In the spring of 2020, with the declaration of the Covid 19 pandemic, all educational institutions were closed, and classes switched from school classrooms to different online environments. Distance education has been established as a form of education, where the student and the teacher are physically separated, and technology and various digital tools are used for teaching. The teachers had to change and adapt the teaching method overnight so that it corresponds to the new way of education, which enables the students to learn as much as possible. Practical and experiential learning are crucial for teaching science and technology in the 4th and 5th grades. The students use general and science procedures, ask questions, plan, research, make products, etc., all of which the teachers had to take into consideration, whilst planning for science and technology lessons. The pandemic also had an impact on students, on their loss in knowledge, understanding of learning material, social development, and loneliness. This were the main things we wanted to do research on for our master’s thesis.
The purpose of this master's thesis is to research how 4th and 5th-grade students experienced science and technology lessons during distance education and how the lessons were conducted as opposed to lessons in school classrooms. For the purpose of the research, we prepared an online questionnaire for 4th and 5th-grade students. We included in the research 185 Slovenian 4th and 5th-grade elementary school students. The results of the survey revealed that generally the students like the science and technology subject and conducting experiments. For classes, the students primarily used a computer, some even a phone, and for communication with the teacher, they mostly used online tools for synchronous communication (Zoom and MS Teams). Most classes were held two to three times a week, usually with the teacher explaining the learning material via video conference and sending them instructions for independent work. During distance learning in the subject, they wrote down the learning material in notebooks and were given homework as often as in school lessons; however, they less frequently used the textbook or solved worksheets and tasks in the workbook. Throughout distance learning, the experiments were carried out in the science and technology subject, but to a lesser extent than during school lessons. The research showed that during distance learning what students included in the research missed the most were their peers, friends, and lessons at school.
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