An Applied Research-Based Approach to Support Chemistry Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In this Communication paper we describe how a research-based approach was applied in Israel to support high-school chemistry teachers, who continued to teach using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) framework for teachers' knowledge in technological environments, we developed a questionnaire for chemistry teachers, with the goal to reveal the difficulties they encountered, their needs, and their means for sharing their knowledge, materials, and teaching strategies for online teaching. On the basis of the analysis of the collected data, we provided a research-based response that focused on the teachers' needs when using technology to teach chemistry. Teachers' needs, in terms of their knowledge, skills, and means of support, which were identified in the research and the activities that were developed in order to address them, are presented. We emphasized the research-based process that was applied to address teachers' needs during the pandemic.

Introduction

A meta-analysis review of 40 years of research about the impact of technology on learning[1] revealed a significant, positive small-to-moderate effect favoring the utilization of modern technology under certain experimental conditions over more traditional instruction (i.e., technology free) in the control group. Regarding chemistry education, the contribution of today’s technology is well recognized and documented. “Technology is accepted to be an integral part of chemistry education, with the use of videos, simulations, and student response systems well reported.”[2] Contemporary research about this aspect was described in a special issue of Chemistry Education Research and Practice edited by Kelly and Akaygun.[3] Usually these studies describe technology-based instruction conducted by a few teachers and evaluate its impact or the professional development of the teachers in terms of their knowledge, skills, and beliefs. However, no one anticipated that all the chemistry teachers around the world would suddenly have to convert to remote technology-based chemistry teaching, which recently occurred because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Here we describe how a research-based approach was applied to support Israeli high-school chemistry teachers, who changed to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Israel, on March 15, 2020 teachers from all education levels and disciplines, including chemistry, received instructions from the Ministry of Education to convert to online teaching. These instructions, together with the need to prepare the students for external matriculation exams at the end of the year (June 2020), forced teachers to immediately start to teach online. In the current situation, in which the teachers have no control over the circumstances or the instructions they receive, the best way to address their needs as professionals should be based on them actively communicating their voice and needs. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developedand distributed, to collect relevant insights from chemistry teachers across the country. The TPACK[4,5] (technological pedagogical content knowledge) framework was applied to create a questionnaire and to analyze the results. The TPACK framework was chosen because we focused on in-service chemistry teachers who know how to teach chemistry,[6] but still need to develop knowledge components concerning technology in chemistry teaching.[7−9]

The goal of the current study is to provide a research-based response that focused on teachers’ needs for using technology to teach chemistry well. Here we first describe the teachers’ needs, as identified by the analysis of the questionnaire, mention the activities that were developed in order to address them, and emphasize the research-based process that was applied to address the teachers’ needs.

Methods

An anonymous online questionnaire, which received ethical approval, was distributed in several Israeli high-school chemistry teachers’ social networks (e.g., Facebook and WhatsApp). The questionnaire (presented in the SI) included multiple choice questions regarding the technological tools the teachers used, the teachers’ prior experience, and their attitudes regarding their online teaching, all of which were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. The second part of the questionnaire included open-ended questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching, a description of a good lesson they had taught online, and their comments. The qualitative part was analyzed using grounded theory principles[10] with the TPACK framework in mind, in order to identify the knowledge components that chemistry teachers need in order to keep teaching during the pandemic.

Participants

A total of 193 teachers, who represent about 25% of the high-school chemistry teachers in Israel, completed the questionnaire. The teachers’ average age was 46 and their average teaching experience was 17 years. Among the participants, 62% were members of a chemistry teacher professional learning community (PLC) network.[11,12] Most of the teachers (82%) teach only high school and 92% of them prepare their students for the matriculation exams. Only 28% of them finished teaching the curriculum in preparation for the matriculation exam before schools converted to online teaching due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and only 27% had previous experience in online teaching.

Findings and the Resulting Actions

Here we present the results of a survey that informed us of the teachers’ needs for online chemistry teaching. For each part of the results we describe how these results should influence our work with the teachers. Then, we list the activities that were developed and conducted through different channels to address the identified lack of knowledge and information.

Teachers reported that they utilized three main learning environments that they were currently using for online teaching: 85% used platforms for synchronous teaching (e.g., Zoom); 52% used platforms for asynchronous teaching (e.g., Moodle, a course website). Therefore, we addressed both of these online teaching approaches as well as various communication technologies (e.g., WhatsApp messages, emails) that 88% of the teachers used for sending assignments.

