School-based health and physical education programs face more challenges and opportunities than ever before. A major challenge is the ongoing obesity crisis in the United States (Dietz, 2004). Although sedentary behavior is acknowledged as a risk factor for many diseases--including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes (Blair et al., 1995; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996)--health care costs associated with diseases related to inactivity and poor health habits continue to increase (Pratt, Macera, & Wang, 2002).
Along with these challenges come opportunities for health and physical education to contribute to the wellness of children and young adults. For example, research indicates that quality school-based health and physical education programs may contribute to increased levels of physical activity in childhood that can extend into adulthood (Silverman, 2005; Taylor, Blair, Cummings, Wun, & Malina, 1999). These findings have prompted policymakers, educational leaders, and parents to have high expectations for health and physical education programs to enhance the wellness of children.
The challenge for health and physical education is to provide high quality, standards-based programs that will produce tangible results in children. Unfortunately, many health and physical education teachers may not be fully prepared to meet this challenge. Chen (2006) reported that only four in 25 teachers integrated the national standards (National Association of Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2004) into their teaching. Castelli and Williams (2007) found that the fitness knowledge (NASPE standard 4) of 73 middle school physical education teachers was low and did not meet the ninth-grade level of the South Carolina assessment program. Similarly, in a study of elementary health education in North Carolina, Bennett and Dowd (2001) concluded that health educators must become better able to apply national standards in program development.
Current standards (NASPE, 2003, 2004) have expanded the role of teachers and require that they collaborate with parents, colleagues, and the community to create opportunities for physical activity and healthy choices in and outside of school. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP), in which health and physical education programs play a prominent role (CDC, 2007). According to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act (2004), education agencies in the National School Lunch Program must create county wellness-policy committees to assess and oversee a CSHP in every school.
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Taken together, the findings from research and the increased expectations for health and physical education point to the need for ongoing professional development (PD) for teachers (Armour & Yelling, 2004). Although the need for PD is important throughout the United States, the need is particularly great in West Virginia.
West Virginia is among the nation's highest in the chronic disease risk factors of tobacco use, poor eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity. Seven out of 10 West Virginians die from heart disease, cancer, or stroke. Also, the age-adjusted rate of heart-disease mortality is the second highest in the nation, and the stroke rate is higher than the national average (West Virginia Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease, 2007).
Data from the West Virginia Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities (WV CARDIAC) project show that many risk factors for chronic disease are already prevalent in elementary-age children. Of the almost 45,000 fifth graders participating in school-based health screenings since 1998, 27.1 percent were overweight (BMI above the 95th percentile) and an additional 18.4 percent were at risk of becoming overweight (BMI above the 85th percentile). In addition, the results showed that almost 20 percent of the children had abnormal blood lipids, and 4.6 percent showed signs of possible insulin resistance (WV CARDIAC Project, 2007). Data collected from more than 16,000 fifth-grade West Virginia students (West Virginia on the Move, 2007) indicated that 50 percent were overweight and that a leading contributor to obesity was the lack of physical activity (PA). The 2003 West Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey results (West Virginia Department of Education [WVDOE], 2003) for PA indicated that most high school students did not participate in moderate PA and were not enrolled in physical education.
West Virginia has taken steps to enhance the quality of health and physical education in order to increase student PA. The WVDOE aligned health and physical education standards with national standards in 2003, and statewide training was conducted to introduce the new standards to teachers. More recently, Physical Best training (NASPE, 2005) was conducted throughout the state to help teachers address standards for PA and fitness.
In spite of these efforts, problems with the provision of quality health and physical education persist. A survey conducted by the West Virginia Prevention Research Center (O'Hara-Tomkins, Zizzi, Zedosky, Wright, & Vitullo, 2004) found that only 13 percent of schools provide daily physical education and that the allocated time for physical education fell well below the recommendation at all grade levels. Also, fewer than 31 percent of students took advantage of before- and after-school PA opportunities. Of 140 schools audited from 2004 to 2006 by the WVDOE, only five provided content-specific PD for health and physical educators (WVDOE, 2006/2007). Furthermore, few school systems had developed curricula to address standards and assess student progress in health and physical education.
