An in-depth analysis of two physical education teachers’ individual and collaborative reflective practices while learning to implement the SKIP curriculum

Background: Teachers’ reflective practices can support professional growth and are pivotal to the successful adoption of innovative curricula in physical education (PE). Collaborative reflection, or co-reflection, warrants exploration as it may be a more powerful method than individual reflection to foster critical engagement and deeper insight into the teaching act. The purpose of this study was to examine two PE teachers’ co-reflections on the Successful Kinesthetic Instruction for Preschoolers (SKIP) curriculum. Specifically, this study drew upon the Reflective Framework for Teaching in Physical Education (RFTPE) to explore the focus and depth of the teachers’ reflections while implementing SKIP and consider how reflective practices contribute to teacher learning and adaptation to new instructional approaches. Method: A convergent mixed-methods design was employed. The two participants were doctoral students who had previously taught PE full time and had never used SKIP. Over a seven-week period, the teachers co-taught SKIP at a public preschool in the southeastern United States, conducting 40-minute lessons twice per week. Primary data sources included post-lesson audiorecorded individual and co-reflection sessions and post-lesson individual written reflections. Supplementary data included the teachers’ lesson plans and videos of the teachers’ lessons. Quantitative analysis involved coding the reflections using the RFTPE to determine the frequency and distribution of reflection types. Qualitative analysis was conducted to identify themes in the data. Results: Quantitative analysis indicated individual reflections were predominantly situational (50%) and technical (31%), while co-reflections exhibited higher situational focus (66%) and critical depth. These patterns were explained by three qualitative themes: (1) Individual Reflection as Structured Accounts, where teachers documented logistics and management; (2) Co-reflection as Dialogic Sense-Making, where collaborative dialogue facilitated detailed inquiry and critical insights; and (3) Sensitizing Reflection as Contextual Awareness, which captured reactive attention to social dynamics and inclusion. Conclusion: Findings indicate that individual reflection supports logistical planning and management, while co-reflection is essential for dialogic sense-making and addressing social inclusion. Thus, teacher education programs should prioritize structured collaborative models to support the complex pedagogical demands of implementing prescriptive motor-skill curricula. Impact statement: The present study centers on SKIP curricula implementation in order to best explore the variances of reflection modality. Results from this study indicate that collaborative reflection supports more profound and critical engagement than individual reflection for PE teachers learning to teach new curricula for preschool students. We stress the importance of consistently implementing a structured reflective approach to generate meaningful insights and inform future practice.