Engagement of learners is a critical determinant of efficacy in any educational program, and presents a unique challenge in a distributed, virtual method of delivery. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore lived experiences and perceptions of K-12 teachers and administrators about cognitive engagement in distributed, virtual learning environments in order to understand the pedagogical strategies that influence effective learning experiences in such settings. Finding actionable solutions to this problem will benefit organizations that utilize distributed, virtual professional education experiences by recommending key strategies for increasing student engagement and building effective learning communities in programs. The research questions that guide this study are: (1) What are the most significant pedagogical factors that affect cognitive engagement of adult participants in distributed, virtual professional education experiences? (2) What are the non-pedagogical factors that affect cognitive engagement of adult participants in distributed, virtual professional education experiences? (3) How do adult learners in a distributed, virtual professional learning experience conceptualize an effective professional education experience? This research aligns to prominent instructional theory, including: Garrison's Communities of Inquiry, Vygotsky's Social Development Theory, Bruner's Constructivist Education Theory, and the work of Coates and Kuh on engagement in online learning. Knowledge gathered from the subjective experiences of participants will be used for data collection on factors that most significantly affect cognitive engagement in such learning experiences. After a reflection on the possible methods of data collection, the researcher has concluded that semi-structured interviews and focus will be the most appropriate research tools for data collection in this study. Once the interviews are each transcribed for analysis, the researcher will employ first and second cycle coding methods to analyze data for findings. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]