In 2005, the state legislature began to address these problems by passing the Healthy Lifestyles Act, House Bill 2816 (WVDOE, 2005). This legislation mandated minimum time requirements for physical education in West Virginia schools: 90 minutes on three days each week at the elementary level, daily physical education for one semester each year at the middle school level, and one lifetime physical education elective--in addition to the one-credit requirement--at the high school level. Unfortunately, the legislation allows schools to develop alternative plans for meeting the requirements, such as using recess. Furthermore, the legislation does not ensure the quality of the health and physical education instruction provided.
The WVDOE has provided opportunities for PD through workshops, and the West Virginia Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (WVAHPERD) has a conference each year that provides PD workshops. However, there has been no follow-up to these opportunities. Many participants attend workshops but continue to use inappropriate practices and fail to address standards. Therefore, a mechanism was needed to provide follow-up and hold participants accountable for implementing the strategies and techniques demonstrated during training.
The Leadership Academy
To address the needs and gaps that currently exist in West Virginia health and physical education, the WVDOE and the Office of Healthy Schools created the West Virginia Health and Physical Education Leadership Academy with a $100,000 grant from the CDC. The goal of the academy was to build the capacity to improve the quality of health and physical education programming within the state. Specifically, the academy was designed to provide a series of PD activities to health and physical education teachers based on the national standards and the state Content Standards and Objectives (CSOs) for K-12 health and physical education (WVDOE, 2007).
Collaborating as members of a learning community and contributing to the PD of other educators were central objectives of the academy. A learning community engages participants in meaningful, interactive, and collaborative learning experiences in both formal (i.e., courses, workshops) and informal (i.e., meals, recreation) settings. As participants work toward the attainment of shared goals, a sense of community and professional socialization develops (LaVine & Mitchell, 2006).
Thirty teacher leaders (TLs) participated in the academy beginning in February, 2005. A series of PD activities were provided over a nine-month period by nine mentors: the president-elect of the WVAHPERD, four district (Midwest AHPERD) teachers-of-the-year (two were also NASPE national teachers-of-the-year), the directors of health and physical education for the WVDOE, and two university professors of teacher education.
The mentors planned the PD activities in the fall of 2004 and implemented them throughout 2005. The PD activities were organized into five strands: (1) designing, implementing, and assessing standards-based curriculum and instruction; (2) preparing for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification; (3) advocating for health and physical education within the school and community; (4) using technology in health and physical education programming; and (5) engaging in grant writing to support program goals.
The Professional Development Activities
This section describes the content of the PD activities in general. Then in the subsequent 'Calendar of Events' section, more specific information on the actual delivery of the content is provided.
Standards-Based Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. In regard to the curriculum, TLs received training on how to align their curricula with West Virginia CSOs. Workshops provided training in designing the scope and sequence of their curricula based on student needs, allocated time, and available school and community resources. Because the CSOs provide yearly objectives for all grades, the teachers were required to develop yearly plans for addressing them.
The focus was 'teaching with a purpose.' That is, CSOs should be addressed in each lesson, every day. A key idea was that the curriculum should build from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, and year to year, with previously attained objectives contributing directly to the achievement of subsequent objectives. This should include built-in opportunities to revisit and reinforce key objectives throughout the curriculum so that the transfer and retention of CSOs are encouraged.
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In the area of instruction, research in classroom and physical education teaching (Ayers et al., 2005; Rink, 2002) point to the effectiveness of direct instruction through reviews, the use of examples and illustrations, the application of instructional cues, checks for understanding, and progressive opportunities to practice tasks at high rates of success and engagement. Graham (2001) designed the American Master Teacher Program (AMTP) based on many of these principles, and it was used in the academy to provide the TLs with direct-instruction teaching skills. Most pedagogical skills were applicable to effective teaching in both the classroom and the gymnasium.
