Broadening Educational Pathways to Stem Education Through Online Teaching and Learning During Covid-19: Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

COVID-19 posed formidable challenges to the teaching and learning of subjects with abstract concepts such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The study explored how STEM teachers transformed their pedagogical practices as an integral part of the transition to online teaching and learning in response to COVID-19 and further examined the effectiveness of online teaching and learning. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive survey design and involved purposively selected STEM teachers from schools operating under the auspices of the Association of Muslim Schools. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework underpinned the study. Quantitative data was collected through the administration of a Likert scale instrument. Data was analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that COVID-19 essentially compelled teachers to make a transition to online teaching and learning resulting in a concomitant profound impact on their pedagogical practices. Teachers provided various perspectives on the key modalities adopted to navigate online teaching and learning on virtual platforms in an attempt to ensure sustainable, equitable and inclusive teaching and learning. Implications for broadening educational pathways to STEM education through online teaching and learning on virtual platforms and sustainable teacher professional development on technology integration in teaching and learning are discussed. Keywords: COVID-19, online teaching, pandemic, pedagogy, STEM, teaching practices

Evaluating Distance Education in Serbia During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…They are reflected in the greater flexibility in the approach of the students and the teachers (they are not limited by time and space during the learning-teaching process), and the better conditions and resources which are available to them (Cejas Martinez et al, 2021). Even though distance education does not bring into question the pedagogical aspect of work, it leads to changes in the overall educational experience both in the case of the learning-teaching process, and the means by which this process is realized (Dhurumraj et al, 2020;Larsen & Vinsent-Lankrin, 2006;Mnguni & Mokiwa, 2020).…”

Evaluation of Distance Education Process in Sports Higher Education

“…According to the study of Dhurumraj et al (2020), challenges in remote education include exorbitant data costs, the time it takes to develop presentations, the absence of professional help needed to navigate virtual digital platforms, and technical difficulties with the use of information and communication technology equipment.…”

Online Course Architecture And Implementation: Issues Of Professional And Social Interaction

“…Among the issues of e-education the following ones are actively discussed: motivation for learning through e-platforms (Braxton, 2020;Kaufmann & Buckner, 2019), use of online platforms and online courses in general (de Jong et al, 2020) and vocational education (Pajk et al, 2021;Vickers, 2020), transition to online learning in the context of the pandemic and comprehension of results of this process (Dhurumraj et al, 2020;Mnguni & Mokiwa, 2020). Within the framework of our topic we found the experience of our foreign colleagues in the field of creating online courses, considering the demand of students, both adults and children, for communication, to be especially significant (Baldwin et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2018;Hubard, 2020;Meikleham & Hugo, 2020).…”

“…This became a challenge for teachers whose level of mastering technical means of education was often lower than the required one. Dhurumraj et al (2020) profoundly studied the problem, their results are presented in the detailed article Broadening educational pathways to STEM education through online teaching and learning during Covid-19: Teachers' perspectives (2020). Particularly, the authors analyzed the process of teachers entering the space of e-education, revealing a number of difficulties: "These challenges include prohibitive data costs, amount of time taken to create presentations, lack of professional support needed to navigate the virtual digital platforms and technical difficulties experienced with the utilisation of ICT tools" (Dhurumraj et al, 2020(Dhurumraj et al, , p. 1064.…”

“…At the same time, it is obvious that the process of education digitalization is irreversible and highly demanded. In the same article we read: "There is a need to enhance teachers' technological knowledge as key agents of educational change, to create innovative opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of instruction on virtual digital platforms" (Dhurumraj et al, 2020(Dhurumraj et al, , p. 1064.…”