Abstract
In 2020, Germany and Spain experienced lockdowns of their school systems. This resulted in a new challenge for learners and teachers: lessons moved from the classroom to the children’s homes. Therefore, teachers had to set rules, implement procedures and make didactical–methodical decisions regarding how to handle this new situation. In this paper, we focus on the roles of mathematics teachers in Germany and Spain. The article first describes how mathematics lessons were conducted using distance learning. Second, problems encountered throughout this process were examined. Third, teachers drew conclusions from their mathematics teaching experiences during distance learning. To address these research interests, a questionnaire was answered by N = 248 teachers (N1 = 171 German teachers; N2 = 77 Spanish teachers). Resulting from a mixed methods approach, differences between the countries can be observed, e.g., German teachers conducted more lessons asynchronously. In contrast, Spanish teachers used synchronous teaching more frequently, but still regard the lack of personal contact as a main challenge. Finally, for both countries, the digitization of mathematics lessons seems to have been normalized by the pandemic.
Highlights
RQ 1: How were mathematics lessons conducted during emergency remote teaching (ERT)? RQ 2: Which problems did teachers identify with regard to mathematics lessons during ERT? RQ 3: What are the current consequences of ERT for mathematics teaching and learning?
The results section starts with the implementation of mathematics lessons and criteria for mathematics tasks, followed by the identified problems and focuses on the consequences drawn from mathematics teaching
To analyze the implementation of mathematics lessons during the COVID-19 school closures, teachers were asked about the assignment and discussion of mathematics tasks
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised new challenges and demands regarding teaching and learning [1,2], which “on a global scale have shocked teachers at all levels and at the same time inspired them to find solutions to problems they have not encountered before” [3] This unforeseen and unprepared phase of distance education is often characterized as emergency remote teaching (ERT) [4,5,6,7,8]. It is caused by “a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances” [4] Due to the urgency of shifting lessons to an online format, the term “panic-gogy” is used to describe the situation both teachers and learners found themselves in during the spring of 2020 [9,10]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have