A central tenet in this strand was to take full advantage of the time allocated to health and physical education. Research (Rink, 2002) indicates that high levels of successful engagement in classrooms and high levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in the gymnasium improve student learning. Therefore, the TLs were provided with model lessons that demonstrated strategies to maximize engagement, such as: (1) instant activities with high levels of MVPA, (2) individualized fitness tasks, (3) concise instructions so students spend time in activities rather than listening, (4) tasks with 'lines no longer than two' so that 50 percent MVPA is guaranteed, and (5) adjusting tasks to increase student success and engagement.
Assessment is the process of gathering, interpreting, and analyzing information to improve programs and promote student learning. The TLs were given a variety of formative assessment strategies for standards-based assessment. Since the focus was on maximizing students' engagement, both physically and cognitively, assessment techniques that could be used by teachers and students were emphasized. Workshops provided the teacher with strategies to imbed assessment in tasks that enabled them and their students to assess progress, fitness, MVPA levels, skill acquisition, and knowledge (Wright & van der Mars, 2004). Strategies such as systematic observation, student logs and journals, homework, checklists and rating scales, authentic projects, videotape analysis, and MVPA analysis were taught.
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Assessment of teaching was performed using process measures, such as students' levels of engagement and success, and direct-instruction teaching behaviors (Rink, 2002) related to student learning. The TLs learned techniques for analyzing and reflecting on their own teaching that focused on AMTP direct-instruction behaviors (Graham, 2001). Finally, the TLs were trained to develop their own coding systems to focus on teacher or student behaviors specifically related to the objectives of units and lessons.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The TLs received the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to apply for NBPTS certification. Each conference included training by an NBPTS-certified teacher with experience in coaching teachers for NBPTS certification. To apply for NBPTS certification, teachers must pass a content-knowledge assessment and create a portfolio that includes student work, videotapes, and other teaching artifacts completed in the classroom, supported by commentaries on the goals and purposes of instruction and by reflections on what occurred. They also must document work with families, the community, and the profession.
Advocacy. A professional health and physical educator must be an articulate spokesperson for the profession. The TLs became familiar with the advocacy tools available from AAHPERD, which include position papers, guidelines for quality programming, advocacy strategies, and many other useful ideas for the professional educator.
A primary area of advocacy is the development of a culture of fitness and wellness in the school and community. Schools should be viewed as part of the wider community that can serve as centers to address significant societal problems, not only during the school day, but also after school, during the evenings, on the weekends, and in the summer. The TLs were expected to take the lead in developing school and community resources that could enable students to engage in a healthy and physically active lifestyle, and they were trained in strategies (including the Physical Best Activity-gram [NASPE, 2005]), for assessing student activity outside of physical education class.
Also a collaborative approach among health and physical education teachers, coaches, community recreation leaders, doctors and nurses, and university specialists was encouraged, in order to bring together everyone's expertise to address the problems of inactivity and obesity.
Technology. There have been major advances in the use of technology in health and physical education programming and assessment. Palm pilots, personal digital assistants, heart rate monitors, pedometers, and digital cameras and recorders are available for teachers and students to use in the instruction and assessment process.
Technology workshops gave hands-on experiences so that teachers gained competence in using technology in their programs. The TLs were introduced to educational software and were taught to install both software and hardware, to set up technology-equipped classrooms, and to access online resources, as well as how to use pedometers, heart rate monitors, and BMI calculators.
Grant Writing. School districts have often struggled with decreased curricular space and program resources in health and physical education. As a result, teachers must become more entrepreneurial if they are to obtain the needed resources. These approaches include partnerships with local businesses, grant writing, fundraising, and so forth. The grant-writing portion of the academy focused on identifying potential funding sources, preparing effective grant proposals, networking with relevant individuals and organizations in the community, and advocating for program needs with school district representatives, school administrators, and parents.
Calendar of Events
The PD activities, team building among the mentors and TLs, and academy assessments were conducted in a sequential and systematic manner across four PD experiences. The mentors met throughout the academy to adjust PD activities based on the needs and progress of the TLs.
