EXPERIENCES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATORS IN ONLINE TEACHING

EXPERIÊNCIAS, DESAFIOS, SOLUÇÕES E BOAS PRÁTICAS DE EDUCADORES FÍSICOS NO ENSINO ONLINE

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to determine the lived experiences of physical education teachers in online teaching during the pandemic. This study is qualitative in nature, utilizing phenomenological research design to identify the experiences of physical educators teaching online. The participants in the study consisted of four physical education teachers from two private schools, who are experienced in teaching PE in an online class environment. A semi-structured interview was conducted with an open-ended questionnaire. Transcribing, coding, and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data. From the analysis, themes emerged based on the experiences encountered by PE teachers in teaching online in terms of positive experiences, problems encountered, and solutions taken in dealing with problems or difficulties in online teaching. The findings of the study showed that PE teachers had expressed their lived experiences in teaching PE online, with benefits and problems encountered, as well as solutions and best teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Physical Education; Challenges; Solutions; Online Teaching; Lived Experience

RESUMO

O estudo teve como objetivo conhecer as experiências vividas por professores de educação física no ensino online durante a pandemia. Este estudo é de natureza qualitativa, utilizando desenho de pesquisa fenomenológica para identificar as experiências de educadores físicos ensinando online. Os participantes do estudo foram quatro professores de educação física de duas escolas particulares, com experiência no ensino de EF em ambiente de aula online. Foi realizada uma entrevista semiestruturada com questionário aberto. Para análise dos dados foram utilizadas transcrição, codificação e análise temática. Da análise, surgiram temas baseados nas experiências encontradas pelos professores de EF no ensino online em termos de experiências positivas, problemas encontrados e soluções tomadas ao lidar com problemas ou dificuldades no ensino online. As conclusões do estudo mostraram que os professores de EF expressaram as suas experiências vividas no ensino de EF online, com os benefícios e problemas encontrados, bem como as soluções e melhores práticas de ensino durante a pandemia da COVID-19.

Palavras-chave: Educação física; Desafios; Soluções; Ensino Online; Experiência Vivida

Introduction

Private schools and some public schools have begun to implement online learning through various platforms in which the student and the teacher will engage in teaching and learning. In a time of crisis, learning shifted to online classes in the physical education subject. It resulted in big adjustments because even during face-to-face classes, physical education classes are considered important¹. Due to the sudden shift to online learning, Physical Education (PE) teachers are facing challenges where learners expect more from them. Teachers are expected to be able to give the students instant feedback and proper learning strategies to instantly cope in this global crisis². Furthermore, considering this teaching-learning modality, some classroom activities that require space and PE equipment have become limited. This resulted in some adjustments in the pedagogy according to the needs of the students in the new normal.

During the old normal, teachers could easily give feedback and immediately guide students. In online distance learning, poor internet connectivity causes a barrier for immediate feedback on the performance of every student. Thus, it is preferred by the student to have a recorded class discussion so that others can catch up³. Currently, learning in an online class is really challenging because not everyone is in the same situation. In order to continue education, social media platforms are maximized as contingency spaces for the teachers to easily share lessons and check students’ outputs⁴. By considering this crisis in education, it is implied that teachers should explore and go out of their box to cope with the challenges particularly in technology integration.

Moreover, the teacher must always stay connected with their students in order to facilitate the learning of Physical Education. Physical education (PE) teaching and learning requires physical or practical movements or exercises in order to fully understand the essence of PE, which includes keeping a healthy body and conquering mental conditions. In addition, there were social interactions through groupings back then. However, because the students are separated and it is only done virtually, it is impossible to form groups currently, it is indeed difficult to use it⁵. For many teachers, online teaching is quite difficult especially for the teachers who are not really capable of using technologies. Furthermore, to educate effectively, the teacher should learn more about technology or adapt it. Conducting synchronous meetings may not be enough to educate students. Teachers need to produce videos and even edit them and make them creative for the students, for their additional learning⁶.

