Chapter 5: professional dialogue as professional development

Bechtel and OʼSullivan (in press) suggest that teacher change within the context of professional development (PD) is infl uenced by the design and content of PD initiatives. This paper examines the infl uence of an initiative designed to stimulate refl ection and discussion among experienced teachers. It has been argued in the physical education literature (Ward & Doutis, 1999) and in the larger field of educational reform (e.g., Fullan & Hargreaves, 1996) that efforts to encourage reflection and conversation by teachers about their profession ought to be a key outcome of any effort designed to improve or sustain a culture of professionalism. Such conversations serve as “records of practice” (Borko, 2004; Craig, 2004) that may support and encourage teachers to attempt changes (e.g., Gay & Ross, 1994; Ward & Doutis, 1999).