Cedar Lakes Conference (February 11-12, 2005). West Virginia TLs and mentors met for the first time at Cedar Lakes. On Friday evening there was a banquet to introduce the TLs to the academy and mentors. The banquet was preceded by 'get-to-know-you' activities to break the ice and make the TLs comfortable with one another and the academy mentors. Digital photos were taken during these activities, and the pictures were displayed on a large map of West Virginia that showed the TLs' teaching sites. After the banquet, the WVDOE director of health gave a presentation on the need for and characteristics of quality programs in health and physical education and the purpose of the academy.
The next day, the TLs had breakfast and were placed into four cohorts. They rotated to stations for an orientation conducted by mentors on standards-based instruction and NBPTS certification, technology, advocacy, and grant writing. All of the TLs rotated to each station and had lunch with their cohorts. Homework in each area was assigned to the TLs based on the PD activities described above. An example of a homework assignment for technology appears in figure 1.
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School Health Education Council Conference (April 24-27, 2005). The TLs and mentors attended this conference in Pipestem, West Virginia. The TLs were housed with members of their cohort and engaged in cohort and whole-group activities. On the first day of the conference, the TLs were put in charge of conducting recreational activities such as walking, golf, and aerobics for the conference attendees. The TLs were required to attend all sessions on standards-based instruction, technology, grant writing, and advocacy. The Leadership Academy also had an expert on NBPTS certification conduct a half-day session for all TLs. During the conference, the TLs ate meals together, socialized together, and continued to build a professional community of teachers. Homework in each area was provided based on the PD activities described above.
West Virginia University Summer Conference (July 25-27, 2005). West Virginia University hosted a summer conference in which the TLs attended final workshops in each strand, consolidated their learning, and prepared to present their accomplishments at the upcoming WVAHPERD conference. On the first day, the TLs presented poster exhibitions describing how they had used the information obtained in the academy to improve their teaching and their programs. In the next two days, the TLs attended a day-long workshop on NBPTS certification and half-day workshops on technology, advocacy, standards-based instruction, and grant writing. The entire academy engaged in a softball game, which was an especially successful event, since TLs got to socialize, compete, and further develop camaraderie among themselves. This sense of community was emphasized on the last day of the conference, when the TLs worked with a mentor to prepare a group presentation in one of the five strands of the academy. Finally, a celebratory banquet was held on the last evening at which the mentors presented a PowerPoint slide show using the digital photos of the TLs and highlighting each person's unique contributions to the academy.
WVAHPERD Conference (October 21-23, 2005). The TLs presented their group projects during the WVAHPERD conference in Flatwoods, West Virginia. They attended each other's presentations along with other conference attendees. During the conference, the TLs went through a debriefing to formally evaluate the academy and provide suggestions for improvement. At the end-of-conference banquet, the TLs were introduced to the conference attendees and were formally acknowledged as the first academy graduates.
The Effectiveness of the Leadership Academy
The TLs' self-reports, using a four-point Likert scale (4 = Strongly Agree, 3 = Agree, 2 = Disagree, 1 = Strongly Disagree), were collected to determine their perceptions of the effectiveness of the Leadership Academy. Following participation, they were asked whether they felt more knowledgeable and competent in standards-based instruction, grant writing, and technology as a result of attending the academy. The TLs' ratings appear in table 1.
The TLs' ratings were generally positive, indicating that the academy had contributed to the development of knowledge and skills in standards-based instruction, technology, grant writing, and advocacy. In addition, 25 of the 30 TLs planned activities to advocate for their programs.
Several areas in technology were rated below 3.0, indicating that it was an area that needed more attention. Specifically, TLs said they felt less competent using electronic grade books; constructing and implementing project-based lessons; working in IT environments such as stand-alone and networked computers, wireless systems, and labs; and using discussion boards and chat rooms. Many of the TLs in the academy were veteran teachers for whom using technology as a part of their teaching was a new challenge.
