Teaching outdoor and adventure activities: an investigation of a primary school physical education professional development p

Duration.
A common criticism of professional development activities for 
teachers is that they are too short and offer limited follow-up, if any, for teachers.
Professional development activities are more likely to be effective when they are 
sustained and intensive and are more likely to contain learning opportunities necessary 
for teachers to integrate new knowledge into practice (Cordingley et al, 2003; Garet et 
al, 2001; Maldonado, 2002). This on-going support, sustained over time, should include 
continual follow-up and support for future learning (Day, 1999; Parker, Patton, Madden 
& Sinclair, 2010; Ward, Doutis, & Evans, 1999). Research has not indicated an exact 
saturation level for professional development, but does show support for activities that 
are spread over a term and include at least 20 hours of contact time (Desimone, 2009).
The desire for more time comes with a caution however. More time might not always 
translate into improved student outcomes (Timperley, Wilson, Barrar & Fung, 2007). 
Collective participation.
Collective participation refers to professional 
development in which teachers participate alongside their school colleagues. Research 
suggests that when teachers make extensive use of collaboration they are particularly 
successful in promoting implementation as they have more authority when they are 

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embraced by peers (Bryk and Schneider, 2002; Cordingley et al, 2003; Darling-
Hammond & McLoughlin 2011; Guskey, 2003; Hipp, Huffman, Pankake & Olivier, 
2008; Maldonado, 2002). These interactions amongst teachers, when socially 
constructed through situated learning, can also be seen as a resource to support teachers 
to implement their new knowledge (Pedder, James & Macbeath, 2005; Penuel, Frank & 
Krause, 2006, Whitcomb, Borko & Liston, 2009). Although teachers welcome the 
opportunity to talk and discuss teaching, discussions rarely centre on critical 
examination of teaching (Putman and Borko, 1997). 
When whole schools engage in collective participation in professional 
development it brings many benefits including opportunities to relate to individual 
teachers and tailor any support to specific concerns, questions and needs they might 
articulate. Garet and colleagues’ (2001) study supported the idea that collective 
participation of groups of teachers from the same school, subject, or grade is related 
both to coherence and active learning opportunities, which in turn are related to 
improvements in teacher knowledge and skill and changes in classroom practice. It can 
also build trust and support relationships and can help teachers motivate each other 
through any problems they may encounter (Little, 2003).
If learning is socially constructed the idea of a community of practice reflects 
what happens when a group of people come together (collective participation) to engage 
in learning in an area of interest. Participation in a community of practice according to 
Lave and Wenger (1991) ‘refers not just to local events of engagement in certain 
activities with certain people, but to a more encompassing process of active participants 
in the
 practices
of social communities and constructing 
identities
in relation to these 
communities’ (p. 4). Lieberman and Miller (2008) concluded following their research 
that ‘professional learning communities … hold the promise of transforming teaching 
and learning for both educators and students in our schools’ (p. 106). However research 
reveals that developing teaching communities can be difficult and time consuming 
(Borko, 2004).
Other effective features outlined in the literature include model type 
(Maldonado, 2002) and evaluation (Guskey, 2003; Maldonado, 2002) both which are 
discussed in detail later. The concept of partnerships, as an effective feature, has been 
discussed and supported, in the physical education professional development literature 
(Ha, Lee, Chan & Sum, 2004; McKenzie, 1999; O' Sullivan, Tannehill, Knop, Pope & 

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Henninger, 1999; Parker et al, 2010) to promote the development of quality physical 
education. The external experts must work in collaboration with the teachers and school 
community acknowledging that each bring ‘separate but complementary bodies of 
knowledge’ (Ross, Rolheiser & Hogaboam-Gray, 1999) to the partnership. A benefit of 
collaboration partnerships is their impact on teachers’ self-efficacy (Cordingley et al., 
2003). Cordingley and colleagues point out that external experts regularly modelling 
new techniques and supporting teachers through on-going coaching and mentoring 
support helped embed the professional development in the teaching contexts of the 
teachers. The current research study was built as a partnership between a college of 
education and a school, more specifically the researcher, a lecturer in primary physical 
education, and the teaching staff and children of the study school. Although teachers 
especially generalist classroom teachers, cannot be expected to be an expert in every 
area of the curriculum, it is important that we do not believe that teachers need experts 
coming to their rescue for everything and the teachers begin to look incapable of 
teaching.