Game sense online - utilising the web for the professional development of physical and health education teachers

In 2005, a new Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) Years 7–10 Syllabus will replace the current syllabus and be implemented with Year 7 and Year 9 students in NSW secondary schools. Informed by contemporary research, the new syllabus represents changes to both the content and the teaching strategies traditionally utilised by teachers. One area that has undergone major changes within the syllabus has been that of the teaching of games, with the move towards a Game Sense framework. It is expected that the implementation of the new syllabus will also be accompanied by a variety of traditional professional development opportunities for teachers. What is also now possible given the affordances of information and communication technologies is online delivery that has the potential to increase teachers’ level of confidence and readiness for implementing a Game Sense approach. This paper discusses the planning and development of a Game Sense online resource within the ActiveHealth framework (www.activehealth.uow.edu.au), a new Physical and Health Education Web resource for teachers. Principles for guiding the development of online teaching resources for practicing and pre-service teachers will also be discussed. The results of a small pilot study designed to investigate teachers perceptions of the effectiveness of such a resource indicate that it is of benefit to teachers in developing a deep understanding of Game Sense, however greater consideration will need to be given to the quality of the learning resources and learning support structures should no face to face opportunities exist.