Remote Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Proposal

 Abstract

This research will delve into the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the teaching practices of English teachers in Buenos Aires Province. Due to the restrictions implemented by the government, many schools suffered an overnight change of modality that forced them to switch from delivering lessons in physical classrooms to working in virtual environments. A group of twelve English teachers from Escuela Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez will be invited to participate in this research. Semi-structured interviews will be carried out to explore the difficulties the participants have encountered when giving their first steps into remote education as well as the skills needed to cater to all the pedagogical needs of their students. This research will draw on the participants’ responses to the interviews, which will hopefully help as a starting point to outline strategies to help them master suitable approaches to become familiar with and master these new teaching methods.

Keywords: Covid-19, English teachers, virtual environment, remote teaching

Outline

●  Purpose: To delve into the reasons why English language teachers from Escuela Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez seem to have struggled in the abrupt transition to remote teaching.

●       Thesis statement: Research on this topic is paramount to obtain indicators that will help to outline different strategies for teachers to work effectively in virtual environments.

● Audience: English language teachers, Communications Department from Escuela Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez, Ministry of Education of the Province of Buenos Aires, Government of the Province of Buenos Aires. 

 

1.         Abstract 

2.         Introduction

A.  State of affairs 

B.  Previous studies

C.  Research purpose

D.  Literature review: annotated bibliographies

3.         Methods

A.  Type of research

B.  Participants

C.   Materials

D.   Procedure

4.         Desired outcomes   

5.         References

  

Online English language teaching has existed for more than two decades in Argentina. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has arisen teachers' necessity to switch from face-to-face lessons inside real, tangible classrooms to remote ones in unknown (for them) online platforms. Secondary-school English language teachers from General Rodríguez, Buenos Aires province, seem to have struggled with this change of modality which leads to needing to learn more about using virtual platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes worldwide, and education systems have not been the exception. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the necessities brought about by the implementation of virtual education in those places where the option of face-to-face lessons was unavailable because of lockdowns and the risks they carried. Authors, such as UNESCO, UNICEF, and The World Bank. (2020); Uro et al. (2020) and Thumvichit (2021) outlined books and guides to provide solutions and enhance English language teaching in a world submerged in a sanitary crisis.  Even before the pandemic outbreak, a wide range of authors have conducted research on remote education, such as Pintos (2019), who provides a thorough analysis of the specific skills a teacher needs to face the challenges of this modality.  Additionally, Clansfield (2017) stated that teachers need to consider “how we are going to do our online teaching” (p.1). 

However, due to the recentness of the pandemic and the changing conditions in which lessons are delivered, many fields result unexplored. Thus, the general objective of this research proposal is to analyze the need for English teachers in General Rodríguez to adapt the current methodologies and approaches to the new technological tools to succeed in this new environment. To find answers to this issue, the following questions will serve as a guide:

1. What does the Ministry of Education provide English language teachers from Escuela Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez with to guarantee successful remote teaching?  
2. What difficulties do English teachers from General Rodríguez face when trying to take to devise strategies to teach remotely?
3. Which are the most critical skills that English teachers from the school can acquire to face the new demands arisen by the COVID-19 pandemic? Where can they acquire them?

Clandfield, L., & Hockly, N. (2017). Teaching Online: Tools and techniques, options and opportunities. Delta Publishing.

Puts forward the importance for English teachers to learn tools to teach in the virtual environment. Provides examples of different online tools and how to use them. 

Pintos, V. (2019). What skills do Ceibal en Inglés remote teachers need? In G. Stanley, Innovations in Education: Remote Teaching (pp. 39-47). British Council. https://cutt.ly/OnSGkjC

Examines the specific skills required for teaching remotely and summarizes the literature concerning this topic. Provides the results of an analysis made in a specific context.

Thumvichit, A. (2021). English Language Teaching in Times of Crisis: Teacher Agency in Response to the Pandemic-forced Online Education. Teaching English with Technology, 21(2), 14-37. https://cutt.ly/onSGvGd

States the difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in education. Exposes the realities of a group of English teachers when trying to apply approaches they used in physical classrooms in virtual environments.

