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During the spring of 2020, school districts across the United States were required to shift to distance learning modalities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic forced schools to close their doors to face-to-face instruction and quickly shift to an online format. While online education is prevalent in the United States, it only serves about 2% to 4% of the total K-12 population. Literature related to K-12 online physical education is sparse and there are concerns regarding accountability. This study used a grounded theory approach and collected data through open-ended questions as part of an online survey. Data clearly indicate that physical educators need assistance in the transition to distance learning, especially in developing plans for teaching motor skills and online pedagogies. Many of the teachers in this study expressed frustration with how their school leadership handled the shift to distance learning, partially due to the marginalization of the subject matter. Physical educators need the tools to expand their pedagogical technological knowledge as well as resources to advocate for themselves and their subject during adverse situations in schools. The shift to distance learning has the potential to have positive outcomes, as teachers were forced out of their comfort zones to learn new technology skills that may translate to enhanced learning in the face-to-face environment. Future studies should focus on development of distance learning pedagogies and seek to understand how to support teachers during crisis learning situations.
During the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic came to the forefront and caused a majority of the school districts in the United States to shift to remote learning. That shift required state departments of education, school districts, schools, teachers, parents, and students to make significant adjustments to the delivery of learning. School districts rushed to adapt to guidelines from local and national institutes of health. At the same time, teachers had to change their mode of instruction, including the use of learning management systems (LMS). Teachers have increasingly used LMS, such as Canvas, Google Classroom, Schoology, and Seesaw, in their face-to-face (FTF) classes (Cheung & Slavin, 2013; Sorensen, 2016), systems which had yet to be utilized in such a widespread manner. Additionally, parents were suddenly thrust into the position of managing their child's distance learning experience...