Comments about the overall effectiveness of the academy were very positive (table 2). Suggestions for improvement included having more balance between health and physical education; having more interactive, hands-on activities; and presenting NBPTS information in smaller segments. All of these suggestions had merit and were addressed in the Leadership Academy II.
Building a Capacity for Change. The Leadership Academy will be most effective if TLs sustain their efforts beyond the initial intervention phase. Several strategies were designed to sustain professional engagement beyond the initial year of the project.
1. WVAHPERD Conference. Each year WVAHPERD offers a professional conference, and the leadership of WVAHPERD is committed to supporting the academy. In 2005, WVAHPERD provided space in the conference program for teams of TLs to conduct workshops for conference participants in each of the five strands of the academy. After the presentations, 29 TLs who had completed all of the year-long PD activities and presented at WVAHPERD were honored as the first graduates of the West Virginia Health and Physical Education Academy.
Even after graduation, the TLs continue working on the following PD activities under direct supervision of an assigned mentor: (1) a video of standards-based teaching with a self-evaluation rubric, (2) a standards-based yearly curriculum, (3) evidence of at least one advocacy activity (e.g., a letter to parents, newsletter, a presentation or speech, newspaper article, or project), (4) a copy of a grant application, and (5) a description of leadership positions assumed at the school, local, state, or national level.
It is anticipated that graduates of the academy will continue to participate in future WVAHPERD conferences as participants and presenters. In fact, academy graduates served as presenters of nine workshops at the 2006 WVAHPERD conference. They have also assumed state leadership positions. For example, a majority of academy graduates are members of their county wellness policy committee.
Four TLs have already submitted materials for NBPTS certification, and three others are preparing their materials. It is expected that TLs will nominate colleagues to participate in subsequent academies and serve as mentors, thereby building a capacity for sustaining the positive results achieved by the academy. Leadership Academy II began in the fall of 2007, and six graduates of Leadership Academy I are now serving as mentors.
2. The Leadership Academy Web Site (LAW). The WVDOE created a Leadership Academy web site that serves as an electronic resource for physical educators at all levels in West Virginia. The LAW provides TLs with up-to-date links to professional resources (e.g., PE Central, NASPE, AAHE, etc.), grant opportunities, and the ability to interact with other health and physical educators in West Virginia and the rest of the country. This resource will contribute to the sustain-ability of the academy goals via ongoing communication. The TLs will be able to interact electronically with others for PD activities such as applying the Physical Best curriculum, administering and interpreting Fitnessgram and HEAP data, trying new curricular models, or applying for NBPTS certification. The LAW represents a potentially efficient method for mentors and TLs to interact with one another.
Future Directions
The West Virginia Health and Physical Education Leadership Academy was an extremely positive experience for both mentors and TLs. The data collected indicated that the TLs perceived considerable growth in each PD strand. The exhibits presented by the TLs during the academy and their presentations at WVAHPERD provide some initial evidence that TLs gained knowledge and skills during the conference. Graduates of the academy have become involved in leadership opportunities with the WVDOE and WVAHPERD and continue to interact with one another in professional activities. The ultimate goal of the academy is for TLs to apply the acquired knowledge and skills to design, implement, and assess high-quality, standards-based health and physical education programs.
The criteria for success is the level of enhancement of students' health and well-being through improvements in teaching practices, student learning, and student PA levels. Since the evidence from the academy was derived from indirect, self-report measures, it does not provide direct evidence of improvements in teaching and programming (Kelleher, 2003). Morris, Chrispeels, and Burke (2003) have argued that in order to assess PD, direct observation of school-based teaching practices is required. Teachers often find PD activities informative and interesting, but they also view the application of new ideas difficult, often resulting in minimal effect on student achievement. Teachers may need to witness the impact of their teaching practices on student learning for effective PD (Armour & Yelling, 2004; Desimone et al., 2002).
