Physical educators, distance learning, and the pandemic: Crisis learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators across the country to immediately shift their mode of teaching to a distance learning format. While online education was already an option in all 50 states, it was a choice for students and teachers. Distance learning in physical education is an under researched area, and there is minimal guidance on best practices (1). Additionally, physical educators have struggled to apply instructional practices from the face-to-face environment to online delivery (2). The purpose of this study was to investigate how K-12 physical educators adapted and responded to the transition to distance learning during the Spring 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N=226) were EC-12 physical education (PE) teachers and data were collected by an online survey towards the end of the Spring 2020 semester. Not surprisingly, teachers reported that they did not have any training in distance learning pedagogies before the pandemic, and most received training as their schools transitioned online. Overall, there was a desire for PE specific professional development related to online learning. Teachers used a variety of learning management systems, videos from the internet, and applications (i.e., Flipgrid and edpuzzle) in their distance learning courses. Eighty four percent of teachers claimed that health related fitness outcomes were the focus of the distance learning curriculum, which is consistent with the online physical education literature. While the shift in educational mode forced teachers to learn new skills and alter how they delivered content, additional supports will be needed to teach the breadth of PE content online.