The Experience of Teaching Public Administration in Russia during the Pandemic in 2020-2021

The main aim of the study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic both on the public services and on public administration (PA) education, to find out how the process of teaching of future public administrators had changed during the Pandemic and how these changes could possibly influence the process of teaching public administrators in future. The research methods included theoretical and analytical research methods, the methodology of empirical research, and comparative research methods. The latest works of PA scholars in the global context, the materials of the study provided by the teams of teachers of the leading Russian universities concerning teaching experience during 2020, and the latest data provided from the analysis carried out at the Institute for Social Sciences of Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, in the conditions of distant and mixed learning in 2020-2021, allowed the author to give some practical advice to teachers and education managers concerning the improvement of the educational programs for PA students regarding the new conditions of the study. The main conclusion made on the results of the analysis is that digitalization of teaching and learning process and organization of distant learning at the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic should be considered to be the most important issues in PA education which could be applied in PA education in future. The recommendations concerned such aspects as the development of digital competencies of students, distant regime implementation, new pedagogy and digital didactics, socialization of students, internationalization and academic mobility of students, improving the qualifications of teachers and university management teams, research work, and the development of meta-competencies of future public servants.

Distance Teaching Experience of Campus-based Teachers at Times of Pandemic Confinement

Amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, distance education, where the learning process is conducted online, has become the norm. Campus-based programs and courses have been redesigned in a timely manner which was a challenge for teachers not used to distance teaching. Students' engagement and active participation become an issue;add to that the new emerging effects associated with this setup, such as the so-called "Zoom fatigue", a term coined recently by some authors referring to one's exhaustion feeling that stems from the overuse of virtual meetings. In realising this problem, solutions were suggested in the literature to help trigger students' engagement and enhance teachers' experience in online teaching. This study analyses these effects along with our teachers' experience in the new learning environment and concludes by devising some recommendations. To attain the above objectives, we conducted online interviews with six of our teachers, transcribed the content of the videos and then applied the inductive research approach to assess the results. © 2022 Owner/Author.

The digital silver lining of the pandemic: The impact on preservice teachers' technological knowledge and beliefs.

COVID-19 drastically disrupted teaching and learning worldwide and across all educational levels. Technology took on a central role in redefining education under these exceptional circumstances and frequently revealed challenges related to both infrastructure and to teachers' and learners' technological skills and readiness. This study aimed to investigate whether the experience of emergency remote education significantly impacted preservice teachers' knowledge and beliefs for their future teaching with technology. We investigated three cohorts of preservice teachers (pre-lockdown, n = 179; during lockdown, n = 48; post-lockdown, n = 228) and explored differences in their self-reported technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and their technological beliefs. Findings showed positive effects in the post-lockdown cohort, reflected in higher levels of technological knowledge (TK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) compared to the pre-lockdown cohort. In addition, unique positive effects on content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) were found in the post-lockdown cohort among preservice teachers with prior teaching experiences. No effects of either cohort or experience emerged for preservice teachers' technological beliefs. These findings indicate that, despite the challenges related to COVID-19 lockdowns, preservice teachers not only appear to have maintained positive beliefs towards technology but may have even been able to draw benefits from the experience of lockdown. These findings and the positive effects associated with teaching experience are discussed with regard to their implication for teacher education.

Lessons Learned from Penetration Testing Hands-on Training during COVID-19 Pandemic

Because of the increase in cyberattacks in the Internet era, cybersecurity is a crucial area that still requires many more human resources. Security handson training plays an important role in educating a skilled workforce. However, delivering hands-on training with a large number of participants during the COVID-19 pandemic was a big challenge. In this paper, we discuss differences between onsite and online penetration testing hands-on training, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. We share our teaching experiences and lessons learned and provide recommendations for preparing and delivering online hands-on training efficiently. © 2022 IEEE.

