From In-Person to Online Teaching

Abstract

Restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic forced many teachers across the United States to teach their students remotely using online teaching strategies. Analyzing teachers' perceptions and expectations of online teaching before and during the pandemic help stakeholders understand how to better handle the challenges of online learning. The literature review examines the traditional differences between teaching online and in-person courses, challenges faced when teaching online courses, and teacher perceptions of online learning. The survey method was used to collect data on the experiences of online teaching before and during the pandemic from ninth through twelfth grade teachers in a North Texas school district. The study results show that factors such as a teacher age or years of experience had less influence determining if they were prepared for online teaching. Rather, factors like a teacher school campus, prior experience, and access to support structures correlated more to teachers having a high level of preparedness for online teaching.