Revista
de la
Universidad
del Zulia
Fundada en 1947
por el Dr. Jesús Enrique Lossada
75
ANIVERSARIO
DEPÓSITO LEGAL ZU2020000153
ISSN 0041-8811
E-ISSN 2665-0428
Ciencias
Exactas,
Naturales
y de la Salud
Año 13 N° 37
Mayo - Agosto 2022
Tercera Época
Maracaibo-Venezuela
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Individualization of the Education of Future Natural Sciences
Teachers in the Context of Covid-19
Larysa Marushko *
Antonina Hura **
Andrii Hrechko ***
Iryna Truskavetska ****
ABSTRACT
In early 2020, the traditional form of full-time education has become unacceptable, which has
made the educational system to change dramatically. Educators had to find new ways and tools
for transferring knowledge to students. The aim of this work was to study the impact of the
individualization of education on the effectiveness of educational services provided to Natural
Sciences teachers in the context of Covid-19. The study involved semi-structured interviews, as
well as close-ended questionnaires. The analysis of variance, Cohen’s coefficient and Statictica
software application were also used. It was found in the sample of future natural sciences
teachers that the individualization of education can promote higher efficiency of distance
learning. This requires skillful handling of a wide variety of didactic materials and educational
resources, their adaptation to the individual capabilities of the student, his or her expectations
of learning and didactic goals. It was found that the individualization of education helps students
to feel less overload, stress, tension, lack of time. They learned to plan and self-organize, their
self-motivation and responsibility for the completed work increased.
KEYWORDS: educational platform, digital educational space, online learning, individual
learning, cloud technologies.
*PhD in Chemical Sciences, Associate professor, Dean of Faculty of Chemistry, Ecology and Pharmacy,
Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Lutsk, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8373-
6747. E-mail: Marushko.Larysa@vnu.edu.ua
**Doctor of Philosophy, Lecturer of Department of Biology, Ecology and Methods of Teaching, Taras
Shevchenko Regional Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy of Kremenets, Kremenets, Ukraine. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8004-4606. E-mail: tonyagura@gmail.com
***PhD in Physics and Mathematics, Associate Professor of Department of Mathematical Physics and
Differential Equations, National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic
Institute”, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-8367. E-mail:
and.grechko67@gmail.com
****PhD in Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of Department of Biology, Methodology and
Teaching Methods, Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Pereiaslav, Ukraine. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6605-7948. E-mail: Truskavetskaa@ukr.net
Recibido: 07/02/2022 Aceptado: 01/04/2022
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Individualización de la formación de los futuros profesores de
Ciencias Naturales en el contexto de la Covid-19
RESUMEN
A principios de 2020, la forma tradicional de educación a tiempo completo se ha vuelto
inaceptable, lo que ha hecho que el sistema educativo cambie drásticamente. Los educadores
tenían que encontrar nuevas formas y herramientas para transferir conocimientos a los
estudiantes. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar el impacto de la individualización de la
educación en la efectividad de los servicios educativos brindados a los profesores de Ciencias
Naturales en el contexto de la Covid-19. El estudio involucró entrevistas semiestructuradas,
así como cuestionarios cerrados. También se utilizó el análisis de varianza, el coeficiente de
Cohen y el software Statictica. Se encontró en la muestra del futuro de los profesores de
Ciencias Naturales que la individualización de la educación puede promover una mayor
eficiencia de la educación a distancia. Esto requiere un manejo hábil de una amplia variedad
de materiales didácticos y recursos educativos, su adaptación a las capacidades individuales
del alumno, sus expectativas de aprendizaje y objetivos didácticos. Se encontró que la
individualización de la educación ayuda a los estudiantes a sentir menos sobrecarga, estrés,
tensión, falta de tiempo. Aprendieron a planificar y autoorganizarse, aumentó su
automotivación y responsabilidad por el trabajo terminado.
PALABRAS CLAVE: plataforma educativa, espacio educativo digital, aprendizaje en línea,
aprendizaje individual, tecnologías en la nube.
Introduction
The global pandemic declared on March 11, 2021, which was caused by the rapid spread
of Covid-19, was the factor that made the education system to search for alternative forms of
learning (Li et al., 2021). The teachers had to develop new learning strategies (Treve, 2021).
