Hungarian k12 teachers’ experiences with emergency remote teaching in light of their techno-pedagogical skills levels A mixed-methods study amid Covid-19

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out more about the experiences of Hungarian K12 teachers with Covid-19-triggered emergency remote teaching in light of their existing technopedagogical skills. In this mixed-methods study, data was first collected through a large-scale questionnaire (N=216) consisting of 7 constructs, each measuring teachers’ TPACK knowledge components. The results of the study allowed for the clustering of Hungarian K12 teachers based on their techno-pedagogical knowledge; it was found that 20% of them are Beginners, 41% are Intermediate and 39% are Advanced implementers of technology-inclusive teaching. The study also found that the techno-pedagogical groups are quite homogenous, there is no difference between the groups based on gender, age, qualification or teaching experience. Secondly, based on a further interview (N=8) study, Beginners could be described as those who had to use technology in their teaching practices for the first time, thus they struggled with the very operational levels of technology. Intermediate users tried to mirror their traditional, in-class methodology in the online space, while Advanced users experimented with the most progressive remote teaching methods such as project work, learner portfolios, gamification, and longitudinal projects. Besides techno-pedagogical levels, teachers’ general motivation towards online teaching was greatly influenced by their school leadership; the more detailed rules were set about the requirements of distant education both towards teachers and learners, the more teachers felt supported and motivated throughout the emergency period. Teachers named the lack of personal contact, the generally unmotivated learners and the invalidity of digital testing as the biggest challenges of online education, while they perceived that their techno-pedagogical knowledge greatly benefited from remote teaching, and claimed that this improved knowledge would be incorporated in their everyday teaching practice in the future. Implications of this study center around suggestions for offering (more) subject-specific technological methodological courses in teacher education or in the form of teacher training programs, because Covid-19-triggered emergency remote teaching created new standards for what is conceptually meant by teachers’ techno-pedagogical knowledge.