Can Online Professional Development Enable the Implementation of Peer Tutoring?

• Published in: Research quarterly for exercise and sport Vol. 87; no. S2; p. A117
• Main Authors: Healy, Sean, Block, Martin E, Kelly, Luke E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.06.2016
• Subjects: Control Groups; Data Analysis; Peer tutoring; Perceptions; Physical Education; Physical education teachers; Professional development
• ISSN: 0270-1367; 2168-3824

The ability of traditional professional development (PD) to provide teachers with the skills and knowledge to effectively educate students with disabilities is hindered by barriers such as cost and availability. Online professional development (OPD) has the potential to overcome these barriers as it can be made available to teachers at their convenience, gives schools access to experts and resources otherwise unavailable, and is more scalable than traditional PD. However, the effectiveness of OPD focused on inclusive physical education has yet to be examined. The purpose of this randomized experimental-design study was to determine the effectiveness of an OPD course to enable physical educators to implement a peer tutoring program in their classes. Participating teachers were randomly assigned to an experimental group or wait-list control group. The study then involved 3 elements: (a) Teachers completed a pretest, posttest, and retention test that assessed their knowledge of peer tutoring; (b) teachers were asked to self-report on their application of the course's lesson to determine their perceived ability to implement peer tutoring; and (c) teachers completed a Perceptions of Professional Development Survey to assess their perception of the online environment as a setting for PD. Three methods of data analysis were employed: (a) A mixed-design analysis of variance was conducted to assess differences between groups on the content knowledge test. (b) After self-report and audiorecording data on implementation of the OPD lessons were gathered, a rubric was used to assess fidelity of implementation. (c) Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used to explore the data on the participants' perception of the online environment as a setting for PD. Results revealed (a) participation in an OPD course resulted in a significant increase in knowledge related to peer tutoring for physical educators who participated in the OPD course; (b) participation in an OPD course resulted in 22% of participants (n ¼ 8) implementing all program implementation activities and 47% (n ¼ 17) completing some activities; and (c) physical educators perceived the online environment as a positive setting for PD. An OPD course was demonstrated as being highly effective in increasing the content knowledge of physical educators and enabling them to successfully implement peer tutoring. In addition, for the majority of teachers, the online environment was deemed to be an effective setting for PD. Issues relating to application of PD lessons to the class, dropout, and social interactions within the online environment were revealed.