The use of distance learning turned out to be the most effective of them in view of the need
to reduce physical contact between participants in the process (Akyuz, 2022). The
technologies (satellite, audio and video, graphics, digital, multimedia, artificial intelligence,
cloud technology (Hu, 2021), digital whiteboard (Reguera & Lopez, 2021), which teachers
had to quickly learn to use in distance learning (e-learning, online learning) (Akyuz, 2022),
mobile learning (Matzavela & Alepis, 2021), have proved their positive effect on learning
outcomes (Treve, 2021), moreover, they individualize the learning process (Hu, 2021). Digital
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educational platforms have been created and used for this purpose. They provide students
with access to educational materials (texts and videos of lectures, assignments for
independent work, videos of laboratory practicals), the opportunity to conduct group
discussions remotely, take exams, and so on. Distance learning has a number of advantages,
in addition to limiting contacts between students and teachers during lessons. For example,
it is cost-effective, flexible. It provided the opportunity to attract different lecturers,
regardless of their location (Tamura et al., 2021), which diversified learning. It also reduces
learning costs and reduces the negative impact on the environment (Treve, 2021).
Distance learning provides an opportunity to individualize the educational process
(Matzavela & Alepis, 2021). That is, students have access to lectures, which is not limited in
time and number of views. This allows learning the material both synchronously and
asynchronously, studying at a pace and schedule that is convenient for students, based on
their individual abilities and personal goals (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). Distance learning
gives students a certain independence in their studies. In turn, it promotes interactivity,
motivates and controls the student (Akyuz, 2022). In addition to developing skills, this type
of learning promotes the development of individual abilities and talents of students (Treve,
2021). This form of education also takes into account individual preferences for forms of
presenting information (text, audio, video, infographics, games, movies, etc.). Despite the
individualization of learning, distance learning provides students with the same content and
volume of information.
Despite the large number of studies on the implementation of educational process in
the context of Covid-19, the issue of the organization of the educational process of future
natural sciences teachers remains poorly studied. The study of the natural sciences requires
special attention because of a practical constituent element aimed at developing students’
practical skills. It was carried out in the laboratories of educational institutions in traditional
education.
The aim of this work was to study the impact of individualization of the educational
process on the effectiveness of distance learning in the context of Covid-19. The aim involved
the following research objectives:
1. Determine the dependence of the level of students’ academic achievements on the
number of students in the group during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.
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2. Develop and implement the education individualization principles for students
studying natural sciences in pedagogical educational institutions.
3. Identify the impact of the developed education individualization principles on the
students’ perception of online learning, its convenience, efficiency, and effectiveness.
1. Literature review
Many researchers studied the impact of the pandemic on the education in different
countries around the world. For example, in the United States, the researchers studied the
impact of the transition to distance learning and individual education plans (Cosgrove, 2021),
and the development of practical skills of technical students (Jain et al., 2021).
Along with the advantages of distance learning as a form of individualization of
education, there are a number of disadvantages (Akyuz, 2022). For example, the student’s
ability to receive a quality education during a pandemic depended on the level of
development of the country in which he or she was at the time. The economic problems of
students’ families also had a greater impact on their learning outcomes. The student’s success
in distance learning depends on the availability of the necessary hardware, its quality, and
speed of the Internet (Day et al., 2021). Besides, the effectiveness of learning depends on the
students’ individual skills to work with the ICT required for online learning. Individual
stress resilience and the ability to overcome feelings of isolation from society also have an
impact on learning outcomes (Akyuz, 2022). The reason is that the pandemic disrupted the
usual course of students’ learning and caused their uncertainty about the future (Hadar et
al., 2020). Negative manifestations of distance learning include delayed feedback or an
excessive number of letters and important messages during the day, thus causing additional
stress for students and teachers (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020).
Virtual classes in Zoom, CiscoWebex, BigBlueButton, Hangou (Falfushynska et al.,
2021), Google Classroom, Google Meet, YouTube Live, Facebook Messenger (Reguera &
Lopez, 2021), Canvas, Blackboard (Nuere & de Miguel, 2021), Edmodo, Moodle and
Microsoft teams did not allow to translate 100% laboratory practicals and practical content
into a virtual format, as they have a special interactive nature (Jain et al., 2021). The conduct
of laboratory and practical classes, teaching practice, internships caused the greatest
uncertainty (Jayasuriya, 2021). Therefore, teachers solved this problem in different ways.