In one question, which queried teachers’ attitudes toward online teaching, teachers were requested to indicate whether they agree to a list of items. Most of the teachers reported negative attitudes regarding the shift to online teaching, as reflected from items 1–3 (Figure ). They also expressed a low ability to apply essential pedagogical skills regarding the use of technology for teaching. These skills include interacting with their students, providing them with feedback, and creating collaborative learning assignments for them (items 4–6, Figure ); they can be attributed to teachers’ technological pedagogical knowledge. Therefore, we realized that we should support the teachers in developing the technological pedagogical knowledge that will enable them to create integrative lessons in which students are actively engaged in the learning process, receive immediate feedback, and interact with each other. Additionally, in order to address the negative attitudes that teachers expressed, we decided: (1) to create opportunities in which chemistry teachers can share their feelings, fears, and frustrations in order to make them heard, (2) to encourage teachers to share their success stories of teaching during this period in order to develop self-efficacy beliefs in the PLC, using a vicarious experience.[7−9,13]

Figure 1

Teachers’ attitudes toward online teaching and their ability to apply pedagogical aspects via the online platform

Regarding the use of different technological tools, the teachers utilized PowerPoint presentations (or similar tools, e.g., Note), YouTube videos, Google tools (e.g., Google form, Google docs), recorded lectures, and PadLet board. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, each teacher integrated 1 to 2 technological tools. During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, each teacher integrated more than 3 technological tools.

Teachers were asked to report their sources of support and what kinds of support they need for quality online teaching. On average, each teacher provided 2–3 sources of consultation and 1–2 sources of support. They mostly asked for video or written guides (46%) and focused training (44%) and indicated that they find these resources in the chemistry teachers’ WhatsApp groups (61%) and on the internet as well as on the website of the National Chemistry Teachers’ Center (49%). Next, they approached the chemistry teachers’ PLC (33%) and a colleague chemistry teacher (36%) for advice. Therefore, we decided to prepare printed guides and video tutorials, focused on requested topics, and disseminated them through the National Chemistry Teachers’ Center’s website, WhatsApp groups, and the chemistry teachers’ PLC net.[11]

Teachers mentioned different challenges and difficulties they faced during the sudden shift to online teaching. These items were categorized into four categories: (1) pedagogical, (2) technological, (3) students’ engagement and participation, and (4) challenges in achieving direct contact with students. About a third (31%) of the pedagogical challenges were specific for chemistry teaching and raised the teachers’ need to develop their TPACK. The TPACK included the following aspects: how to conduct lab experiments and demonstrations remotely, writing and drawing chemical equations and formulas, and how to explain molecular structures without using physical models. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Chemistry teaching superintendent from the Israeli Ministry of Education forbade conducting lab experiments at home based on safety considerations. Therefore, the need to learn how to conduct chemistry experiment at home was not expressed by many teachers.

The following quotes of two teachers exemplified the difficulties that are specific for chemistry teaching:

“I encountered many difficulties in explaining and drawing the structural formulas, and in enabling the students to imagine the molecular geometry, to correlate the short molecular formula to the structural formula, and to describe isomers.”

“It is difficult to explain without the possibility to perform an experiment/demonstration. A movie or even an online experiment cannot replace a demonstration or students’ (hands-on) experiments.”

In responding to another question, teachers wrote about the knowledge they still require in order to overcome their difficulties. Their statements were categorized, as described in Table . About 10% wrote that they do not need any additional knowledge. However, almost half of the teachers needed additional knowledge about technological tools (technological knowledge), and about 9% asked for teaching materials for online chemistry teaching. Interestingly, only 14.8% of the teachers wrote that they need knowledge specific for chemistry education (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). The teachers were still at the stage where they struggled with the new technology and the general pedagogy used for online teaching (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge, 19.3%). We therefore decided to focus on the technological tools and applications that support general pedagogy for online teaching; this includes the components mentioned by the teachers and reliable resources used for chemistry teaching materials.