Teaching physical education should be an act of control, where the teacher should act as a guide to a predefined learning outcome⁷. Obviously, Physical Educators are experiencing stress because online teaching uses technologies, and they are not used to it. Moreover, teachers lack teaching kits, online lesson plans and home activity recommendations as guides in teaching virtually⁸. The teachers do not have enough experience with virtual classes even before the pandemic had begun so they were completely unprepared. As a result, they practiced trial and error methods, thought out a solution, and did their best so that they could teach the students well⁹. In addition, because teachers are not really used to it, online teaching impacts the emotional stability of Physical Education teachers. They do not have any memories or shared moments with their students compared to face-to-face classes. Also, unlike face-to-face classes, their students are not monitored or guided properly in online classes¹.

Furthermore, teachers must also adjust their teaching approaches to fit the use of technology or online classes¹⁰. Online teaching takes more time for preparing the needed instructional materials and estimate how these will be delivered virtually. Moreover, educators experience a huge amount of intensified workload as they focus not only to develop teaching techniques, content, and materials into the online learning, but also they also need to be sufficiently master navigating different kind of software (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Office Software, Google Classroom, Canvas, Google meet etc.). Similar to this, a case study on the stress state of teachers and students in Stockholm, Sweden revealed that the sudden change in the learning environment causes disparity and even depression among teachers due to the huge amount of framework and different workplace settings¹¹. Indeed, in Physical Education classes, the teacher must see every movement of the student. Physical educators need to adjust because workplace settings have changed, especially with the use of technology that some educators are not even used to.

Additionally, teaching Physical Education in an online class set-up is different, which is why physical educators are doing their best to make teaching of physical education effective even in an online mode. Several institutions of higher learning have begun to develop online teaching modules that secondary health and physical education instructors may utilize for online study. In comparison to a typical gym setting, these modules feature instructional videos, evaluation, and pedagogical teaching approaches. Contact between students and teachers during traditional schooling, communication may take several forms (body language, spoken, nonverbal). However, the internet setting is quite constrained, and as a result, spoken language is important in online media. Collaboration among students in an online setting may be extremely difficult. Some examples include group projects in which students meet via Zoom/Skype/FaceTime or work on specific portions of larger projects¹². By learning creative multimedia techniques, the content impacts the teaching effect, allowing learners to practice what they have learned in a safe and manageable setting. This can improve physical education classroom instruction, increase students' sports motivation and interest, enhance students' grasp of action ideas and sports theory knowledge, and have a significant impact on enhancing physical education quality^13).

There are appropriate practices and strategies teachers can utilize to deliver quality physical education in an online set-up. Teachers must recognize the significance of assessing learners through a range of performance-based activities. Although there are currently online tools for educators, they are insufficient to fulfill the present demands of physical education teachers. Recent studies, for example, revealed that “student access to online learning” and “availability of instructor resources'' were significant obstacles linked to online physical education teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak, that is why teachers are keeping up to the trend to teach in an online class set-up for the students to still practice and manage to have physical education¹⁴.

Physical education requires physical or practical movements or exercises to completely grasp the content of the subject, which include maintaining a healthy body and defeating mental disorders. For many educators, online teaching is rather challenging, especially for those who are not particularly adept at utilizing technology or the shifting of class setup. The teacher must create videos, edit them, and make them unique for the learners, so that the teachers can demonstrate their additional learning to them. The teacher must maintain a constant contact with their students in order to enhance their physical education learning. Regardless of what is occurring now, such as the movement of teaching and learning processes online, teachers should learn to manipulate technology.

Apart from providing feedback, real-time activities, and innovative multimedia for students, there are additional best practices and tactics that teachers employ while setting up an online class to provide a high-quality physical education to students who are learning at home. When it comes to teaching physical education to learners, there is a drastic change in teaching the subject. There is a need to explore physical education teachers' experiences adjusting to the new form of learning. Teachers are struggling with the teaching process and figuring out how to engage learners online, therefore the researcher was motivated to identify how they cope up with the online set-up, what are the lived experiences and what are the teaching problems implemented to achieve the student learning outcomes.

