Unsettling Familiar Ways of Teaching and Learning: Challenges in Science Education during a Pandemic

• Main Authors: Adarlo, Genejane, De Leon, Marlene M, Favis, Abigail Marie T
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2023
• Subjects: Community of inquiry; emergency remote teaching; science education; higher education; Education; Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/hs-faculty-pubs/51; https://www.jstor.org/stable/48750342
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted how education has been undertaken in many parts of the world. Science education was not exempted from such disruptions. Hence, this case study aims to examine the challenges faced by science educators in an institution of higher education in the Philippines as they transitioned to emergency remote teaching in adherence to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the government. Seven educators, who were the first to shift online in teaching Science, Technology, and Society to undergraduate students in the year 2020, participated in a focus group discussion. Using the Community of Inquiry framework as a theoretical lens, thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts revealed the shift to emergency remote teaching unsettled familiar ways of teaching and learning. Our findings on the challenges limiting the educational experience in an online setting can inform other science educators on how they can better approach remote teaching during pandemics and similar adverse situations.