TEACHING AND LEARNING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL IN SERBIA DURING THE PANDEMIC.

The paper presents a new way of distance learning and teaching that is realized during the pandemic pandemic in primary schools in Serbia.Pandemic Covid 19 is an emergency. It has caused many upheavals globally. Many segments of society, including education, have experienced such a shock that is not remembered for decades. That shock also happened in the education system of Serbia. It was visible in all its subsystems, including primary school. At the very beginning of the pandemic, it was switched from the system of regular teaching and learning to distance learning. Serbia's education system is centralized, cumbersome and in the midst of numerous reforms. At the very transition to online teaching, there were confusions, difficulties and wanderings that is characteristic of such educational systems. Criticisms of these changes were: insufficient competence (education) of teachers, insufficient technical equipment for distance teaching and the reaction of the relevant ministry. The reactions of the trade union and the relevant ministry differed. After a certain period, ie. improvement of the epidemiological situation, classes were realized in groups in the following ways: younger pupils from the first to the fifth grade attended classes in two groups, in the morning shift, and older pupils from the fifth to the eighth grade came in groups, alternately, day in the afternoon shift. Such a way of teaching is still present today. All this required a great reorganization from the way of work and the type of teaching to the change of teaching forms, methods and teaching technology. In just a few days, the schools had to organize a completely different class from the previous one, mostly traditional. Teachers, which in a large percentage were not trained to work on platforms and modern information and communication technology, found themselves in a completely new sphere of their work. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia organized classes on the national television-Radio Television of Serbia. In addition, in the beginning, mobile phones, Viber, SMS messages were mainly used, and gradually it was switched to Google classrooms and other platforms. Most primary schools in Serbia have opted for Google classrooms. One of the problems was the technical equipment. Many pupils in rural areas did not have the internet connection necessary for distance learning. The problems were solved on the fly, gradually and in accordance with the possibilities. Teachers were educated to work on Google classrooms, but also other possibilities of using modern communication and information technology. Today, the situation in primary schools in Serbia is much better than at the beginning of the pandemic, but far from ideal. Many schools, meanwhile, have procured the necessary technical equipment for distance learning, established an internet connection, and teachers are better and more educated. However, distance learning does not provide the kind of knowledge it acquires in classical teaching. Ratings are not realistic but higher. Pupils will have gaps in knowledge and knowledge will not be at the required level of quality. The paper will also present a research on distance learning conducted with students from fifth to eighth grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]