UNESCO, UNICEF and The World Bank. (2020). What have we learned? Overview of    findings from a survey of ministries of education on national responses to COVID-19.    The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://cutt.ly/rnSGnB5           

Provides an overview of what the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon the education system worldwide. Describes the modes adopted by different governments and their effectiveness. Addresses the inequities among students. Establishes the need for policies to support teachers who are not familiar with teaching remotely.

Uro, G., Lai, D., & Alsace, T. (2020). Supporting English Learners in the COVID-19 Crisis. In Part 3: Considerations and Recommendations for Supporting ELs in the 2020-21 School             Year (pp. 12-30). Council of the Great City Schools. https://cutt.ly/tnSGgxD

Provides suggestions and approaches developed for teachers to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Covers the different areas in which English lessons can take place, such as virtual environments. Acknowledges the distress teachers, learners, and their families have experienced due to school closures.

 

 Methods

 

Participants 

The expected participants for the research are the English language teachers from Escuela Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez. The school employs twelve English language teachers who are distributed on the twenty-eight sections the school has. All participants live nearby the school, which is located in the town centre. The overall age range of participants goes from 37 to 50 years of age, with a mean of 46. Their teaching experience at state-run schools goes from ten to twenty years. Their socio-economic level is homogeneous. The participation in the research process will be voluntary. 

 

Materials

The researchers have chosen to conduct qualitative semi-structured interviews to investigate to what extent the English teachers felt equipped to face the challenges of remote teaching. Data will be gathered from all the participants, on the basis that it will be advantageous to have specific questions beforehand that may be used at the beginning of the interview but with the possibility of adding follow up questions, should the researchers find it necessary to obtain more in-depth information.

 

Procedure 

The 12 English language teachers employed at the school will be invited to participate in this study. The interviews will take place at the school where the teachers work. There will be one general group meeting where the interviews will be conducted to prioritize a collective narrative. Then, there will be 12 single interviews in order to collect individual data from each person. After teachers accept to take part of the research, the interviews will be held via the online platforms of their preference, the links to the meeting will be emailed to the participants.

 

Desired Outcome

The proposal presents a major step towards making visible the difficulties that English language teachers from Secundaria 6 from General Rodríguez seem to have experienced when trying to teach their classes remotely. Overall, through the collection of data that will be obtained from conducting semi-structured interviews to the English teachers working at Escuela 6, this research will broaden the researchers’ understanding of what tools and strategies are needed to help this group of English teachers to navigate the yet unexplored technological environment. It is expected that this study will serve as a starting point to be applied in other schools and other districts as well along the province of Buenos Aires. It is also expected that these first steps towards the study of a new phenomenon will become the stepping stone for further investigations. The researchers expect that further investigations will be encouraged to collect representative findings which will help to provide solutions on the field.

References

Clandfield, L., & Hockly, N. (2017). Teaching Online: Tools and techniques, options and opportunities. Delta Publishing.

Pintos, V. (2019). What skills do Ceibal en Inglés remote teachers need? In G. Stanley, Innovations in Education: Remote Teaching (pp. 39-47). British Council. https://ingles.ceibal.edu.uy/storage/app/uploads/public/5e5/7ca/f23/5e57caf2356e2856695401.pdf

Thumvichit, A. (2021). English Language Teaching in Times of Crisis: Teacher Agency in Response to the Pandemic-forced Online Education. Teaching English with Technology, 21(2), 14-37. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=945095

UNESCO, UNICEF and The World Bank. (2020). Policies to Support Teachers. In What Have We Learnt? Overview of findings from a survey of ministries of education on national responses to COVID-19. (pp. 28-29). the United Nations Educational, Scientific and    Cultural Organization. https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/National-           Education-Responses-COVID-19-v2_2020.pdf

Uro, G., Lai, D., & Alsace, T. (2020). Supporting English Learners in the COVID-19 Crisis. In   Part 3: Considerations and Recommendations for Supporting ELs in the 2020-21 School        Year (pp. 12-30). Council of the Great City Schools. https://www.cgcs.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/domain/35/publication%20docs/CGCS_ELL%20and%20COVID_web_v2.pdf