Therefore, the study aims to describe the experiences, challenges, solutions, and best practices of physical educators in online teaching during the pandemic. The results of the study could guide physical educators on how to deliver effective online classes. By exploring the experiences, challenges possible solutions to the difficulties that the teachers are experiencing in online classes. The schools will benefit by knowing the experiences of their teachers regarding the online class and might have a solution for those concerns to provide quality and effective online teaching. The study could also help future physical education teachers discover possible teaching methods, and experiences to achieve an effective physical education.

Methods

Research Design

The researchers utilized a phenomenological research design to identify the lived experiences of the junior high school physical educators during online distance learning. Phenomenological research design, as a qualitative research approach, is important as it focuses on the participant’s real-life experiences during the COVID-19 worldwide crisis, eliciting the core significance of each individual’s experiences and analyzing particular statements to elicit overarching themes. The essence of phenomenological research is to know about the phenomena under study through experience, and in contrast to its qualitative nature, to give a wider scope to the lived experiences under investigation¹⁵. A proposed framework from the results of the study was designed for the physical educators that will serve as a guide to have an effective teaching and learning amidst pandemic.

Participants

Four (4) junior high school physical educators participated in the study, they have at least 1 year experience in conducting online classes particularly Google Classroom which have both asynchronous and synchronous features. After the fourth interviewee, the researchers discontinued the interview process since it reached the data saturation. The study focused on this status because most of them have different experiences in online teaching during this time of the pandemic. Hence, the researchers decided to set according to their characteristics in order to distribute interview questions as easy as possible. Elementary and college level of teachers as well as not more than outside the said schools.

Instrument

The study utilized semi-structured interview questions to better understand the different perspectives, opinions, and experiences of the participants in online teaching. The researchers prepared four guide questions that are related to experiences of the Physical Education teachers during online classes. The following interview guide questions are based on the objectives of the study and were face validated by the research adviser;

1. What are the positive experiences you encountered during the online class?

2. What are the difficulties you encountered during the online class?

3. How did you solve the problems or difficulties encountered in online class?

4. What are your best teaching practices in online class?

Procedures

The researchers contacted the respective principals of schools to seek permission to interview the selected junior high school physical education teachers in two private schools in Angeles City. The participants were reached through the referred contact emails and messenger apps. This study also provided a permission letter to interview the participants. The researchers utilized open-ended questions so that the interviewees would have the opportunity to fully express themselves. Therefore, the researchers used a semi-structured interview in which the questions are relevant to the research subject, which is the lived experiences of junior high school physical educators in an online learning curriculum and their challenges within the school year.

To secure the privacy of the participants, the researchers asked for permission to record their whole conversation or interview. Before conducting the interview, the interviewer had known the interviewee and asked a few questions about them that gave them a brief idea of the topic before beginning the interview. The researchers utilized Zoom in interviewing the PE teachers. The researchers conducted one-on-one interviews with each of their interviewees and analyzed their opinions and perceptions during the interviews to see how far they assessed the legitimacy of their online learning experiences.

Analysis of Data

The researchers followed the process of Braun and Clarke’s¹⁶ thematic analysis. In which the researchers recorded and transcribed all of the interviewees’ responses first. Second, they applied coding to each interviewee’s responses. Generating initial codes was done, and next is the process of generating the themes. Then the following process was to review the final themes that organized the interviewees’ responses and combined the single responses of each one of them based on the answers that had similarities. Lastly, finalizing the analysis was also done to write-up the extracted data needed.

Ethical Consideration

This study underwent and passed the Institutional Ethics Review Board. A letter of consent was sent before conducting the interview for the physical educators. It ensured the participants' privacy and security of the answers and information based from the interview. Participants were also informed that they had the option of withdrawing from the study at any time and may refuse to answer any question. All the information was kept confidential and for the use in this study only. All information withheld from the administration and the institution, and its rawest form accessed by the researchers through a secure password folder file in google drive. There is no risk in participating in the research study. After transcribing all the data collected, the researchers provided a copy for the interviewees to check and approve if those were their concrete answers based on the interview.

