The COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to a type of online education adopted with startling speed and a scale never before seen. The educational community adopted the term "emergency remote teaching" to distinguish this type of online teaching from carefully planned virtual instruction. The problem addressed in this study was emergency remote teaching (ERT) transitions resulted in varied, frequently inconsistent, self-reliant, and often ineffectual outcomes for K-12 teachers due to a lack of training. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of K-12 traditional teachers regarding subsequent training in the absence of ERT readiness to understand how teachers can be better prepared for future ERT. The study used the DOI framework to explore how the participants adopted needed and applicable innovations to meet the challenges of ERT. A purposive sample of 16 K-12 traditional US teachers was selected. Qualitative methodology and phenomenological design were employed to understand the participants' lived ERT experiences. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and reflective texts, Otter.ai was employed to transcribe the interviews recorded on Zoom, and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to make sense of the meanings the ERT experiences held for participants. The findings from this study emphasize the necessity of a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan that includes a technology infrastructure, a learning management system, and a structured professional development program that is differentiated according to learning areas, skill sets, and student grade levels. This study added to the body of knowledge regarding ERT preparedness and the role of teacher motivation and self-directedness in embracing and adopting innovation. [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.]