In-between worlds: Chilean university lecturers' experiences of teaching transition between face-to-face and virtual reality contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The advent of new technology is breaking the boundaries of traditional teaching and learning patterns with virtual worlds (VW) creating new frontiers in education. Previous research has explored the use of VW within educational settings. However, limited studies have investigated the transition processes that educators experience by adopting VW based online tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative exploratory study investigated 18 Chilean lecturers' teaching experiences using a three-dimensional computer-mediated environment: Second Life. Findings suggest that changing from traditional to virtual teaching context is a complex process, which (re)shaped the lecturers' various senses of identity and agency towards different instructional approaches resulting in the sense of in-betweenness with multiple digital competencies. These changes indicated that they taught in an 'in-between' mode mapped by different teaching mediations. The participants' teaching experiences of shaping a sense of in-betweenness could provide a unique theoretical lens to explore instructors' teaching experiences from traditional to a technology-mediated online setting.

The impact of COVID-19 on tertiary statistics teaching practices in Australia

Statistical literacy, one of the core skills embedded in tertiary psychology education, is best taught using active learning pedagogy. Although a plethora of research has examined how the implementation of emergency online learning (EOL) in response to COVID-19 impacted teaching and learning in general, limited research has considered how this change affected tertiary teaching of psychology statistics specifically. We conducted an exploratory, two-phase, mixed-method study to consider how the implementation of EOL during COVID-19 impacted the teaching of research methods and statistics at tertiary institutions in Australia. A sample of 21 tertiary educators in Australia (52% females, 48% males), aged 26-55 (M = 39.75) completed an online survey, which included quantitative and qualitative items addressing experiences with online teaching and COVID-19 EOL. Of this cohort, we interviewed three educators about their experience in teaching statistics;changes in teaching conditions from 2019 to the present;challenges and advantages of EOL;and student satisfaction, engagement, and performance. Overall, we found that previous experience with online learning was a better indicator of success in EOL than years of teaching in general. Educators also felt underprepared and underresourced from their institutions. Many challenges of EOL were identified, with access to statistical software being the key challenge unique to teaching statistics. Overcoming technological inequities was recommended to improve EOL outcomes in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Acoustic Comfort in Hybrid Learning Spaces: Students Perspective

Acoustic comfort in classrooms has a great impact on the quality of education. In specific, its impact on teaching and learning experience has been widely studied and the results show that acoustic comfort is linked to learning attributes, e.g. enhancing productivity, memorizing and understanding of the taught material, mental welfare, and motivation. In this paper, we assess the acoustic comfort in hybrid classrooms, at the University of Sharjah, after classes have been reconfigured to comply with COVID-19 social distancing protocols. First, we measured the background noise and reverberation times for different types of classrooms used for teaching and learning. The results showed that most classrooms do not comply with international standards. For example, the background noise levels in the selected classrooms were found to range from 43.9-49.6 dB(A), which is higher than the recommended WHO limits. To evaluate the acoustic comfort from the perspective of the students, a survey was conducted to evaluate students' perception on acoustic conditions at the hybrid classrooms. The results showed that the majority of the students surveyed, 88%, felt that noise in classrooms affected their understanding of the material and communications with the instructor and peers. Noise sources were identified to originate from corridors, maintenance work, and construction sites within close proximity to the classrooms. Better designs are highly recommended to improve acoustic comfort to ensure an excellent student experience and the best learning environment. © 2022 Internoise 2022 - 51st International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering. All rights reserved.

Electric Vehicle and Electrical Engineering Teaching Experience During Pandemic Disease

During the three years of Pandemic Disease, the world of academic teaching has had a substantial change. The usual in-person or face-to-face teaching has been transformed into online teaching. For electrical engineering, the instruction usually includes heavyweight experiments or practical tests;therefore, online teaching faces challenges. A recent electric vehicle course has been proposed in the Master level and the challenge of the course is reported in this paper. The experience that has been encountered is discussed and the proposed method of teaching is described in the paper. Useful experience and learning outcomes are listed. Data are collected before and after the Covid-19 teaching. It is found that online education did not deteriorate the learning outcome. © 2022 IEEE.