Results and Discussion

Based on the interview with the participants, results in this study were focused on four categories, (1) Positive experiences encountered by PE teachers in teaching Online, (2) Problems encountered by PE teachers in teaching Online, (3) Measures taken in dealing with problems or difficulties encountered in teaching PE online, and (4) Best teaching practices of PE teachers in teaching Online. The participants' statements were also included which were directly quoted.

Positive experiences encountered by PE teachers in teaching Online.

The researchers investigated the positive experiences of the Physical education teachers teaching in online class set-up. The researchers resorted to using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questions were given to the participants. After analyzing their responses in a semi-structured interview, the following 3 sub-themes yielded: (a) Flexibility in scheduling work (b) Technology literate and (c) Learners are more responsive.

Theme 1: Flexibility in scheduling work

Teachers facilitate learning in a comfortable and manageable place. In addition, it is known that the teachers do not need to travel or go to school when teaching online, because they could just stay at home to teach. Flexibility in scheduling the work is one of the positive encounters of the PE teachers in teaching in an online class set-up, which is captured in the following responses of the participants:

“Because in online the best experience happened is change in the schedule, a bit less hassle” (T1)

“More on time really, you have control of your time, so more time for multi-tasking.” (T2)

“I'm just working at home, and we are not even required to go to school during the online classes” (T3)

The participants said that in an online class set-up, it made a positive impact for the teaching practice of the PE teachers in their own homes that allows them to be flexible at their own pace. The teachers take the online teaching as an experience of being flexible with their work and household responsibilities. According to Kim¹⁷, online learning, asynchronously or synchronously, has various benefits: For example, it does not require the same physical location, increasing participation rates. Online learning also allows learners and teachers to communicate without having to meet face to face. In addition, online learning can also be cost-effective since it saves travel and other costs associated with in-person classes and allows adult students to learn while working full-time or part-time¹⁸. All you need is a digital device and an internet connection to access the tools you need to enhance your approach to achieving your career on your own schedule.

Theme 2: Technology literate

In online class set-up, technology is the tool to begin an online teaching and learning. Becoming technologically literate was experienced by the teachers, that they can easily facilitate effective teaching and learning processes. Teachers experienced familiarity when it comes to maneuvering technology for the teaching process in online class. Since the teachers need to use knowledge when it comes to different online platforms, they became technologically literate. This is magnified on the following lines of the PE teachers:

“During the training and during the seminar I was techier. Is that the correct word techy? It's like you have many buttons to click on and then you will just say to yourself that “oh this is how you create a more creative PowerPoint” (T3)

“We get or we learn to use different platforms that can help us in doing such activities and we get to explore the technology” (T4)

The teachers experienced how important it is to be knowledgeable when it comes to technology, because this could help them create engaging and effective learning materials. When teachers are already familiar with the different online tools, they will have quality online teaching using different platforms or technologies. Educators must be able to overcome hurdles to properly use technology in the classroom in order to enhance digital literacy abilities in the classroom. Language, restricted access, varied levels of expertise, educational infrastructure, and keeping up with developments are just a few of the obstacles. Educators must be flexible in their use of technology, open-minded and eager to learn from pupils, and keep up with technological changes¹⁹.

Theme 3: Learners are Responsive

Another factor that online class set-up needs to be considered are the learners' responses. The students are expected to acquire the requirements that are intended for their learning. Since it is in online class, the teachers observed how students cooperated and submitted their requirements actively. Due to the online class set-up, learners can easily communicate their learning activities to the teachers. This is magnified on the following response of the PE teachers:

“The children cooperates more, they are more active and submitting on time” (T1)

“For the kids are really doing their part just so they can submit the PE requirements.” (T3)

Learners have their own way on how to engage with the online learning set-up. PE teachers experienced how active the students were in giving their best to create and give the required activity that is related to the subject. The teachers also experienced that some of the students are having difficulty in accomplishing their assessments. But most importantly, students are doing their best just to become more responsive amidst difficulty.

