Implementing different teaching methods in geography during the remote learning period in 2020

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the teachers were required to adjust their previous teaching methods, test both their pedagogical skills and their digital competence, as well as the digital competence of the students. The purpose of the research was to map out teaching methods by geography teachers in Estonia, the efficiency levels of those methods, while also receiving feedback about the teaching process as it applied to remote learning. Mixed methods research was conducted amongst 76 geography teachers, data collection method was a questionnaire. The results revealed: if the most efficient methods of learning were forms of discussion which called for active communication between the students themselves, as well as between students and teachers, then the least efficient method was teacher-centered lecture. Forms of discussion were used by teachers most often in synchronized video lessons, but they requested suitable short educational videos and a uniform repository of teaching materials. Half of teachers didn`t use map-related work, minority used work with maps in the e-testing environments or into worksheets. More than half of teachers adjusted the assessment system without making any compromises in terms of learning outcomes. Half of the teachers were so far satisfied with the teaching process and with their contact with the students, half of the teachers believed that their students failed to achieve the planned learning outcomes.