TEACHING BELIEFS ON THE CURRICULAR INTEGRATIONS OF ICT IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN PERU

This study is part of a doctoral research that seeks to relate teaching beliefs and socioemotional competencies of elementary school teachers. This is relevant given the absence of studies of this type in Peruvian contexts in religious education and the need for changes in the curricular systems produced by Covid-19. For this purpose, a comparative correlational study was carried out with the objective of identifying the types of existing beliefs and how sex, age and years of service have an impact on the configuration of the beliefs of religion teachers. A total of 303 teachers from Lima-Peru participated. The Teaching Beliefs Questionnaire (CCRED) was used to assess value, competence and pedagogical beliefs. The results indicate that value beliefs predominate among teachers, followed by pedagogical and competence beliefs. It was also found that age and years of service are predictor variables of the establishment of beliefs, as opposed to sex. It is considered that this work contributes to deepen in fundamental variables for ICT training and to improve educational practice in post-pandemic contexts. © 2023, University of Cienfuegos, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. All rights reserved.

The 'Go Digital' Bristol Experience

This article describes the move to digital teaching and learning for the language team in the School of Modern Languages (SML) at the University of Bristol as a consequence of COVID-19 in March 2020. Topics discussed here include the educational guidelines the university put in place, how these were followed and implemented by colleagues in Modern Languages, the new digital teaching and assessment practices, how decisions were reached across languages, technologies that people used and the support available, challenges in delivering teaching, and, lastly, the opportunities created for staff and students. In describing our practice during the pandemic, I will also offer my personal take and observations as the person responsible for digital education in the Arts Faculty who assisted the language team in this transition. I will reflect on how this pandemic has accelerated our digital education agenda and how having a background in language teaching has helped and informed some of the -- sometimes difficult -- conversations I had with my language colleagues during these fastmoving and uncertain times. The article will end with a brief description of some of our remaining challenges and lessons learnt while the university has announced that next academic year will be delivered largely digitally. The work done so far will inform our planning. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]

Self-Evaluated Teacher Effectiveness in Physical Education and Sports during Schools Closedown and Emergency Distance Learning

This quantitative study scrutinized the self-assessment of Physical Education and Sport teachers about their online physical education (PE) classes, which stemmed from the closure of schools and mandatory distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak. The data collecting tools of the study were the "Evaluation of Teacher Effectiveness Questionnaire in Physical Education (SETEQ-PE)" developed by Kyrgiridis et al. (2014) and adapted to the Turkish Ektirici et al. (2016). The participants were composed of 172 volunteer physical education and sports teachers who were determined via convenience sampling model. The data collected covered such demographic information as age, gender, sports-type, teaching, and schoolwork experience besides the items related to distance education, hardware support, proficiency in technological infrastructure, and application/software. The findings of the study showed that certain variables such as technological competencies, technical support provided by the school, and application/software support were influential in the participant physical education teachers' self-assessment. In addition, it was found out that SETEQ-PE variables such as technological competencies, technical support provided by the school, and application/software support affected to PE and sports teachers' self-assessment responses. However, no significant differences were determined in SETEQ-PE results about synchronous or asynchronous implementation of the physical education lessons, gender, and age.

Teacher, Student, and Parent Experiences of Virtual Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Palestine

Schools worldwide were forced to close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Palestine, school closures forced the educational system to quickly transition from the traditional face-to-face teaching methods to remote teaching, which was a new experience and practice for many teachers, parents, and students. The situation was also worsened due to the ongoing conflict with the Israeli government. In this reflective article, the experiences and perspectives of stakeholders including teachers, students, and parents from the Qabatia Directorate Schools, West Bank, Palestine, were gathered using a series of questionnaires and interviews. The study focused on accessibility, preference, student-teacher-parent engagement, and knowledge improvement during the virtual learning experience. The sudden pivot to virtual learning was not well received by teachers, students, and parents alike. The major issues included accessibility to online technology, engagement between students, teachers, and parents, and overall readiness for a new learning pedagogy. The study found that remote learning can be more effective and successful if prompt planning and execution from the government, sufficient information technology training for teachers, availability of devices, internet accessibility, and additional support for low-income families can be addressed. Therefore, school authorities and decision makers should consider implementing changes that may improve the current realities of virtual learning.