Problems encountered by PE teachers in teaching Online

After identifying the positive experiences of the PE teachers, the researchers analyzed the problems that physical education teachers face when teaching in an online classroom setting. The participants were given open-ended questions and the researchers used semi-structured interviews. The following five sub-themes developed after examining their responses in a semi-structured interview: (a) Connectivity issues, (b) Limited physical movements, (c) Teaching strategies adjustments, (d) Difficulty in stimulating learners, and (e) Budget for online class

Theme 1: Connectivity Issues

Learning is being done online in this time of pandemic, hence an internet connection is part of the online teaching and learning. Internet access is necessary for those who take online classes, such as students and teachers who work from home. Teachers will be unable to teach clearly if there is no or a poor internet connection. Connectivity issue is one of the problems encountered by Physical Educators in teaching online, which contained in the important points below:

“Maybe another problem is the connection. Especially to the students when they say “sir, the internet doesn't have a strong signal.” (T1)

“If you have a poor connection as a teacher, everybody will have problems.” (T2)

“I guess when it comes to signals or on the internet. When you lag, especially when you have a discussion.” (T3)

The participants mentioned that connectivity is a problem when teaching PE online, particularly during discussions. Everyone will have problems if the teacher has a connection issue. Not only the teachers, but also the students, are affected by the lack of connectivity. According to by Bayern²⁰, some of the most common internet problems people have had include losing internet or data during an online class, difficulty to load materials, bad audio or video during a lesson, and the internet not functioning in certain sections of the house.

Theme 2: Limited physical movements

Teaching Physical Education needs a spacious place. However, teaching actual exercises became limited at home. Teachers and students have a limited amount of space that prevents them from moving freely. One of the issues that Physical Educators face with online learning is limited physical movements, and it is covered in the following main points:

“The classroom we set up is no longer spacious compared to before but at home of course you only have limited space that is used to teach your topic.” (T1)

“We as physical educators, our goal is to make our students move as much as possible, it's a way for them to somehow move their muscles, somehow be active.” (T2)

“How will the kids will really have experience on playing the volleyball if it is only virtually?” (T3)

The participants mentioned that limited physical movements is a problem in teaching PE online. PE teachers' goal is for students to move their physical bodies in order for them to become active or flex their muscles, as well as to gain experience on playing. According to the studies of Jeong and So²¹, students taking online physical education programs sometimes may not have adequate room to participate in physical exercise successfully, and they also have restricted access to the tools and equipment required to complete online physical education coursework. As a result, the participants who ran the online physical education sessions used resources that they had at home, limiting the number of physical education units that could be taught. Because not all students have the necessary equipment, teachers have a restricted number of activities and exercises to give to students.

Theme 3: Teaching strategies adjustments

Working with something you are not used to or are not familiar with is part of adjustment. There are teaching strategies that were adjusted just to facilitate teaching online effectively according to the participants. Making adjustments in teaching strategies is one of the problems that Physical Educators face in online learning, and it is explained in the following main points:

“I've adjusted a bit. The best practice I do now is to make the topic or lesson light.” (T1)

“It's hard for you to get the message across to your students using online platforms.” (T2)

“Like how am I going to adjust, like there is a lot of confusion that I need to face, that I thought I could not do these exercises.” (T3)

“The problems that I’ve encountered with my students are that we have redesigned our strategies and our approach that could meet the needs of our students.” (T4)

“That time is still adjusting with the system and we need to design an effective activity.” (T4)

The participants said that making adjustments in teaching strategies is a problem in teaching PE online. Adjusting strategies is hard because there are a lot of confusions. The teachers must have strategies that will be effective in online learning. According to the literature review conducted by Kebritchi et al.², expectations, preparation, identification, and involvement in online courses were among the concerns identified by students, as were issues pertaining to online learners, instructors, and material development. Changes in faculty responsibilities, moving from face-to-face to online classes, time management, and teaching methods were all issues that teachers had to deal with. Although teachers are making an effort to adjust to the changes, they still lack the necessary training and direction to conduct virtual lessons.

