Azukas, M. E., & Barbour, M. K. (2022, April). Teachers' perceptions of K–12 online learning: An action research project in a graduate course [Paper]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

1. Teachers’ Perceptions
of K-12 Online Learning:
An Action Research
Project
M. Elizabeth Azukas, East Stroudsburg
University of Pennsylvania
Michael Barbour, Touro University
California

2. Purpose of the Study
This study is part of a five-year project to
examine the effectiveness of curriculum for K-
12 online learning in a graduate level course for
in-service teachers as part of one of five
courses required for the state’s educational
technology teacher certification endorsement.
2

3. Background (pre-pandemic)
▸ Online learning has grown exponentially since 1996
▸ 2.2 million students were enrolled in 45 million online supplemental
courses (Gemin et al., 2015)
▸ (2019) 300,000 students were enrolled in state sponsored virtual schools
(Molnar et al., 2019)
▸ Enrollment in state-wide virtual schools was growing at 6% per year
(Digital Learning Collaborative, 2019)
▸ Digital learning within districts was growing at the fastest rate (DLC 2019)
▸ 5 states required an online course to graduate (National Conference of
State Legislatures, 2016)
3

4. Background (pre-pandemic)
▸ A focus on online teaching still a relatively new concept for teacher
education programs (Ferdig et al., 2009; Kennedy & Archambault; 2012).
▸ Less than 40% of online teachers in the U.S. reported receiving any PD
before teaching online (Rice and Dawley, 2007)
▸ Less than 15 % of K-12 teachers trained to teach online Smith, et al.,
(2005)
▸ Only 1.3% of the 522 universities surveyed had some form of field
experience related to online learning (Kennedy & Archambault, 2012b)
4

5. Pandemic
▸ 93% of families with school-age children in the
United States reported some form of “distance
learning” during the pandemic (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2020).
5

6. Research Questions
(1) What are in-service teacher perceptions of K-12 online learning?
(2) How do those perceptions impact future curricular design?
6

7. Context
▸ Large Public Research University
▸ Urban Area in a Midwestern State
▸ Online Graduate Level Course
▸ Seven Weeks of Online Content; Teacher, Designer, Facilitator
▸ Based on the Following Curricular Materials
▹ Good Practice to Inform Iowa Learning Online case studies;
▹ The TEGIVS scenarios, designed to explore the role of online local
facilitator;
▹ Local versions of the case studies (i.e., based on online teachers in
this Midwestern state).
7

8. Participants
▸ 16 Learners Enrolled in Course
▸ 4 Learners agreed to allow their complete set
of artifacts to be used as part of the formal
data collection
▸ Partial Data was Used from the other 12
students).
8

9. Action Research
9
Semester
Year
Fall Winter Summer
Year 1 Cycle 1
Year 2 Cycle 2 Cycle 3
Year 3 Cycle 4

10. Data Collection and Analysis
1. Learner Reflections - Blog
Posts
2. Learner Interactions -
Comments on Peers’ Blog Posts
3. Student Projects
4. Course Evaluations
10
Grounded Theory - Strauss and
Corbin’s (1990) 3 Step Process
1. Open Coding
2. Axial Coding
3. Selective Coding

11. Results
Themes
1. Benefits and Challenges of Online Learning
2. Success Factors for Online Learning
3. Learner Acceptance of K-12 Online Learning
4. Student Self-Efficacy for Teaching Online
11

12. Benefits and Challenges of Online Learning
Benefits Challenges
Enhanced Equity and Access
Flexibility
Enhanced Communication
Potential Lack of Social Interaction
Career Threat
Online Classroom Management and Discipline
Year 1 Lack of Interaction/Socialization
Year 2 Access; Flexibility; Perceived Isolation
Year 3 Enhanced Communication with Strong Instructional Design; Discipline mentioned tangentially
Many students have very little, and in some cases, no access to AP [Advanced Placement]
courses… By offering courses online, we open up the availability of a strong education to more
students. Is that not our goal in a democratic education system: equal educational opportunities?

13. Success Factors for Online learning
1. Student Support
2. Parental Involvement
3. Academic Integrity
Year 1 Importance of Student Support
Year 2
Year 3 Student Support through Strong Instructional Design
My greatest fear of online courses is that the person taking a test may not be
the person taking the course. Maybe they can incorporate at webcam that
records the user only during the test time. This might help, but I am sure
someone would figure out a way to get around that too.

14. Learner Acceptance of K-12 Online Learning
Increased Acceptance of Online Learning in K-12
Since starting our very own online class, I have become more welcoming of the idea of
online classes. It really wasn’t until I took the last two online courses through [Midwestern
University] that I started to see the real potential in online courses. I was still reserved
about using them at the K-12 level, but most of that stems from my own
misunderstandings.
Year 1 Students skeptical about online learning
Year 2 Did not emerge as a theme in data analysis
Year 3 Student acceptance of K-12 Online Learning

15. Student Self-Efficacy for Teaching Online
Student self-efficacy for facilitating an online course increased.
Students felt somewhat less efficacious about teaching online.
I feel pretty confident in being able to support a student at my school through an online course; I think
that I could engage the student to complete an online course successfully.
I would have to have a lot of training and be mentored by an experienced online teacher to feel
confident about teaching an online class.
Year 1 Did not emerge as a theme
Year 2 Did not emerge as a theme
Year 3 Did not emerge as a theme

16. Implications for Future Course Design
 Learners expressed a desire for a better understanding of how schools
market themselves. Addition of sample marketing materials.
 Learners responded positively to reading about the implementation of
online learning in the state. Addition of updated readings highlighting
online learning in the state.
 Case studies that demonstrate instructional design and teacher
practices to reduce student anxiety in online courses.
 A specific focus on classroom management in the online environment.

17. Conclusions
Key Points
 Acceptance of online learning grows over the 4-year period with some
students moving into advocacy. (updated readings/case studies)
 Prompt addressing student anxiety may have prompted discussion
about site mentors, parental involvement and instructional design.
 As depth of understanding develops, more nuanced questions and
concerns develop.
 Self-efficacy theme emerged for the 1st time - connection between their
course content and their ability to apply these learnings to their
teaching lives.
 May be relevant for higher education institutions looking to
add/continue online learning post-pandemic as well as for those looking
to include content related to teacher education in the online
environment.

18. 18
THANKS!
Questions?