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Some recorded videos of their own laboratory practicals, or prepared a presentation at Power
Point (Adeleke & Gao, 2021), while others tried to postpone the practical part to a safer
period when students can return to the laboratory (Han & Sa, 2021). Teachers also tried to
replace laboratory practicals that required the presence of students in the laboratory with
one that could be realized at home. Alternatively, the laboratory practicals were reduced to
the analysis and processing of the results of the experiment, which were sent to students.
Laboratory practicals using simulators were also the case (Tamura et al., 2021). Teachers also
considered project-based learning as one of the ways out, but it is not able to fully
compensate for the lack of student-teacher and student-student interaction, as well as
physical presence in laboratories and work with the necessary equipment. Instead of
teaching practice, researchers (Ivanova, 2021) offer online observations of videos of lessons
conducted at school. At the same time, students had to keep a diary of observations, and then
discuss the lesson in an online meeting with classmates under the teacher’s guidance.
The inability to work in educational institutions has impacted most of all the
effectiveness of students’ studies in majors that require a large proportion of practical work,
being physically present in laboratories (Treve, 2021). The use of virtual laboratories in the
educational process can prepare students for the practical performance of work, but cannot
replace it (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). Some teachers have transferred, for example, a
chemistry laboratory to their kitchen and the kitchen of their students (Kidd & Murray,
2020).
The pandemic has also made adjustments in the form of teaching practice for
pedagogical higher educational institutions. When schools and universities are closed, it
becomes impossible to practically train students of pedagogical educational institutions to
work at school. One way out (Carrillo & Flores, 2020) is to watch video lessons taken in real
classrooms before the pandemic. This prepared students for the realities of their future
profession.
For successful distance learning, the educational process must include the following
components: multimedia class on the air, prepared homework and exam assignments, the
ability to share learning resources, knowledge and skills, the ability to virtually simulate
learning, practice, internships, perform virtual laboratory practicals, use online libraries (Yao
et al., 2021). All this requires various technical means: smartphone, computer, television,
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radio. An effective assessment system should be created in order to effectively control the
knowledge and skills of students acquired in this way. It should include a course question
bank and an automatic system for evaluating answers, analysing grades and keeping
statistics.
Individualization of online learning is one of the educational innovations (Han & Sa,
2021). They involve student-teacher interaction and significantly differ from traditional
lectures. The individual form of work became the most effective during the pandemic (Day
et al., 2021).
To effectively implement online teaching and learning methods in the educational
process, teachers must have a positive attitude towards it, which was found to depend on
the following factors: gender, major, degree, country, experience of traditional and virtual
teaching and online teaching (Shambour & Abu-Hashem, 2021). Teachers must also have the
skills to effectively manage the students’ individual learning through distance tools. For
example, researchers (Treve, 2021) emphasize pedagogical, social, technical and managerial
competencies of teachers. However, the efficiency of distance learning depends on the ability
of both students and teachers to work with the necessary technologies. It is important for
teachers to realize that the student group is not homogeneous, so the teaching methods
introduced in it should take into account the individual peculiarities of each student
(Kwiatkowska & Wiśniewska-Nogaj, 2021). Conducting classes is not just a process of
disseminating information, it is a set of student-centred actions.
The result in distance learning can be achieved if personalized learning is conducted
according to individual instructions developed in conformity with the academic level of
students, which will promote students’ interest in learning and their motivation, as well as
provide feedback (Treve, 2021). Although there is another opinion (Carrillo & Flores, 2020)
that cooperation, communication, group discussion, etc. are key components of effective
online learning. However, those students who were active in acquiring new knowledge,
developing skills and abilities were successful, while students were less successful if teacher
activity was dominant (Carrillo & Flores, 2020). The most effective model of teacher
cooperation with students is when the teacher plays the role of facilitator.
Personalized learning is one aspect of online learning practice, along with
contextualized, social, formative and integrated ones. It must have clearly defined goals and
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objectives, be consistent and flexible, and be constantly evaluated (Carrillo & Flores, 2020).
Nevertheless, many teachers have complained that no effective assessment methods have
been found during the distance learning pandemic (Ferretti et al., 2021; Adedoyin & Soykan,
2020).
It is difficult to get honest independent answers from students to test questions if they
have the opportunity to use sources of information. The use of information technology in
addressing this issue is poorly studied (Zhao, 2019). There were some attempts to use the
latest information technology in the design of individual learning of students based on the
student’s portrait (academic achievement, interest and desire to learn), and assessment
through intelligent systems. Individualization of learning is also based on the student’s
portrait, taking into account his or her individual educational needs (Zhao, 2019).