Theme 4: Difficulty in stimulating learners

When the teachers can't stimulate the students properly, learners won't be encouraged to study, and the teachers need to construct an effective activity for the students to be motivated. Difficulty in stimulating learners is one of the encountered problems by Physical Educators in teaching online, it is included in the following key points:

“If the kids are stubborn, maybe one like one of them will be shy, one of them is like they just don't want to video themselves” (T3)

“We need to design an effective activity just to motivate the student to listen and to participate during class.” (T4)

Participants stated that it is difficult to stimulate learners and that some of them lack motivation; therefore, teachers must plan an effective activity to encourage them to participate. Referring to Sanchez²², because of the large amount of tasks they get each day, most students feel stressed and unmotivated. Many people find it difficult to study through online education and would like to learn in person. Lack of motivation, which manifests itself as emotions of dissatisfaction and aggravation, is a significant obstacle to academic performance that impedes productivity and well-being in the long run.

Theme 5: Budget for online class

The efficiency of online lessons also depends on a teacher's socioeconomic background. Teachers with low funds may struggle to buy online teaching equipment. They may not have enough money to buy high-quality equipment, reliable internet connections, and other technology needed for virtual classes. Because teachers may not be able to afford innovative educational equipment, internet instruction may be less engaging and efficient. To provide fair access to resources and improve online education, teachers' socioeconomic status must be addressed.

“Lack of updated laptop or gadget for class purpose without lagging, it impacts our effectiveness, the school should sponsor” (T2)

“The budget given by the school to us teachers is not enough for efficient online classes” (T3)

One participant said that obsolete computers and devices hinder performance and suggested that schools support new equipment. Participants also note that the school budget is insufficient for effective online lessons, indicating instructors' financial restrictions. Both comments emphasize the need for institutional support, including updated technology and money allocation, to promote online education. The findings imply that schools and teachers must collaborate on financial and technology concerns. This partnership is essential to effective online teaching and learning, emphasizing the need for institutional support for a sustainable and high-quality online education²³.

Solutions taken in dealing with problems or difficulties encountered in teaching PE online.

After identifying the difficulties encountered by the Physical Education teachers, the researchers also identified the solutions taken when dealing with the difficulties and problems encountered in an online class set-up. The data that were collected from the participants were carefully analyzed and subjected to thematic analysis and surfaced the following themes: (a) Compromising with learners, (b) Provision of alternative learning materials, (c ) Coping up with teaching PE online, (d) Constant connection with learners, and (e) Making the learning atmosphere lighter, and (f) Enhance online teaching skills.

Theme 1: Compromising with learners

Understanding every student’s situation is what the teachers showed in an online class. Finding the middle ground for both students and teachers is useful, especially for those students who are having difficulty in online learning. Teachers understand that learners have different capabilities when dealing with the online class set-up. This theme is formed based on the following responses of the PE teachers:

“Maybe for those with a weak signal, maybe the best solution for me is the excuse letter from their parents” (T1)

“I tried my best to somehow meet them in the middle when it comes to their performance.” (T2)

“If the internet is slow as a P.E teacher, I need to give them some extensions in submitting their projects or their work that relates to the specific topic or lesson.” (T3)

Three of the participants deal with their problems by means of giving the best solution and consideration to meet the middle ground for both of them. Giving considerations and negotiating with the learners could help an online teaching and learning become more effective if both of them compromise. Giving students reasonable activity load will lessen their stress levels and allow them to focus more on the tasks at hand. If all students can think about is the additional work they have, they may become distracted when working on an assignment. As mentioned by Sanchez²², teachers should assign fewer activities to students or make Zoom calls shorter so that they have more time to complete the job. In Zoom meetings, professors frequently merely explain the tasks that students are required to perform for the day. While some students may be confused by the instructions, others may not feel obligated to stay in the Zoom for more than forty minutes while the teacher speaks. If students are permitted to leave school early, they will have more choice in how they use their spare time. Giving students less homework will lessen their stress levels and allow them to focus more on the tasks at hand. If all students can think about is the additional work they have, they may become distracted when working on an assignment.

