In the spring of 2020, the global epidemic of COVID-19 paralyzed the entire school system, when all educational institutions were closed in fear of public health. Education has suddenly moved from school classrooms to an online learning environment. Physics teachers had to adapt quickly and establish a distance education system which would include appropriate approaches, forms and methods of work. When teaching physics, the focus is on conducting experiments and observing physical phenomena that stimulate students' mental activity with an emphasis on researching, observing, interpreting and evaluating physical phenomena.
Physics teachers had to adapt a lot when it came to changing the way they taught. They had to adapt in the way the material was taught and also in the way the experiments were performed. In the research, we determined how and in what way physics teachers conducted distance learning. We focused on how lessons and experiments were conducted, how the knowledge assessment was conducted, how was student activity, time load and personal experiences of physics teachers. The obtained data was statistically processed and analyzed accordingly. We found out that physics teachers most often combined lessons via videoconferencing with students’ independent work. The frequency of conducting experiments greatly decreased during the epidemic. The implementation of demonstration experiments and laboratory exercises has dropped drastically, however the implementation of domestic experiments, experiments via ICT and the display of images and video experiments slightly increased. Physics teachers most often assessed knowledge by checking assignments and other activities, at least often they used a written exam. Physics teachers distance learning in the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic experienced more negatively than positively. They assessed thatdistance learning was more difficult, demanding, stressful and time consuming.
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