Traditional lectures were not found productive in distance learning (Kidd & Murray,
2020). Therefore, teachers try to attract students with more active teaching methods. For
example, they use collective discussions of educational assignments, games, participation in
quizzes, intellectual competitions. The way students perceive independent learning was
studied, and attention was paid to online practice simulation. The unexpected transition to
distance learning made all participants in the educational process to convert their homes into
offices for work and study. Learning outcomes depended on their ability to organize
themselves, especially in the presence of all family members who have their own needs and
plans.
The experience of the pandemic demonstrated the need to take measures at all levels
to prepare current and future teachers for productive professional work in emergencies
(Darling-Hammond & Hyler, 2020, Hadar et al., 2020). This applies both to future natural
sciences teachers (Ponomareva, 2021; Biletska et al., 2022), philology (Boyko et al., 2021), and
others.
All steps towards individualization of learning taken in a hurry during a pandemic,
can take place in the long run (Treve, 2021), provided careful planning and design (Carrillo
& Flores, 2020). All the challenges that arose during the pandemic can be turned into new
opportunities in the future (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). In general, the pandemic is called a
catalyst for the introduction of new forms of education. A number of online educational
libraries containing a variety of educational resources, from books to videos, such as
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readtogether.hk (Treve, 2021) and educational networks (Yang, 2022) have been set up to
help teachers to use new forms of learning.
2. Methods
The study was conducted in three stages:
The first phase, which lasted from April to June 2020, involved studying the
experience of distance learning, which was necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic instead
of the traditional full-time education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with
teachers who teach natural sciences in pedagogical educational institutions. The analysis of
the answers to the questions asked to the teachers identified the teaching methods that were
most often used during the first wave of the pandemic. According to the teachers, it was
established which methods and approaches to teaching, in their opinion, had the best effect
in the study of natural sciences. Besides, a survey of students was conducted in order to study
their attitude to online learning and its effectiveness.
The second stage, which began in September 2020, involved a pedagogical experiment.
The experimental group practiced individualized online learning of students. The control
group studied remotely, but in groups.
The third stage involved a survey of students to find out their attitude to online
learning and to determine the relationship between the form (individually, collectively), and
the resultant academic achievements. It was determined what learning outcomes the
students of the experimental and control groups achieved, followed by their comparison. It
was also found what results were achieved in case of having more time to prepare for distance
learning, as well as the problems that have not yet been solved.
The sample consisted of 28 teachers. One of the criteria for their selection was the
condition of teaching natural sciences in pedagogical educational institutions of higher
education. They had different teaching experiences (from 3 to 25 years). They belonged to
different age groups (from 27 to 60 years). There were teachers who did not have online
teaching experience until March 2020. There were teachers who had little online learning
experience. The sample also included 147 students who studied in the 2nd-4th years of study
of the first (bachelor’s) level majoring in Secondary Education (Physics), Secondary
Education (Geography), Secondary Education (Biology), Secondary Education (Chemistry).
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All students studied on a full-time basis before the pandemic. The average age of students
was 19 years.
The research team developed a series of questions for the interview. They provided for
obtaining demographic and educational information about the teacher. The questions also
concerned the subjects taught in April-June 2020, the approaches, strategies, methods and
resources that were used and considered by the respondents to be effective. The interview
provided free answers to the protocol questions, as well as the formulation of additional non-
protocol questions in order to clarify the information received. An audio recording of the
interview was made, which was then encrypted, processed and stored in encrypted form.
Besides, the research team developed a questionnaire for student surveys, which
contained the following sections of close-ended questions: demographic and educational
data about the student; attitude to the resources used, methods and approaches to learning
during the pandemic; the degree of achievement of personal didactic goals, and the degree of
difficulty of learning during a pandemic. The answers were evaluated on the Likert scale,
where 1 is a very low level, and 5 is high. The questionnaire met all ethical standards.
Sufficient time was allotted to answer the questions of the questionnaire. The survey was
free and anonymous.
Mathematical data processing methods and Statistica software were also used.
3. Results
The sample data were obtained according to the information provided by the teachers
during the interview (Table 1).
The results of the interview conducted in June 2020 with the teachers of the sample
and the most frequent answers received are presented in Table 2.
