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Despite increased interest in synchronous remote K-12 education, there is limited research on how students perceive such education. This article explores student perceptions of remote education, tutor support, social presence, learning and satisfaction. We developed a survey, and after distributing it and analyzing the results, the survey was offered to practitioners as a formative assessment tool. The findings showed that students were slightly positive toward synchronous remote education. Key factors that correlated with student perceptions of social presence, learning and satisfaction were positive perceptions of tutors and, to some extent, being enrolled in a smaller class. Some students appreciated the flexibility and quality of remote education, although many experienced technical and communication challenges. Our findings suggest that it is not sufficient only to engage qualified teachers in their subject; there is also a need to consider the continuous development of teaching practices and how to support and use digital technologies in remote education.

A growing interest has been directed toward including a fourth dimension in the engagement construct: the social dimension. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to explore how teachers talk about the social dimension of student engagement in online learning, and second, to explore the possibilities of using computational methods for interview data analysis. A longitudinal intervention (interview-diary-interview) was conducted with teachers who actively teach online classes in hybrid, remote, and distance modes of delivery. Natural language processing methods, more specifically topic modelling, were used to extract and analyse topics discussed in the data. Analysis of topic overlap and distinctions were made. Key results reveal that co-creation and shared cognition are core concepts when teachers talk about social engagement. However, results also show that individual engagement is critical for social engagement, and that teacher-student interaction can, potentially, be viewed as a separate component. Interestingly, the teachers' talk also reflected phases in learning such as process and product-based focuses. Following the results, we suggest that computational methods can be combined with traditional (human) analysis to contribute to a richer and more nuanced understanding of abstract topics. Understanding social engagement may inform theory development and is vital for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.

In Sweden, upper secondary school teachers made a swift transition into emergency remote teaching in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This paper reports on a Design-Based Research intervention in which professional development was designed using the Blended Learning Adoption framework, to support teachers to develop their teaching practices online. Twenty-six teachers participated in the intervention which spanned six months. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Key results revealed that the pandemic had become an impetus for change, for many teachers, but far from all. Emerging teaching practices in synchronous online learning included: inviting special needs pedagogues in parallel breakout rooms, and grouping and re-grouping students when facilitating varied collaboration. Apart from realising new potentials of online teaching and learning, teachers identified emerging challenges such as: new ways of cheating, ethical aspects of accessing students' private homes via cameras and a lack of guidelines on managing disengagement. Conclusively, teacher's professional development and new experiences elicit new practices that could benefit teachers after the pandemic. Professional development during uncertain times and design principles supporting intervention ownership transfer are discussed.

This study represents the first research effort to explore the transition from traditional teaching into distance teaching in Swedish schools enforced by COVID-19. Governments made gradual and injudicious decisions to impede the spread of the pandemic (COVID-19) in 2020. The enactment of new measures affected critical societal functions and included travel restrictions, closing of borders, school closures and lockdowns of entire countries worldwide. Social distancing became the new reality for many, and for many teachers and students, the school closure prompted a rapid transition from traditional to distance education. This study aims to capture the early stages of that transition. We distributed a questionnaire to teachers' (n = 153) to gain insights into teacher and school preparedness, plans to deliver distance education, and teachers' experience when making this transition. Results show that the school preparedness was mainly related to technical aspects, and that teachers lack pedagogical strategies needed in the emerging learning landscape of distance education. Findings reveal four distinct pedagogical activities central for distance education in a crisis, and many challenges faced during the transition. While preparedness to ensure continuity of education was halting, schools and teachers worked with tremendous effort to overcome the challenges. Results expand on previous findings on school closure during virus outbreaks and may in the short-term support teachers and school leaders in making informed decisions during the shift into distance education. The study may also inform the development of preparedness plans for schools, and offers a historical documentation.

Research informing adult education teachers' didactic practices in distance education is scarce. Approaching the adult learner's perspectives on how distance education is perceived is key to informing future initiatives. This study explores adult learners' perception of distance education, concentrating on aspects such as, social presence, course structure, and perceived learning and satisfaction. A survey was distributed to teachers (n = 78) in five schools organising adult distance education. Findings show that teacher accessibility and course structure correlated positively with social presence and perceived learning and satisfaction. Overall, adult learners are satisfied with their distance teaching. A challenge facing adult distance education is to create a sense of social presence despite the high demand for flexibility. Thus, we explored learner perceptions of benefits and challenges in distance education and structured these into social, cognitive, spatio-temporal, emotional, and technical dimensions. Findings reveal that one challenge in the social dimension was a lack of connection with peers, and a benefit in the cognitive dimension referred to autonomy and self-regulation. These findings are important as educational institutions and policymakers may strive for high flexibility, which in turn may lead to lower group cohesion and a lack of social presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It can be challenging for teachers to engage students online; to know whether students are engaged or not. Online engagement can be perceived differently than in-class engagement. Research has shown that teacher perceptions of student engagement affect how they interact with students as well as students' grades. It is critical to understand how teachers perceive engagement, not least in an online setting, to inform practices and research. This study explores Swedish teachers' understanding of student online engagement and disengagement. A Mixed Method Grounded Theory study was designed as an intervention with an interview-diary-interview format. Twenty interviews with teachers (n = 10) who regularly teach hybrid, remote or distance classes in K-12 education were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results show that teachers express understanding at the macro and micro level of engagement and would report different combinations of engagement and disengagement at different levels of engagement. The results informed an engagement model with a complex construct without inherent boundaries; teachers rated student engagement both below and above the suggested scale. The contribution to theory with included models is discussed. • A model reflecting teacher understanding of student online engagement is presented. • Micro level engagement reveals complex combinations of engagement and disengagement. • Engagement lacks inherent boundaries; teachers rated student engagement both below and above the suggested scale. • Several instances of engagement and disengagement co-occur. • The active engagement and disengagement are influenced within and between dimensions and by context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]