Theme 2: Providing alternative learning materials

In online class, alternative learning materials allow the learners to experience the skill intended for the lesson proper. Providing alternative materials for teachers is one of their skills in the teaching field for the learners to attain the lesson. This is evident on the following responses of the participants:

“Example aerobics, that is what we will do we have a recording session which we can give to the child.” (T1)

“I make methods, which are related to materials and equipment as if it’s the same.” (T3)

“The best way for that is to look for alternatives. Like they need to video themselves to do something similar, or related to something like they played” (T3)

Thinking of an option or alternative in providing materials that are related to the lesson proper was shown by the two PE teachers. In an online class, particularly when teaching Physical education, learning materials or tools aside from the presentation, there is a need for the students to experience the equipment or the proper execution with the learning equipment. As per Williyanto et al²⁴, because the COVID-19 epidemic has created a difficulty in physical education learning, teachers must be able to adapt and be creative in constructing distant learning models in order to appropriately transfer information to students.

Theme 3: Coping with teaching PE online

Handling online classes made adjustments in teaching physical education online. When dealing with different problems or difficulties that teachers encounter, making some adjustments to adapt online teaching is for the continuous learning of the students during the pandemic. This theme was established according to the following responses of the participants:

“I do my best to discuss my topic, so that my students will understand the idea or the concept.” (T1)

“We didn't stop our school year, we didn't stop for DepEd to cut first, we tried online to maximize” (T2)

“We're trying to say that this is our new normal, so we need to face reality. We have to face the new normal” (T4)

The three of the PE teachers mentioned that adjusting to the new normal or the online teaching is a big adjustment that teachers experienced, especially for the PE teachers. Teachers were able to accept the fact that they need to maximize their teaching in an online class setting. Coping up with the new mode of learning is one of the solutions to not stop the learning of the students. Referring to the studies of Barrot et al.²⁵, addressing these issues will reveal the breadth of obstacles that students face in a complete online learning environment, especially in the context of the pandemic. However, gaining a greater knowledge of the strategies students take to overcome difficulties would be beneficial to school administrators and instructors, allowing them to better fulfill students' online learning requirements.

Theme 4: Constantly connecting with learners

To have a good teaching and learning process, dealing and communicating with the students was one of the solutions of the PE teachers in teaching online. Knowing how to deal with the learners, leads them to have an easy way to exchange ideas and knowledge regarding the lesson online. Consistent communication with the students prevents difficulty in dealing with different learners in an online classroom setting. This is visible on the following responses of the participants:

“I want to know them before I start my class. So that I can adapt to my class today.” (T2)

“Continuous communication. Sometimes a student will be shy to ask you a question.” (T2)

“We try to communicate and compromise so we can be able to surpass that situation” (T4)

“But we realize that we need to support them as well in their emotional needs so we could be able to push and motivate them.” (T4)

Two of the PE teachers find time to have a consistent connection and communication between the students. It helps them to have a good student-teacher relationship, because knowing the differences of the learners is one of the essential parts of teaching. Knowing the learners on how they communicate, and their needs could make a virtual classroom engaging and fun. In concordance with Kolarova²⁶, it is also critical for instructors to have excellent observation and communication abilities. This holds true for virtual classrooms just as it does for face-to-face conversation. Virtual classrooms, in fact, are closer to live conversation than traditional online learning.