Interviews with teachers showed that the transition to distance learning necessitated
by the spread of coronavirus has caused everyone anxiety and stress. Teachers had to
reformat the whole educational process in a short time. However, many of them did not have
online teaching experience and sufficient digital literacy to implement it. Therefore, the first
weeks of online learning were chaotic, teachers focused on their own capabilities, rather than
on the individual capabilities and educational needs of students. There was no time to find
out what hardware students had before learning online. The main problems were the lack of
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sufficient ICT and speed Internet, and insufficient digital literacy of both students and
teachers.
Table 1. Sample description
Teachers
Gender, persons
Female
19
Average age, years
42
Teaching experience, years
14
People have online teaching
experience
2
Total, persons
28
Students
Gender, persons
Female
123
Average age, years
19
Major, persons
Secondary education (Physics)
Secondary education (Biology)
Secondary education
(Chemistry)
Secondary education
(Geography)
Total, persons
147
Table 2. The results of the interview with the teachers and the most frequent answers
received
Question
The most frequent answers
Number
Did you conduct a survey of
students on their individual
technical abilities, didactic
requests, expectations and
digital literacy before to the
introduction of online
learning?
I found out the technical capabilities of each
student, the availability of a computer, tablet,
smartphone
5
I found out the accessibility of the Internet
7
I found out students’ preferences regarding the
forms of presenting information (text, video,
presentation, etc.)
1
I found out whether students had an idea of
educational platforms
3
What problems and
difficulties arose during the
urgent introduction of
distance learning?
Technical problems (lack of high-speed Internet
for teachers and students, lack of ICT with
sufficient characteristics for such work, etc.)
21
Lack of sufficient digital literacy in the course
teacher
23
Lack of sufficient digital literacy among students
27
Decreased students’ motivation
22
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Inability to observe the immediate reaction of
students to the material presented and adjust the
form of presentation in accordance with the
perception
26
Lack of feedback or untimely feedback
24
Lack of opportunity to assess students’ real
knowledge, as remoteness allows for dishonesty
19
What educational
platforms, social networks
and messengers were used
during online learning?
Digital educational space of the university
21
E-mail
27
Google Classroom
16
Zoom
22
Moodle
23
Google Meet
24
Blackboard
18
YouTube
25
Facebook
19
Viber
24
Telegram
15
Skype
10
Did you have to change the
curriculum because of the
transition to distance
learning?
Yes, I had to replace the topics of laboratory
practicals because of the impossibility of
performing them in the context of distance
learning
15
I had to postpone laboratory practicals until the
pandemic ends
12
No, the physical performance of laboratory
practicals (excursions) was replaced by the
performance of virtual laboratory practicals
(virtual excursions and eyewitness stories)
20
No, we were recording their performance of
laboratory practicals and obtaining data, while
students had to perform their calculations
23
No, the impossibility of performing practical work
in the laboratory was compensated by performing
similar work at home
10
What new teaching
methods had to be used
during distance learning?
Traditional lectures on an educational platform
25
Video of the lecture (practical classes, laboratory
practicals, etc.)
24
Interactive teaching methods (projects, cases,
work in pairs, work in small groups, individual
work, conversations, discussions, role-playing
games, etc.)
16
Teachers tried to quickly adapt traditional teaching methods to teaching online.
Therefore, the texts of the lectures were sent by e-mail, posted on one of the educational
platforms or read during an online meeting. This instantly reduced students’ motivation.
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They tried to postpone laboratory practicals and practical work to the post-quarantine
period. Later, they began to make videos of lectures, practical works, laboratory practicals,
use virtual laboratory practicals, use Internet resources to diversify information and forms of
its presentation.
The interview revealed a pattern between student performance and their number in
the group. Figure 1 shows the dependence of the student academic performance level on the
number of students in the group.
Figure 1. The dependence of the student academic performance level on the number of
students in the group
As Figure 1 shows, the fewer students a teacher works with at a time online, the better
they learn the material. An online learning strategy was built on this pattern and tested
experimentally.
In the second stage of the study, the process of distance learning in the control group
was not interfered with. In the experimental group, teachers were invited to conduct training
on the following principles:
1. Study of individual capabilities of each student, their preferences for teaching
methods, didactic goals and expectations.
2. Development of didactic materials and educational resources that would take into
account the individual capabilities and expectations of students.
