, local educational agencies). These agencies grant college credits or salary points for teachers. Many of these professional development approaches are costly, often ineffective, and unable to reach all educators. This is especially true for physical educators with coaching responsibilities who often find it difficult to attend professional development workshops. 

New large-scale professional development models that use effective strategies, and are scalable, accessible, sustainable, and cost-effective are needed. Today training can take place via the Internet, allowing educators to learn at their convenience. The number of virtual colleges and training centers on the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds. The University of Houston (Texas), Azusa Pacific College, University of Southern Florida, and Emporia (Kansas) State University, for example, offer complete online Masters Degree programs in physical education. Additionally, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) like Coursera and Udacity, are available providing thousands of courses to educate hundreds and thousands of participants simultaneously. These courses promote self directed learning, peer-supported learning, authentic project-based learning, data-informed activities, case- study approaches, and anytime-anywhere learning. 

Teachers should be engaged in designing their own professional development; ensuring that it meets their specific needs. For professional learning to be successful, it needs to be ongoing and include courses, de ned goals and expectations, models and motivation for change (perhaps tied to regional and school leadership) and linked to school's curriculum goals.