The Untold Stories from COVID-19: The Calamity of Implementing Curriculum during a Pandemic

In March 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic wreaked havoc on our nation's educational system. Students, teachers, and administrators were forced to engage in a new remote learning model, which was unfamiliar. This narrative study draws on the lived experiences of six K-12 teachers in Southwest Ohio urban school districts. The data analysis was examined through the lens of the Science of Learning and Development framework (SoLD). Findings highlight the impact of COVID-19 on curriculum implementation. Results show that unprepared teachers could not pivot to online learning effectively, which may intensify the educational gaps and inequities among students in six urban schools in Southwest Ohio.

Transitions to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Activity Theory Perspective

Situated in a Japanese university ELT context, this qualitative exploratory interview-based study offers insights into how ten teachers responded to the challenges of transitioning to emergency remote teaching (ERT). The research was conducted to understand the implications of pandemic-instigated educational changes on teaching practices and perspectives towards effective teaching. An activity theory perspective accounts for the complex interlinking internal and external factors influencing teachers' experiences during and since the ERT. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with the ten teachers following the initial period of ERT and through reflective writing by the same teachers 12 months later. Key findings from a content analysis were that perspectives towards effective teaching were generally reinforced and that following reflection on pedagogical practices and professional learning directions many teachers were able to respond effectively to ongoing educational changes. We argue that the implications of the study may reveal important areas of comparison with other systems of activity in heightened states of transition and reveal pathways to the development of new practices.

EFL Teachers’ Sources of Remote Teaching Anxiety: Insights and Implications for EFL Teacher Education

Introduction: This study aims to explore an under-researched issue, namely, remote teaching anxiety. Methods: This study employed a sequential mixed-methods exploratory design where participants initially reported their remote teaching anxiety sources and then rated each. For the analysis, inductive content analysis and statistical tests were employed. Results: The content analysis revealed two major themes: digitalisation-related concerns and online pedagogy-related concerns. Statistically significant difference was only found between anxiety sources and online teaching experience but not between gender, age, teaching experience, work setting and anxiety sources. Discussion: Several studies (Çoklar, Efilti, Sahin, & Akçay, 2016, Hassan et al., 2019) found digitalisation-related concerns causing stress among teachers, however, remote teaching anxiety remains an underexplored construct (Russell, 2020). Although online pedagogy-related concerns were found to cause teaching anxiety in our study, a recent study (Lazarevic & Bentz, 2020) found using technology helpful to decrease anxiety. Limitations: The data were limited to the views of 96 EFL teachers in the Turkish context. Conclusion: We can conclude that limited experience with remote teaching can contribute to higher anxiety among EFL teachers. Additionally, this research can contribute to the relevant literature with several implications on the future of language education.

The Use of Web 2.0 Tools in Mother-Tongue Instruction: Teachers' Experiences

Technological tools have affected education just as all areas of life. Especially nowadays, technological tools are highly utilized in the effective regulation of the teaching-learning process. Web 2.0 tools are included among these technological tools. Web 2.0 tools are used in mothertongue instruction as well as in all disciplines. This study is an attempt to examine the experiences of teachers who use Web 2.0 tools in mother-tongue instruction. We used the phenomenological design, which is one of the qualitative research designs, in our study. We considered the criterion sampling method in determining the participants. As the data collection tool, we administered an interview form to the teachers. Since we could not hold face-to-face meetings during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we used online platforms to interview the participants. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. We analyzed our data through the MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program and presented the results in figures. One of the notable results of our study was that mother-tongue teachers used numerous and different Web 2.0 tools in mother-tongue instruction. Another significant result of our study was that Web 2.0 tools used by teachers made a major contribution to the development of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. In addition, we concluded that the use of Web 2.0 tools in mother-tongue instruction had various contributions to both students and teachers.

