With the global coronavirus pandemic, educational institutions began teaching remotely. The education system changed for everyone involved. The use of information and communication technology, which has previously been much less prominently used, has come to the forefront in remote teaching. Because the teacher has to use different methods in physics lessons and one of its main components is experimental work, this had to be done through information and communication technology with the help of photos, videos, simulations, animations, applications and various interactive tasks. With this, digital competence has become a big part of teaching, which has been enriched by other ways of teaching. Teachers began to implement reverse teaching, teaching through social networks or video games. That’s how they tried to maintain the learning motivation and activity of the students, but these still sharply declined through prolonged periods of distance learning.
The main purpose of this research is to determine the aspect of students in distance learning. I checked how the students responded to distance learning, what tasks they were assigned and to what extent they managed to complete them. I also focused on student help, where they were looking for it and to what extent they received it, and on experimental work. By answering these questions, I want to present the students’ perspective on distance learning, because their opinions and criticism can easily be overlooked.
I conducted a quantitative empirical study on a random sample of 99 8th and 9th grade students from four primary and one subsidiary primary school in Zasavje. A descriptive method of pedagogical research was used.
I found that 8th and 9th grade students had different types of assignments that they could complete independently. They needed about the same amount of time to complete them as they would in normal conditions. They weren’t often assigned group work, including work in pairs, even though this was one of the recommended forms of it in remote education. Experimental work was rarely included in student work, suggesting that the frequency of conducting experiments during distance learning decreased. In case of incomprehension, the students sought help from people who were close to them and easier to reach than teachers, but still they communicated with the teachers through various channels. I also found that all students who asked for help usually received it. With mutual help, students developed an excellent support system within school sections and classes.
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