ANALYSIS OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS’ ONLINE CLASS - DISTANCE EDUCATION EXPERIENCES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The World Health Organization has declared the spread Covid-19 virus as a pandemic shortly after its rapid spread. There have been many preventive actions taken in order to control the spread in our country as well as in the world in general. These preventive actions have affected every aspect of life. In education, schools have been shut down due to Covid-19 pandemic, and online classes and distance learning have been established. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the experiences and perspectives of classroom teachers regarding distance learning and online class processes. This research is a case study based on a qualitative approach. Data was collected from semi-structured interview forms that were created by the researcher and it was analyzed for the content. When distance education and online class experiences of classroom teachers who educate the youngest classes of elementary school were analyzed, it was concluded that the classroom teachers who joined the case study had no prior experience regarding distance education and online classes. In addition to this, as the distance education process started, most of the teachers who joined the case study participated in training offered and improved their knowledge and skills. Another conclusion is that teachers mostly organized their classes via EBA which is the IT Network of the Ministry of Education and Zoom during the online class and distance education process. Teachers who joined the case study have expressed that there have been similarities between the face to face education and distance learning in terms of curriculum and role of the teacher. In addition to this, they communicated that the process of method / technique have been different and certain aspects of evaluation have been missing. Teachers also expressed that the most frequent problems they experienced have been the lack of computers and internet connection. Another finding was distance education and online classes have been more exhausting compared to the face to face classes. Regardless, it was clear that online classes and distance education have created efficiency in terms of time and space, and by reducing mobility, it made it easier to be protected from the pandemic. Keywords: Distance education, online class, pandemic, Covid-19, classroom teacher