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BOX 5-9 
Characteristics of a High-Quality Professional 
Development Program
1. It is sustained, intensive, and content-focused to have a positive and 
lasting impact on classroom instruction and teacher performance.
2. It is aligned with and directly related to state academic content stan-
dards, student achievement standards, and assessments.
3. It improves and increases teachers’ knowledge of the subjects they 
teach.
4. It advances teachers’ understanding of effective instructional strate-
gies founded on scientifically based research.
5. It is regularly evaluated for effects on teacher effectiveness and stu-
dent achievement. Intensive and focused in-service training.
SOURCE: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, 115 stat. 
1425 (2002).
intense, content-focused experiences, as well as opportunities for peer 
collaboration and structured induction experiences for new teachers. Wiley 
and Yoon (1995) and Kennedy (1998) suggest that teaching practice and 
student achievement are likely to improve when professional develop-
ment is focused on academic content and curriculum that are aligned with 
standards-based reform.
Kulinna (2012) used Guskey and Sparks’ (2004) Model of Teacher 
Change to determine whether students’ physical activity and BMI changed 
after their teacher underwent a 1-year professional development program. 
Significant increases in students’ physical activity levels were found, but no 
significant changes in BMI. Looking at the effect of professional develop-
ment on changes in behavior among physical education teachers, Martin 
and colleagues (2008) found that, following a variety of professional 
development experiences and follow-up sessions, teachers showed increases 
in their efficacy in attaining motor skills objectives, physical activity and 
fitness knowledge objectives, and personal and social objectives. These 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
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