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
0 5 10 15 20 25
Student academic performance level, %
Number fo students in the group
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3. Use of active student-centric teaching methods. Changing the teacher’s role from a
leader to an assistant. Partial transfer of responsibility for planning the educational process
and its results to the student.
4. The teacher should build the learning process so that students not only use the
information that the teacher provided, but also create new ones.
5. The time for the online meeting is distributed as follows: the time allotted for the study
of the subject by a group of students is divided equally among all students. For example, 12-
15 minutes were allotted for each student for three classes lasting 90 minutes, which should
be held for a group of 20 students. During this time, the teacher can provide advice on issues
that the student encountered during the processing of materials sent in advance to the
student in the form he or she prefers. At the same time, the teacher can check and assess the
level of student performance in learning new material and identify gaps in student
knowledge. So, having gathered information on all students in the group, the teacher
obtained a general picture of students’ perception of educational material, can review it, and
provided additional, or if necessary, conducted a collective online lesson to address issues
that have caused difficulties for most students.
6. The material provided to each student may differ in the form of presentation, but must
correspond to the curriculum of the subject. Each student must perform all planned types of
work and obtain all the competencies provided by the curriculum.
7. On average, a student spends a maximum of 2 hours in a synchronous study during a
weekday. Besides, each student spend approximately 3 to 6 hours studying asynchronously.
Table 3 provides the results achieved through this form of distance learning, which
aimed to individualize the learning process.
The results of the survey showed that the introduction of an individualized approach
to learning in the context of Covid-19 contributes to the growth of distance learning by
students. Yes, students have gained online learning experience, improved their technical
support to be able to study remotely. At the end of the experiment, all students were
sufficiently adapted to online learning.
The results of the survey showed that the introduction of an individualized approach
to learning in the context of Covid-19 contributes to increased appreciation of distance
learning by students. The students have gained online learning experience, improved their
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hardware to be able to study remotely. At the end of the experiment, all students were
sufficiently adapted to online learning. The students of the control group had sufficient
digital literacy, and the students of the experimental group had a high level of the latter.
Individualization of learning promoted the improvement of students’ ability to self-organize
and independently plan their own time to a high level (for comparison, the control group
students reached only the middle level). Students that studied with the use of an individual
form rated the level of distance learning as sufficient. They were satisfied with the quality of
online learning, gained self-confidence. Students did not feel the lack of time to study due to
the ability to plan time and individualized approach of teachers to the educational process.
At the same time, the individualization of education has led to the development of creative
abilities of students, developed their research skills.
The intergroup variance d, determined by the heterogeneity of the sample, namely the
introduction of individualized learning in the context of Covid-19 in different educational
institutions included in the sample, ranged from 286 to 1,354. The standard deviation from
the mean of the same evaluation parameter in different educational institutions of the sample
was different. Intergroup and intragroup variances, which describe the fluctuations of these
groups determined by the random factors not taken into account, are not equal, which
indicates that the null hypothesis is not valid.
In the studies conducted in the experimental group, Cohen’s d was 1.0, which indicates
a high effect of individualization of learning in the context of Covid-19. In the control group,
d was 0.6, which indicates an average effect.
4. Discussion
According to this study, the individualization of education has a number of advantages
over online group work. For example, the teacher has the opportunity to observe the
student’s reaction to the material, assess the degree of assimilation of new information, etc.
The researchers stated that teachers consider online learning impersonal (Kidd & Murray,
2020). They cannot see the students’ reaction during the lecture and present the material
accordingly. Therefore, teachers often used individual online lessons with students to achieve
didactic goals and maintain personal contact.
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Table 3. The results of the survey of students on learning in the context of Covid-19
Questions
Average score on the Likert scale
At the
beginning
of the first
stage of
the study
After the
first stage
of the study
After the second stage of
the study
Control
group
Experimen
tal group
Assess your experience with ICT and
educational platforms before the pandemic.
2
3
4
4
Assess your understanding of e-learning.
1
3
4
5
Did you adapt quickly to online learning?
1
3
4
4
Assess the level of your hardware required
for the transition to distance learning.
2
3
4
4
Assess your digital literacy to study online
without difficulty.
2
3
4
5
Assess your ability to plan your own study
time?
2
3
3
5
Assess the effectiveness of distance learning.
2
3
3
4
Assess your satisfaction with the quality of
online learning.
2
3
3
4
Assess the feeling of self-confidence during
online learning.
2
3
3
4
Is there enough time to communicate with
classmates?