Table 1

Knowledge Teachers Lack in Order to Conduct High-Quality Online Chemistry Teaching

Lack of Knowledge	%	Examples
Technological knowledge	49.1	“Knowledge about tools and programs for remote teaching.”
		“I need a lot of help. I don’t know how to access [Google] Classroom...How to join a Zoom meeting on my phone...and more.”
Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (19.3%)
Conducting exams and students’ evaluation	7.4	“How to build good and comfortable online tests.”
		“To conduct tests efficiently and quickly, and with good quality.”
General pedagogy of online teaching	6.9	“I lack pedagogical principles in working with students through online teaching. I feel that my online teaching relies too much on me in front of the class.”
		“Pedagogical ideas on how to engage students [in the lesson], mainly struggling students.”
Class management	3.2	“I need a way to share information with my students, so they can answer questions and I can check whether their attention is focused on me.”
Influence students’ motivation	1.8	“How to recruit students to access and work in online lessons”; “how to make the students actively participate in the [online] lesson.”
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (14.8%)
Specific technology for chemistry education	6.0	“I need software that helps me write molecular structures and not just molecular formula.”
		“The use of tools that will help illustrate chemistry.”
Teaching materials for online chemistry teaching/learning	8.8	“An accessible reservoir of online materials to share with the students.”
		“More materials in Arabic.”
Additional Aspects That Teachers Need (12%)
Time and experience	6.9	“Knowledge can be acquired, and because it is always available, it is not a problem. The problem is that it also requires time.”
Other	5.1	“I learned by myself and turned to friends for help.”
None	10.6	“I do not need anything.”

All the teachers responded to the question in which they were requested to describe the advantages of online teaching; however, about 28% of them wrote “None”. The other responses were categorized according to three main categories: advantages for the teacher (8.2%, e.g., no discipline problems), advantages for the students (14%, e.g., improving students’ digital skills), and for aspects that both the students and teachers can benefit from (40%, e.g., the availability of a means of visualization). Their subcategories are presented in Figure . We therefore decided to provide a means for teachers to share the advantages of online teaching with their peers, in order to support those who see only the disadvantages. The advantages of online chemistry teaching were detailed in the examples teachers provided when they were asked to describe a good online chemistry lesson they had taught. The examples will not be described here; however, we decided to provide teachers with a platform to share these examples with their colleagues in the chemistry teachers’ PLCs.

Figure 2

Different advantages that the teachers found in online chemistry teaching.

The advantages and disadvantages that were described were triangulated from the open-ended question that encouraged the teachers to add comments. In addition, we found a wide variety of emotions that were explicitly expressed. About 74% were negative (e.g., “I hate it, I just hate online teaching”) and about 26% were positive (e.g., “The fact that I have to teach online made me learn new tools; thus, I’m satisfied”). We therefore decided to conduct a follow-up study that will focus on teachers’ feelings toward online teaching; it will be reported elsewhere.

Activities That Were Developed to Support Continuous Chemistry Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic

On the basis of the results of the questionnaire, we realized that chemistry teachers in Israel have mostly negative attitudes toward the shift to online teaching. However, we also identified the components of knowledge they are lacking, and the ways in which they prefer to learn. In the stage that the questionnaire was administered (1 week into remote teaching), teachers mainly lacked technological knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge.

The teachers preferred written guides or video tutorials; therefore, all the materials were prepared in these two forms and were uploaded to the site of the “National Chemistry Teachers’ Center”[14] at a unique location that was created for this purpose: “Chemistry teaching in times of Corona”.[15] The materials were introduced to the teachers via the chemistry teachers’ PLCs, where the PLCs’ facilitators modeled the use of the materials. In addition, the announcement regarding the new location was sent from the Chemistry Teaching Superintendent in the Ministry of Education in order to also reach those teachers who are not members of the chemistry teachers’ PLC network.

The materials were developed in the chemistry research group; they were first tried out with the leading teachers’ PLC (who then facilitated in pairs the regional PLC of chemistry teachers). The PLC facilitators were in charge of the materials; the teachers first experienced them as learners in order to later use them with their students. Table presents the materials that were prepared based on the findings presented above.

