Factors Associated With High School Physical Education Teachers’ Adoption of a Supplemental Online Instructional System (iPE)

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:bold>Purpose</jats:bold>: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with high school physical education (PE) teachers’ adoption of a supplemental online instructional system. <jats:bold>Method</jats:bold>: Semistructured, open-ended phone interviews with 28 high school PE teachers were used as the primary data collection method. All teachers were using or had used a supplemental online instructional system at the time of the study. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided the directed content analysis. <jats:bold>Results</jats:bold>: Four main categories were generated, including perceived programmatic, instructional, and inclusivity improvements; minimal personal and student usage effort; school and curriculum provider support facilitated use; and administrators’ dictated long-term use. <jats:bold>Discussion/Conclusion</jats:bold>: The results aligned well with the UTAUT and served to situate the theory within the secondary PE context. The participants’ perceptions and experiences were also contradictory to much of the current research on teachers’ technology adoption in PE and K–12 education, more generally.</jats:p>

Physical education in a post-COVID world: A blended-gamified approach

“…Despite these benefits, to date, limited research has specifically explored the use of blended approaches in PE. Yet early findings are promising (Goodyear et al, 2016; Killian et al, 2021; Østerlie and Mehus, 2020; Sargent and Casey, 2020). For example, Killian et al (2021) reported the use of the iPE programme which incorporated supplementary online instruction alongside in-class PE.…”

Physical education students’ usage and perceptions of a supplemental online health-related fitness knowledge curriculum (iPE)

“…The novel pedagogical approach of using a supplemental online instructional system to communicate HRFK, combined with the novel use of computers for learning in PE, may require a longer familiarization phase for teachers and students (Bodsworth and Goodyear, 2017). Facilitating Conditions and Effort Expectancy represent key factors in PE teachers’ acceptance and use of online PE curricula (Killian et al, 2021a), so teachers may need additional support toward learning how to optimize implementation and integrate online content beyond assigning modules. Similarly, students may need more support in understanding the value of the content and connection it has for their lives.…”

“…Leveraging the use of the internet to deliver HRFK content may provide PE teachers a means to remotely and asynchronously present quality instruction to students, which could support the preservation of in-class activity time (Killian et al, 2021a; Killian and Woods, 2018). Online instruction could be a particularly relevant HRFK instructional format, particularly given the continuing integration of digital teaching within the K-12 context (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2019).…”

“…The research conducted on online PE outside of the pandemic context is mostly descriptive in nature (Daum and Buschner, 2012; Daum and Woods, 2015; Harris and Metzler, 2019; Mosier and Lynn, 2012). Killian and colleagues (2021a) reported teachers who used a free supplemental online instructional system to deliver HRFK instruction appreciated the ease of use of the system and the technical support they received from the provider during implementation. Teachers in this study perceived the online instruction added important HRFK content, which they felt unable to cover during face-to-face classes.…”

Physical Education in the COVID Era: Considerations for Online Program Delivery Using the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program Framework

“…All students require equitable access to content and instruction regardless of gender, race/ethnicity and cultural background, devices and high-speed connections, disabilities accommodations. A recent study suggests that barriers to equity and accessibility exist in OLPE (Killian, Woods, Graber, & Templin, 2020). At a minimum, OLPE must account for what families can afford with respect to the costs of existing Internet options, what access restrictions exist due to the geographic locations of students' homes, and how students are most likely to access the Internet (i.e., via different devices, platforms, and software options).…”