The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and the subsequent shutdown of all of the schools in the United States thrust teachers into distance learning environments with little or no preparation. This mixed methods exploratory study of teachers' perceptions of the role of professional learning in reducing transactional distance in a virtual environment between them and their elementary students was sequential in nature. It began with a survey using a Likert scale to gather information about teachers' lived experiences. This was followed teachers' personal reflections and self-selected semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic coding created categories to distinguish teachers' perceptions of the role of professional learning to develop structure and increase dialogue in a virtual elementary classroom. Transactional distance theory, adult learning theory, and connectivism serve as foundational frameworks of this research study. Results indicated that although districts provided information about the digital tools and platforms, it was the educators themselves who sought new ways to communicate and learn with one another in order to reduce transactional distance in a virtual classroom. Teachers sought their own professional learning, worked collaboratively, and utilized social media and other sources to connect and have conversations with other educators to learn how to effectively communicate and intentionally plan for instruction. Notions of connectivism, or forming connections virtually between people using technology to cope with the unprecedented times, and more specifically the unknowns of teaching during a pandemic, was a throughline in this study's qualitative data. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]