Leadership Academy II implemented a more comprehensive assessment strategy using both summative and formative assessments related to the achieved outcomes. The academy will still need the TLs to continue their professional development following graduation, and their progress and professional involvement will be systematically tracked. Many of the assessments used in Leadership Academy II are based on the actual work that teachers must do to provide quality health and physical education programs. Standards-based curriculum development, grant writing, community advocacy projects, self-evaluations of teaching, and the collection of data on students' skill learning, fitness levels, health knowledge, and out-of-class activity are all examples of the types of authentic assessments the TLs were required to submit. The objective for these assessment projects is to equip TLs with the knowledge and skills to use assessment as a regular part of their teaching.
Leadership Academy II was completed in Fall, 2007, at the WVAHPERD conference. The goal was to collect data for a thorough assessment of the academy in terms of the actual teaching practices used by the TLs to improve their programs, in addition to their perceptions of the quality of the academy. Although the successes and challenges of Leadership Academy II are not discussed in this article, it is not necessary to wait until the West Virginia Leadership Academy is completely fine-tuned. The authors encourage all states to begin systematic and ongoing PD opportunities for health and physical education professionals. Whether it takes the form of a Leadership Academy or something different is not important. The key point is for state departments of education, professional educators, university instructors, and state professional associations to work cooperatively to provide children and young adults with the best health and physical education programming possible.
References
Armour, K. M., & Yelling, M. R. (2004). Continuing professional development for experienced physical education teachers: Towards effective provision. Sport, Education & Society, 9, 95-114.
Ayers, S., Housner, L. D., Gurvitch, R., Pritchard, T., Dell-Orso, M., Kim, H. Y., et al. (2005). An examination of skill learning using direct instruction. Physical Educator, 62, 136-144.
Bennett, J. P., & Dowd, D. A. (2001). Where are our elementary school health and physical education programs and where do they need to seek direction? Teaching Elementary Physical Education, 12, 6-8.
Blair, S. N., Kohl, H. W., Barlow, C. E., Paffenbarger, R. S., Jr., Gibbons, L. W., & Macera, C. A. (1995). Changes in physical fitness and all-cause mortality: A prospective study of healthy and unhealthy men. Journal of the American Medical Association, 273, 1093-1098.
Castelli, D., & Williams, L. (2007). Health-related fitness and physical education teachers' content knowledge. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 26, 2-19.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Coordinated school health program. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/CSHP/.
Chen, W. (2006). Teachers' knowledge about and views of the national standards for physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 25, 120-142.
Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act. 42 U.S.C. 1751 (2004). Retrieved March 27, 2008, from http://www.schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/SchoolNutrition.org/Child_Nutrition/Government_Affairs/Reauthorization/crsanalysiscnr.pdf.
Dietz, W. H. (2004). The effects of physical activity on obesity. Quest, 56, 1-11.
Desimone, L. M., Porter, A. C., Garet, M. S., Yoon, K. S., & Birman, B. F. (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers' instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 81-112.
Graham, G. (2001). Teaching children physical education: Becoming a master teacher. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Kelleher, J. (2003). A model for assessment-driven professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 84, 751-757.
LaVine, M., & Mitchell, S. (2006). A physical education learning community: Development and first year assessment. Physical Educator, 63, 58-68.
Morris, M., Chrispeels, J., & Burke, P. (2003). The power of two: Linking external with internal teachers' professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 84, 764-768.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2003). National standards for beginning physical education teachers (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: Author.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2004). Moving into the future: National standards for physical education (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: Author.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2005). Physical education for lifelong fitness: The Physical Best teacher's guide. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
O'Hara-Tomkins, N., Zizzi, S., Zedosky, L., Wright, J., & Vitullo, E. (2004). School-based opportunities for physical activity in West Virginia public schools. Preventative Medicine, 39, 834-840.
Pratt, M., Macera, C. A., & Wang, G. (2002). Higher medical costs associated with physical inactivity. The Physician and Sports Medicine, 28, 63-70.
Rink, J. (2002). Teaching physical education for learning (4th ed.). New York: WCB/McGraw-Hill.
Silverman, S. (2005). Thinking long term: Physical education's role in movement and mobility. Quest, 57, 138-147.