Theme 5: Making the learning atmosphere lighter

Every lesson in an online classroom was delivered in a lighter way so the learners can easily grasp the learning despite the new mode of learning. The PE teachers consider making the classroom conducive for the learners leads to encouragement and identify how the students will respond to the delivery of the subject. The PE teachers showed how they navigate teaching PE in online class in the following responses:

“Maybe I can say more encouragement as much as possible, to try to make them appreciate what they are trying to do before they do it.” (T2)

“Lighten up the mood also. In class I'm not very serious, I try to throw in some jokes and I joke with students.” (T2)

“We just tried to talk to them and everything because once we convince them everything is going to follow” (T4)

Two of the PE teachers know that making the discussion or teaching in a lighter sense despite the online class set-up difficulties could help learners engage with the class. For the students to continue the fun in learning online, the teachers encourage the learners by means of mitigating the lesson for them to easily understand the lessons. In connection to the study of Kolarova²⁶, it was mentioned that distance learning is difficult for students, and if technology fails, the experience may be stressful and demotivating (e.g., if work is missed or a live conference cannot be attended due to a network problem or local time mismatch). Teachers must work more than ever to provide positive reinforcement to their children, recognizing and rewarding accomplishment while also addressing obstacles. It is critical to provide learners with meaningful assignments and to provide a foundation for open and honest dialogue between instructors and students. Cebi and Güyer²⁷ discovered a link between students' motivation and the degree of their involvement with course material, whereas their choice of materials had no effect on motivation.

Theme 6: Enhance online teaching skills

The teachers willingness to enhance and acquire the needed skills for online teaching was driven by their motivation to serve the students better. This was driven by their own willingness to improve even without incentives.

“The schools sponsor webinars and trainings to improve our capacity to teach in an online setting” (T1, T2)

“I seek other online seminars for my own improvement” (T3)

“The school emphasized the need for us to acquire skills in online teaching, so we really need to cooperate for our sake and for the sake of our students” (T4)

Participants commended their schools for providing webinars and training to improve online teaching. One participant proactively seeks online self-improvement workshops. Another participant emphasizes the school's focus on online teaching skills and cooperation for instructors and students. These remarks demonstrate how instructors and schools actively promote continuous learning and adapt to online education. Teachers' effort to improving their online teaching skills is crucial to learning²⁸. Teachers who invest time and effort in skill development adapt to the changing education scene and give their students a more meaningful and successful learning experience. The teacher's dedication overcomes obstacles to provide a dynamic and engaging online learning environment that promotes student development²⁹.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The findings of the current study showed that participants had both expressed their lived experiences in teaching PE online during the COVID-19 pandemic with positive and problems encountered, as well as solutions, and best teaching practices. Online teaching has been found to have a number of benefits. Learners are more responsive, teachers make more active engagement for students who lack confidence, they develop flexibility in managing their time of work and home responsibilities, and they turn into technologically literate during online teaching.

Participants also expressed their best practices for teaching physical education online. Participants are receptive to adjustments; they embrace the changes in online teaching and motivate their learners with engaging discussions. Additionally, they provide real-life circumstances and share their experiences in order to have a good communication leading to know their students, in order for the teachers to know on how to deal with them. However, since the participants struggled with connectivity issues and had to work with limited equipment and space, these resulted in limited physical movements. Moreover, the challenging part for the participants is to stimulate their learners, and alike in adjusting their teaching strategies according to the findings. However, despite the difficulties, they were able to resolve them by coping up with online learning by means of providing alternative learning materials to students and making the learning atmosphere lighter to smoothly engage the learners; teachers also compromised with students, and active communication was implemented. Results from this study may benefit teachers and school administrators to better equip themselves with the needed knowledge, skills and solutions to become more effective and efficient in the teaching learning of PE in an online modality.

This study had several limitations. The limited sample size may restrict generalizability and viewpoints. In addition, focusing only on Google Classroom platform may not represent other platform experiences. The study focuses on difficulties and optimal practices, leaving contextual elements to be examined later. Though limited, the study provides useful insights on online physical education, laying the groundwork for future research and recommendations.

Acknowledgement:

The author would like to acknowledge with deep appreciation the Physical Educators for their valuable and voluntary participation in the study.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  11 Mar 2024
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  25 Aug 2022
• Reviewed
  17 Jan 2024
• Accepted
  22 Jan 2024