Table 2

Materials that Were Developed for Chemistry Teachers

Activity	Description	Dissemination	Link
Conducting online meetings of the leading teachers’ PLC	The face-to-face meetings of the leading teachers’ PLC were converted to online meetings using Zoom. The program of the meetings dealt with two main issues: How to lead a PLC via Zoom and how to teach chemistry online.	The leading chemistry teachers shifted their teaching methods to lead regional chemistry teachers’ PLC via Zoom and implemented the PLC activities according to the needs of the teachers in their PLC.
Pedagogical aspects of conducting a synchronic lesson via Zoom	A video tutorial. Several written tutorials regarding technical aspects of using Zoom for teaching	The video and the written tutorials were uploaded to the site.	Tutorials for Zoom in Hebrew and English: https://weizmann.box.com/s/zj3tk36k5v4fp3xf6ui9ogppfeews2u0
Learning assignments for asynchronous chemistry teaching	PeTeL (Personalized Teaching and Learning) is a system designed along the guidelines of personalized and differentiated teaching and learning. Owing to the pandemic, the PeTeL system was used for registering all the chemistry teachers in Israel. An example of one assignment regarding states of matter was described in Aviran et al.[16]	We demonstrated PeTeL in the chemistry teachers’ PLC. The link to register to the system was uploaded to the website.	https://stwww1.weizmann.ac.il/petel/petel_chemistry/
			PeTeL description and rationale: https://stwww1.weizmann.ac.il/petel/en/
Creating interactions with students during an online synchronic lesson	A written guide. The English translation of the guide is presented in the Supporting Information.	The different strategies for creating interactions were applied during the meetings of the leading teachers. The written explanation was uploaded to the website, with a table with many applications and tools for creating the suggested interactions.	https://chemcenter.weizmann.ac.il/?CategoryID=413&ArticleID=7581
			A translated document can be found in the Supporting Information
Chemistry teaching materials	Links of two reliable repositories of Power-Point presentations for chemistry teaching according to the Israeli chemistry program (in Hebrew)	These resources were made available due to the pandemic.	Chemistry Online Blended Learning Environment PP presentations (Hebrew): https://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/chem-online
Examining students	A video tutorial in Hebrew for chemistry teachers about the program Exam.net. The idea of this activity came from the teachers in the leading PLC.	We presented a video in which one of the chemistry leading teachers demonstrated how to conduct a chemistry test using the program. The video was uploaded to the website.	https://weizmann.app.box.com/s/deeccjwxeisbuyot3ik5oxpq8gjwqgn4
Recorded chemistry lessons	A link to chemistry lessons from master teachers recorded by the Ministry of Education	The national broadcast program includes recorded lessons in Hebrew and Arabic that were recorded due to the pandemic.	https://pop.education.gov.il/online-learning/vod-broadcasts/?Languages=31229&Topics=52077&page=1
Brain–gym activities	A written guide	Different brain-gymnastic activities were applied during the meetings of the leading teachers. A written explanation with the links was uploaded to the website.	https://chemcenter.weizmann.ac.il/?CategoryID=413&ArticleID=7580
			A similar link is available in English: https://www.braingym.com/the-activities/

An anonymous online postquestionnaire was distributed on several Israeli high-school chemistry teachers’ social networks two months after the prequestionnaire, which was analyzed in the findings section. The results of the postquestionnaire are still being analyzed; however, in Figure we present a comparison of teachers’ attitudes (the same items presented in Figure ). Although most of the teachers are still unhappy about the need to teach online, more teachers (35.5%) in the postquestionnaire expressed positive attitudes toward online teaching, compared with their attitudes at the beginning of the crisis. A significant change was found regarding teachers’ perceptions of the difficulty of online teaching: after 2 months of online teaching, more teachers found the online teaching to be easy. The most significant result was that after two months of experience with online teaching, 75.6% of the teachers stated that it contributed to their teaching (Figure ).

Figure 3

A comparison of teachers’ attitudes after 2 months of online teaching (the percentage of positive responses is presented).

Concluding Remarks

Different advantages of using technology in chemistry education were supported by the research[7,17,18] and applied in high schools; this was reflected in a teachers’ survey regarding their use of technology even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The current situation led to implementing more technological tools by more chemistry teachers. Our research identified the knowledge Israeli chemistry teachers needed at the beginning of the remote teaching period after only 1 week of teaching. They mainly requested operational information related to technological knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge, namely, how to use the technological tools, in particular, for general pedagogical aims. Less attention was given at that stage to technological pedagogical content knowledge, which is specifically needed for teaching chemistry. We assume that this need will be developed at a later stage; we suggest that this aspect be further examined in the future.

Here, although it is important, we did not address the question of how chemistry can be better taught via online tools. Instead, we presented our approach to how we can provide the chemistry teachers with the means to deal with the sudden shift to online chemistry teaching. We considered high-school teachers as professionals that best know what support could improve their online teaching; this led us to use an applied research-based approach in order to collect and analyze their needs, as well as to learn from the success stories of their best practices and provide teachers with the knowledge they requested in their preferred communication channels. Instead of providing top-down solutions, we used our resources as chemistry education researchers to methodically and critically analyze the teachers’ needs and behaviors and to provide them with adequate support using a bottom-up approach based on the best practices they shared, and based on our previous acquaintance with the literature on using online technologies in chemistry teaching.