Abstract
2020 will be remembered for COVID-19, a pandemic that forced the world to lock down and urged most educational providers to promptly implement e-learning solutions. In this paper, we point out some challenges faced by university teachers who had almost no earlier practice in online teaching. Nine lecturers working in different universities from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Macedonia, and Slovakia – all teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects – were interviewed to share their online teaching experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. The aim of this introductory small-scale research paper is to provide a basis for future research regarding the influences that the COVID-19 situation has had on educational processes, as well as to assist educational providers in foreseeing and eliminating the possible problems of lecturers when establishing an online educational environment. Some conclusions are formulated from the interview survey, and possibilities for further research are described.
Highlights
In this paper, distance learning is defined as learning without physical presence in the classroom, which nowadays aligns with e-learning
Purposive sampling was used for defining the participants. In this qualitative study the interviews were conducted with nine university teachers of STEM courses, males and females regarding their experiences in the unplanned transition to online teaching
We presented the views of nine teachers and their personal experiences with the sudden transition to distance learning due to the closure of universities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Distance learning is defined as learning without physical presence in the classroom, which nowadays aligns with e-learning (or online learning). The list of advantages can be expanded to include more reliable learning material prepared by the teacher, compared to the students’ written notes in class, while the list of disadvantages can include a lack of nonverbal communication. Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is especially important for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses compared to social science courses, since understanding of STEM content greatly depends on students’ expressions of the level of comprehension of the new material and teachers’ responses to these verbal and nonverbal expressions. Collaboration makes STEM courses less appropriate for the e-learning model (Stando et al, 2012)
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