Enacting a new curriculum models-based framework supported by digital technology within a learning community

Current cutting-edge research conveys that pedagogical change using models-based practice and integration of digital technology (DT) to enable teaching and learning is most successful when supported by a learning community. Overall, the research literature acknowledges that empowering teachers to believe in themselves and their ability to tackle these new curricular and pedagogical practices is key for successful implementation. Nevertheless, enactment of a new curriculum models (CMs)-based framework, supported by DT, has not yet been researched. Six physical education teachers with different teaching backgrounds and experience using DT for teaching and learning agreed to participate. Four phases were designed to develop teachers’ CMs pedagogical knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge as part of a collaborative, inquiry-oriented learning community. Individual and focus group interviews, and weekly critical friend discussions were used to gather teachers’ and students’ perceptions of their experience. Four themes reflecting phases one and two of the data appeared and evolved 18 months later and included planning, community, student learning, and the Phyz (app). The key take home message from this research highlights the power of a well-planned and structured inquiry-oriented learning community, its impact on empowering teachers to enact a new CMs-based framework, and the student learning that emerged

Helping pre-service and beginning teachers examine and reframe assumptions about themselves as teachers and change agents: "Who is going to listen to you anyway?"

The focus of this article is how to ensure (beginning) teachers' needs as practitioners are part of the discursive dialogue in physical education teacher education programs. We consider the relationship between 'structure' and 'agency,'teachers as 'change agents' and refer to 'workplace learning' as we examine the extent to which the social structure of the school and the teaching profession, and/or the capacity of the individual to act independently, ultimately determines a teacher's behaviour in reaction to teaching expectations. We are interested as physical education teacher education faculty in how we (1) strive to help pre-service teachers examine and reframe assumptions about themselves as teachers and change agents, and (2) examine taken-for-granted school practices and processes. We share ways that physical education teacher education programs could encourage pre-service teachers agency and the relationship between initial teacher education and induction

The perceived needs of teacher educators as they strive to implement curriculum change

The focus of this study was to explore teacher educators’ experiences as they prepared preservice teachers to implement a new physical education curriculum, and to identify their professional needs to support this work. Individual interviews were conducted with 14 teacher educators who taught in a physical education teacher education (PETE) programme. Data were analysed in the spirit of grounded theory [Mordal-Moen & Green, 2014. Neither shaking nor stirring: A case study of reflexivity in Norwegian physical education teacher education. Sport, Education and Society, 19(4), 415–434]. Time to engage with curriculum, space to come together, leadership to manage the process, and opportunities to meet together in a professional capacity were identified as important for implementation of curriculum change in the PETE programme