A Comparison Between Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Online Teaching Experiences in U.S K-12 Schools
Abstract: This article seeks to understand how a study conducted on online learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-2021) can provide insights on technology integration for traditional in-person schools. This survey study was conducted in a southern U.S. state with 76 teachers. The results indicate that there were differences between primary and secondary teachers. Specifically, the findings showed significant differences in both primary and secondary teachers’ beliefs on using technology for teaching before and after the pandemic. However, the comparison of frequency data on actual technology implementation for online teaching between primary and secondary teachers revealed that primary teachers mainly relied on two online learning activities: attending synchronous meetings and presenting information, while the secondary teachers used more tools and activities such as problem-solving tasks and collaborative activities. Nonetheless, the mean frequency patterns were low overall for both the primary and secondary teachers.