to online instruction,” awareness of the time commitment to teach online, and be a certified PE teacher” (p. 6). The design of this course is in strong alignment with Guideline 2, with four out of the seven recommendations met, and three of the seven partially met (Table 2.8).
Triangulated results from document analysis, teacher and student survey questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews provided evidence to support this alignment determination.
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Table 2.8
Guideline 2 Alignment Summary: Teacher Prerequisites
Recommendations Yes No o Partial
A certified PE teacher who is experienced in the traditional classroom and
gymnasium setting teaches the course. X
Teachers serve as positive role models for students. X
The teacher teaches using the same content in the Online learning setting as that
used for the school- based PE classes. X
The teacher uses appropriate instructional strategies, provides clear expectations to students, interacts frequently, monitors student work, offers immediate and specific feedback, and provides support and resources to students.
X
The teacher belongs to professional organizations, participates in ongoing professional development, keeps an updated portfolio, and demonstrates subject matter currency to ensure accurate course content and meaningful instructional practices.
X
The teacher is able to help students with technological problems and issues that
arise during the course. X
The teacher sets and keeps hours of availability. X
As recommended, semi-structured interviews and teacher survey questionnaire results (Table 2.9) indicated that the teachers of this course are certified in PE, and all interviewed teachers mentioned being trained prior to teaching this course and indicated they have experience in the traditional classroom and gymnasium. In contrast, Daum and Buschner (2012; 2014) found that only 17 out of 50 states (34%) require state-certified VPE teachers.
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Table 2.9
Teacher Agreement of Certification in PE
Survey Question Teacher Response (%)
Yes No Unsure DWA
Certified PE teacher
100% 0% 0% 0%
Though it is unknown if teachers in this course serve as a positive role model for students beyond the indication from some of the survey questionnaire respondents and mention from some of the interviewees that they do, student and teacher survey questionnaire results indicated that teachers are easy to get in contact with and helpful if questions arise (Table 2.10). The interviewed teachers indicated that they check email and interact with students daily, particularly through the Remind application which is available on smartphones, and/or though feedback on assignments, even though they are not required to keep set hours. Stephen, the director,
confirmed that teachers are not required to keep set hours. Student and teacher survey
questionnaire results indicated that email and the Remind application (text messaging) are the most common forms of communication with teachers (Table 2.11).
64 Table 2.10
Student/Teacher Percentage of Agreement of Ease of Contact with Teachers and Helpfulness of Teachers
Survey Question
Student Response (%) Teacher Response (%)
A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA
Hard to contact my teacher
17.8% 8.9% 73.3% 0% N/A N/A N/A N/A
Teacher helpful with questions 80% 8.9% 8.9% 2.2% 100% 0% 0% 0% Table 2.11
Student/Teacher Percentage of Most Common Communication Method
Survey Question Student Response (%) Teacher Response (%) Communication through email 68.9% 37.5% Communication through Text 15.6% 0% Communication via phone 4.4% 12.5%
Other 6.7% (email and phone/remind app) 50% (remind app)
Teacher survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview results also revealed that the content in this course is similar to the school-based PE setting, which is recommended (Table 2.12). Moreover, student and teacher survey questionnaire results of this study indicated that teachers in this course provide expectations to students, monitor work and give feedback, and provide students with resources to be successful, further illustrating alignment with this guideline
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(Table 2.13 and 2.14).
Table 2.12
Teacher Percentage of Agreement of Similarity of Course Content to Traditional PE Content
Survey Question Teacher Response (%)
A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA
Content same as school-based PE
87.5% 12.5% 0% 0%
Table 2.13
Student/Teacher Percentage of Agreement that Course Expectations and Feedback Provided
Survey Question Student Response (%) Teacher Response (%)
A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA Course expectations provided 88.9% 6.7% 2.2% 2.2% 100% 0% 0% 0% Feedback provided within 1 week 68.9% 13.3% 17.8% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% Table 2.14
Student Percentage of Agreement of Helpfulness of Resources and Comments Survey Question Student Response (%)
A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA
Resources on course site are helpful
82.2% 8.9% 6.7% 2.2%
Comments on assignments are helpful
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As recommended, all of the interviewed teachers also indicated helping students troubleshoot any problems that occur with heart rate monitor technology. They also mentioned that these problems typically only occur at the start of the semester and are resolved quickly.
While Stephen mentioned that there is no feedback or communication policy in place for teachers of this course, the interviewed teachers indicated that they frequently communicate with students and leave comments on all student assignments. Stephen also mentioned that a policy will be set in place regarding frequency of teacher communication in this course in the future. Student and teacher survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview results also illustrated that there does not seem to be an issue regarding feedback in the current course (Table 2.15). For instance, the teacher survey questionnaire sample indicated that they leave feedback on all student assignments, and the student survey questionnaire sample indicated agreeing this feedback is helpful (see Tables 2.13 and 2.14 above).
Table 2.15
Student/Teacher Percentage of Agreement that Enough Communication Received/Provided
Survey Question Student Response (%) Teacher Response (%)
A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA A+SA Unsure D+SD DWA
Enough communication received/provided
80% 8.9% 11.1% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Evidence is lacking for this guideline relative to professional organization membership and participation. SHAPE America, AHA, & Voices for Healthy Kids (2016) recommend professional development to keep current and improve teaching methods. Not all teachers who responded to the survey questionnaire or participated in the interview indicated belonging to a
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professional organization or participating in professional development opportunities (Table 2.16). It is unknown whether this has an effect on teaching/learning in this course.
Table 2.16
Teacher Percentage of Agreement of Professional Organization Membership and Attendance
Survey Question Teacher Response (%)
Yes No Unsure DWA
I belong to a PE professional organization 37.5% 62.5% 0% 0% I have attended/participated in at least 1 professional development
activity//course this year
75% 12.5% 0% 0%
Guideline 3: Curriculum and instructional prerequisites (strong alignment). Under