Making Wonders with Burned Fingers: The Experiences of ELT Teachers during the Online Education Process

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rapid shift in education all around the world, including Northern Cyprus. Although the related literature focused on the general perceptions of teachers and their experiences or challenges during the online education process that started early in 2020, there seems to be a gap in the literature regarding the well-being of the English language teachers from a broader perspective taking their interwoven roles and identities into consideration. In an attempt to fill this void in the literature, this study investigated the experiences of seven English language teachers during the online education period English medium university in Northern Cyprus regarding (1) work-life balance, (2) professional development, (3) academic activities and research, (4) collaboration and communication among colleagues, (5) relationship with the administration, and (6) teaching English online. The necessary data were collected via a demographic survey along with an auto-photography task, in which the participants took photos for the themes and explained them in short s, and focus group interviews were conducted. The findings revealed that although the teachers had certain financial, psychological, and teaching-related challenges in this process, they adapted to the new normal by making sacrifices, learning from their mistakes. That is to say, adaptation to online teaching took some time, energy, practice, and collaboration, but eventually, teachers managed to survive and even enjoy the whole process despite the pain they had in their fingers.

Investigating Distance Education Experiences of Social Studies Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Phenomenological Analysis

The purpose of this research is to investigate how social studies teachers were engaged in distance education and training activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed phenomenology design under qualitative research methods. The participants were selected using criterion sampling under purposive sampling methods and included 15 social studies teachers (9 males and 6 females) working in Mamak and Sincan districts of Ankara in the 2021-2022 academic year. Data were gathered via a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher based on the relevant literature and expert opinions. The data were analyzed via content analysis. The results revealed that the technological problems had an important place among the experiences of the teachers and that the most important reason for students' inability to access distance education activities was their low socio-economic level.

Arts Education in Jeopardy: Research Reveals the Challenges and Resilience of Arts Education and Arts Educators during and Following the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and arts education. Performing arts classes across the world were labeled as deadly activities and banned for in-person instruction and experiences in schools and communities for months. Strict mandates were enforced for masking students and social distancing. Restrictions for talking, singing, playing instruments, dancing, touching, ventilation, sharing equipment and resources in visual, performing, and media arts, and group activities associated with arts education were daunting. The arts have been described as a universal language that celebrates and honors culture, diversity, ethnicity, inclusion, and individual authenticity, as well as basic education in the United States. Consequently, the impact of pandemic mandates resulted in social, emotional, and psychological trauma for those affected, as people are born to dance, sing, act, create, make music, and play--individually and collectively. How have arts educators, students, and programs survived with resilience during this unprecedented time in history?

The Views of Secondary School Mathemetics Teachers on Their Distance Education Experiences: The Case of Turkey

Distance learning process was initiated by the Ministry of National Education to allow equal opportunity and to improve accessibility, and the teachers provided online courses, exams or material. In the present study, conducted to determine the views of mathematics teachers, who are among the stakeholders in the process, on their experiences in online instruction of the mathematics course in secondary schools, phenomenology approach, a qualitative research method, was employed. The findings of the present study conducted with 105 secondary school mathematics teachers employed in seven regions in Turkey demonstrated that the middle school mathematics teachers considered distance education an obligation to continue mathematics courses and to maintain the communication with their students. It was also observed that the teachers believed that it would be difficult to instruct the mathematics course online due to its nature. It was determined that the predominant view argued that distance education allowed instruction of the course independent of the time and the place, and hence an advantage of the process, but the teachers also stated that distance education had certain cognitive, affective, technical and social disadvantages. The teachers complained that technical problems such as internet access and lack of tablets led to a difficult process.