2
2
3
4
Is there enough time to fulfil your
curriculum?
2
1
2
4
Have you started to think more creatively
through online learning?
2
3
3
4
Do you think that online learning develops
the researcher skills?
2
3
3
4
Do virtual laboratory practicals and field
trips make up for the lack of real laboratories
during online learning?
1
2
3
4
Does online learning contribute to the
development of practical skills?
1
2
3
4
Are your individual features taken into
account during online training?
1
1
2
4
Can online learning give better results than
full-time studies?
1
2
2
4
Do you feel free to express your thoughts
during online learning?
2
3
3
4
Have you become less stressed with the
transition to distance learning?
2
2
2
4
Do you feel an increased social cohesion
among the students in your group?
1
2
2
3
Do you think that distance learning helps to
reduce stress, anxiety and fear about learning
outcomes?
1
2
2
4
Average value:
2
Low level
3
Medium
level
3
Medium
level
4
Sufficient
level
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One of the effects of online learning is the blurring line between personal and
professional. The survey of students conducted in this paper showed their increased
satisfaction with online learning, which was promoted, among other things, by the
individualization of education. However, there are other opinions in the scientific literature.
A survey of students who studied online showed that if they could return to full-time study,
they would not want to study online, despite the fact that students highly appreciated all the
efforts that the teachers made to prepare for online classes, and despite the experience of
distance learning teachers (Day et al., 2021). The students themselves were more successful
in learning during the pandemic if they had online learning experience before it.
A survey of 116 students majoring in Natural Sciences from the Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia (Bawaneh, 2021) found the medium level of student satisfaction with e-learning
and virtual classes. However, it varies from subject to subject. The study also showed that
the university lacks the infrastructure required for online learning, innovative learning
models and the necessary competencies for teachers and students. The vast majority of
students believe that electronic and virtual classrooms are the most suitable for learning
during a pandemic. However, most of them, in the absence of extreme conditions, prefer
traditional forms of learning. There were also students who thought that money for online
education was wasted. In contrast to students majoring in Philology and Linguistics, the vast
majority (57%) are completely satisfied with the quality of online learning (Boyko et al.,
2021).
An interview conducted in this study found that natural sciences teachers were forced
to change the way they presented their teaching materials. For example, they made videos of
laboratory practicals, used virtual laboratories. Researchers (Day et al., 2021) found that
geography teachers, for example, where a number of excursions were planned, had to replace
them with virtual tours during the pandemic. However, such a replacement resulted in the
video and sounds only kept in memory as the impression of “visiting” the place. Another way
to explore places of interest is to introduce them through photos, videos and stories of those
who have already visited them.
According to a survey (Reguera & Lopez, 2021), the use of digital whiteboards in
online learning in a pandemic makes the learning more dynamic, helps students understand
abstract concepts, involves students in online learning.
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Matzavela and Alepis (2021) explored how individual features such as gender affect
students’ preferences for learning methods. It was established that girls like game methods
of learning more than boys. However, gender does not affect the attitudes towards mobile
learning, it was positive in 25% of women and 22% of men.
The motivation of students requires that the content of educational material was
relevant, and the learning process itself must be conducted in a social context. Learning
activities should be based on active methods, and gaining knowledge related to the
arrangement and use of information should evoke appropriate emotions in students
(Dumulescu et al., 2021).
Conclusions
The 2020 pandemic caused by Covid-19 demonstrated the failure of the education
system to provide services in extreme situations. The study conducted in this paper showed
that the teachers’ steps taken in the first days of the imposed quarantine restrictions were
chaotic and ineffective. Teachers of Natural Sciences, which involve a number of practical
works and laboratory practicals in their curricula, experienced the greatest difficulties. They
require the presence of students in laboratories.
The proposed individualization of education was one of the highly effective ways to
train future natural sciences teachers in terms of distance. The individualization promoted
the growth of students’ ability to self-organize and plan their own time. The learning process
did not cause stress, instilled confidence in students. Students did not feel the lack of time to
study, while highly appreciating the quality of education. Individualization of education
contributed to the development of creative abilities and research skills of students.
This study can be useful to researchers and teachers in re-evaluating and improving
the quality of educational services, both in emergencies and in distance learning after the
pandemic. The promising area is the development of unified systems for assessing the level
of adaptability of students to study in extreme conditions, as well as assessing the
productivity of the forms of learning used under these conditions.
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