Taylor, W. C., Blair, S. N., Cummings, S. S., Wun, C. C., & Malina, R. M. (1999). Childhood and adolescent physical activity patterns and adult physical activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 31, 118-123.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1996). Physical activity and health: A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
West Virginia Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities Project. (2007). Results. Retrieved October 1, 2007 from, http://www.cardiacwv.org/results.asp.
West Virginia Department of Education. (2003). West Virginia youth risk behavior survey. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://wvde.state.wv.us/data/yrbs/2003/2003YRBS.ppt.
West Virginia Department of Education. (2005). Healthy lifestyles act, House Bill 2816. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://wvde.state.wv.us/osshp/section6/HouseBill2816.htm#Health2816#PE2816.
West Virginia Department of Education. (2006/2007). Office of educational performance audits reports. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://oepa.state.wv.us/reports.htm.
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Wright, M. T., & van der Mars, H. (2004). Blending assessment into instruction: Practical application and meaningful results. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 75(9), 29-34.
Lynn Housner (lhousner@mail.wvu.edu) is associate dean in the School of Physical Education at West Virginia University, in Morgantown, WV 26506. Don Chapman is assistant director of the Office of Healthy Schools in the West Virginia Department of Education in Charleston, WV 25305. Sue Childers is a teacher at Parkersburg South High School in Parkersburg, WV26101. Rick Deem is the data management coordinator for the Office of Healthy Schools in the West Virginia Department of Education in Charleston, WV 25305. Eloise Elliott is a professor in the Department of Human Performance at Concord University in Athens, WV 24712. Peggy Klemick is a retired health educator in Lakeland, FL 33803. Bane McCracken is a retired physical educator in Ona, WV 25545. Mary Weikle is a teacher of health and physical education at East Dale Elementary School in Fairmont, WV 26554. Gerald Workman is a teacher at Madison Middle School in Madison, WV 25130.
Table 1. The TLs' Ratings for Standards-based Teaching, Grant Writing,and TechnologyStandards-based Instruction Mean RatingI am more knowledgeable about the teacher behaviors 3.44 included in the American Master Teacher Program.I am more able to create a plan for regularly evaluating 3.52 students and using student learning data for program improvement.I am more knowledgeable about the procedures for applying 3.44 for NBPTS certification.I feel more confident that I could successfully apply for 3.23 NBPTS certification.TechnologyI feel competent using a word processor and graphics to 3.11 develop lesson plans.I feel competent using email to communicate with 3.62 colleagues.I feel competent using the World Wide Web to find 3.67 educational resources.I feel competent using an electronic grade book. 2.81I feel competent constructing and implementing project- 2.77 based learning lessons using a range of information technologies.I feel competent working in IT environments such as stand- 2.55 alone and networked computers, wireless systems, labs, etc.I feel competent using pedometers, heart monitors, pulse 3.40 meters, etc.I feel competent using discussion boards and chat rooms. 2.77Grant Writing and AdvocacyI am more knowledgeable about grant opportunities that are 3.48 available in health and physical education.I am more knowledgeable about the components necessary to 3.37 write a successful grant proposal.I feel more comfortable about my abilities to locate 3.30 funding sources and write a successful grant proposal.I am more knowledgeable about strategies I can use to 3.41 advocate for my program.Table 2. Examples of TL Comments about the Leadership AcademyPositive StatementsThis was the best experience I have had in my teaching career.This was the most valuable and rewarding training I have ever attended.I feel that this was a great thing for physical education teachers and should be continued.This was a wonderful idea! Much thanks!For our profession to continue to grow I feel this academy must continue.Hopefully, the entire state can be represented at future academies.Overall, I felt I learned a lot of techniques, strategies, and skill development pertinent to a successful PE program.I really enjoyed all of our conferences and the professional development.The academy was a positive experience.Suggestions for ImprovementMore interaction. Bring ideas that make your PE class operate better and share them.More information for health people. Most sessions pertained to PE.Focus needs to be shared more with health education.The national board information should be presented in smaller segments.
