Difference between zoom-based online versus classroom lesson plan performances in creativity and metacognition during COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced education systems around the world to switch hurriedly from learning in class to learning via online technology. One of the common platforms worldwide for teaching online was zoom. Working under uncertain conditions and facing rapid changes are characteristics of the twenty-first century. Coping adaptively with these challenges requires teachers to apply twenty-first century skills such as creativity and metacognition in their teaching. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether teachers integrate metacognition and creativity in their online lessons more than in classroom instruction. To examine the research question, we analyzed 50 lesson reports (25 for each learning environment) using a mixed-method design model. We used a performance assessment that was based on a creativity metacognitive teaching reports index. Teachers reported greater use of the 'debugging' metacognitive component in online lessons than in classroom lessons. Also, an online environment could provide a suitable platform for promoting students' learning process and encourage teachers to be more creative in terms of diversifying their teaching methods and developing student's creativity. However, the originality component of creativity was less pronounced in online lesson reports. These results can contribute to the field of blended learning and to the literature dealing with the adaptation of teaching to learning environments in the twenty-first century in general and during pandemics in particular.

Perceived social support in the social distancing era: the association between circles of potential support and COVID-19 reactive psychopathology.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic are risk factors for psychopathology, but psychosocial protective factors might play a crucial role in buffering the pathogenic effects of the outbreak. DESIGN: In the current study, we examined the association of inner resources and potential external sources of support for coping with the pandemic and related lockdowns to mental health during the pandemic, while controlling for sociodemographic variables as covariates. METHODS: We tested the model in a probability-based internet survey of a representative sample of the Israeli adult population (N = 812) conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Perceived support in close relationships was negatively associated with the intensity of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Larger rings of potential support such as perceived belongingness to a community and trust in government were also negatively related to anxiety and depression but were positively associated with the intensity of OCD and PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the "tend and befriend" theory in the social distancing era and highlight the importance of keeping personal relationships alive when facing a mass trauma.