Abstract:

The inevitable transition from face-to-face to distance learning under the pressure of the global pandemic of CoVid-19 has put teachers, students and their parents in an unfamiliar, unconventional and challenging environment. This situation tested the ability of school administration, teachers and students to adapt flexibly to a learning process in which participants are spatially separated and the interaction between them is done through an electronic media. Their digital skills for working with electronic devices, electronic platforms and on-line educational resources were also tested. So, the students had to demonstrate also their skills for self-learning, which are of key importance in the conditions of distance learning. Not everyone was sufficiently prepared for this process, but thanks to the efforts of all stakeholders, distance learning in Bulgaria is a fact for the second school year.

During this time, a number of problems and negative effects of distance learning were identified, the main of which are related to the low motivation and engagement of students. The data unequivocally emphasize the need to find appropriate solutions to ensure the adaptability, coherence and efficiency of the educational process in order to provide equal opportunities for quality education, to ensure the sustainability of acquired knowledge and skills, and to reduce the risk of early school leaving.

The present study aims to answer to the following research questions:
1) What are the main challenges facing natural sciences teachers in distance learning?;
2) What are the opportunities to overcome these challenges that should be addressed in the next school year?

The survey was conducted in the period May-June 2021, which for Bulgaria is the end of the 2020/2021 school year. It involves nearly 60 natural sciences teachers in lower secondary school. In order to assure the representativeness of the study, schools with different profiles and from different type settlements (village, small town, big city) were selected.

For the purposes of the study, an original questionnaire was constructed to assess the impact of distance learning in the following main directions:
1) Difficulties identified in the course of the educational process;
2) Good practices for overcoming them.

Having in mind this theoretical framework, through the questionnaire for teachers we explore the following topics:
1) Access of teachers to qualification activities for the development of both their digital competencies to teach in electronic environment and their competencies to apply a set of targeting mechanisms the learning process, encouraging and supporting the learning process, motivating students and providing effective feedback on their progress;
2) Used educational resources and teaching methods;
3) Professional experience.

Keywords:

Student’s engagement, motivation, teacher’s experience, good educational practices.