Innovative teaching practices during the emergency remote teaching (ERT) process: a phenomenological inquiry

Research design

The phenomenology design, a qualitative research model, was executed in the current study. Phenomenological inquiry aims to interpret people's experiences about a specific concept designated as a phenomenon (Creswell, 2020; Merriam, 2013). Phenomenology is the process of defining a phenomenon that thoroughly focuses on individuals' existing experiences and the perceptions and meanings that they attribute to these experiences (Patton, 2014). In line with this, the innovative teaching experiences of teachers during ERT, which brought forth a pronounced change in education, were designated as the phenomenon of the current study. Creswell (2020) classified two types of phenomenology: interpretive and descriptive. Interpretive phenomenology was employed in the current study as researchers collected data from individuals experiencing the phenomenon, and interpreted the data via excluding their own experiences.

Study group

In accordance with the nature of the study, the purposeful sampling method was operated in the current study. Berg and Lune (2019) suggested that, according to the experiences of the researchers, individuals with specific characteristics can be included in a study using the purposeful sampling method. Considering factors such as educational status, experience, the field of study and employment location, maximum variation sampling method was employed. To ensure maximum variation, participants with different areas of study, different education levels and different professional experiences in primary, secondary and high schools were included in the study. Bryman (2012) highlighted the importance of attaining the highest variation in sample selection and selecting a sample with heterogeneity regarding related characteristics to elucidate the essence of common experiences related to the research topic. The study sample comprises 16 teachers with ERT experience in the 2020–2021 academic year. One-on-one interviews and focus group interview were conducted with the sample group to ensure data variation. Detailed information about the sample groups is presented in Tables 1 and 2.

In qualitative research, the size of the study group is determined by the saturation of the research (Morse, 2016). At the data collection stage, the data collection of the research was deemed sufficient when the same ideas and opinions started to come from the study group at the data collection stage.

Data collection

The most appropriate method of data collection to deduce the views and perceptions related to a phenomenon is the interview method (Moustakas, 1994; Yıldırım and Şimşek, 2011). A semi-structured interview protocol was designed to gather data from participants on innovative teaching practices. The interview protocol consists of three sections. The first section discloses the purpose of the study. The second is a list of questions about the demographic status of the participant. The third contains seven open-ended questions. Expert reviews were obtained from three experts in the field, and the form was revised in accordance with the feedback. Accordingly, possible probing questions were included in the protocol, and the questions to be asked during focus group interviews were shortened. Piloting of the protocol was executed, and no change was required. One-on-one interviews were achieved during the 2020–2021 academic year. The focus group interview was completed during the fall semester of the 2021–2022 academic year, during the hybrid education process. The questions given to the participants were elaborated with probing questions during the interviews. Interviews were audio recorded with the permission of the participants. The data collection process was carried out between June 24, 2021 and February 28, 2022.

Data interpretation

Content analysis method was operated to interpret obtained data. Content analysis is the attentive and systematic review of data to extract meaning from data through coding and interpretation (Berg and Lune, 2019). During the content analysis, the data were reviewed with the interpretive approach of Miles and Huberman (1994); the aim was to reveal the “essence of a narrative” (Berg and Lune, 2019). This approach focused on the reflections of the participant's actions in practice. Yin (2011) drew attention to the importance of focusing on the perspective of the problem situation constituting the subject of the research when analyzing the data. In line with this, the data outside the subject context were not included in the data analysis in the current study. Multiple analyses were performed at different times, and the compatibility of the analyses with each other was examined. The final encoding was done by examining the participant statements within the subject context.

Validity and reliability

Since the study has a qualitative design, it was conducted in accordance with Lincoln and Guba's principles of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability to shed light on the concepts of reliability and validity. In doing so, the stages of the research are explained in detail. The study was reported in clear and concise language. In addition, the data collected aimed to be diverse and was collected through individual and focus group interviews. Brief reminder notes were recorded during the interviews. The notes were paired with the voice recordings, and the gestures and behaviors of the participants not captured by the voice recordings were combined with the recordings in the data analysis. The researcher did not use judgmental/biased patterns related to the phenomenon while collecting data. In accordance with the interview framework, the researcher ensured a positive experience (Johnson and Christensen, 2014).

The research phenomenon was “innovative teaching experiences during distance education.” The experiences related to this phenomenon were gained over approximately two years. Thus, the data collection covered a large portion of the experience process. Long-term observation and continuous participation are important for the validity of qualitative research. The data collection process was extended to capture complete experiences rather than temporary ones.

Ethical considerations

Scientists have to adhere to ethical principles while conducting research. These principles ensure that the research proceeds scientifically and entails respect for the experiences shared by the participants with the researcher/researchers. The research was conducted by adhering to the principles of informed consent, non-deception, privacy and accuracy (Christians, 2005). Before the data collection, participants were informed about the research subject and its purpose, why they were invited to participate, the planned interview time and the interview questions. Respondents were informed that only voluntary participants would be included in the interviews; all teachers invited to participate accepted the interview. At the time of the planned interviews, participants were informed about the informed consent form; permission was obtained for the audio recording; and they were informed that they could terminate the interview at any time. While reporting on the research, pseudonyms were used instead of actual names. Thus, participant confidentiality was ensured.

Ethical permission regarding the data collection tools and research methods was obtained from the Social and Human Research Ethics Committee of Yıldız Technical University at the 2021/4 meeting on June 24, 201.

Interpretation of innovative teaching

Participants described the ERT process, innovative teaching experiences both positive and negative. Participating teachers defined innovative teaching as consisting of non-traditional teaching practices in which creative skills are adopted and designed by the teacher in accordance with student needs. Teachers agreed that innovative teaching is essential; they also emphasized that teaching aimed at raising individuals with the necessary skills needed for adaptation to the contemporary age was crucial.

With 28 years of professional experience, Osman, a teacher, defined innovative teaching as knowing the necessities of the contemporary age and implementing them to keep up with the conditions of the time, combined with the ability to teach more efficiently. An English teacher, Ayşe, underlining the changing role of teachers and students, characterized the teaching approach that distinguishes itself from traditional teaching and that motivates students to research as innovative, stating, “Teachers have left their role of relaying information behind and become guides, while students have left their role of receiving information behind and become active researchers.” Eylül, who has a similar view, indicated the role of the teacher as a leader and guide, asking herself the question: “What kind of a learning environment should I create so that my students reach information and choose useful information out of the information given to them much more easily?”

Teachers agreed that innovative teaching is essential and indicated the importance of educating individuals with the necessary skills to adapt to the contemporary age. Gökçe, who has PhD degree, stressed the need to rethink the teaching process to teach students the 21st century skills they are expected to have, stating, “In order to train students with 21st century skills with non-traditional methods, our classroom teaching methods had to be updated.”

In addition to the abovementioned opinions, negative views about innovative teaching were also conveyed. A mathematics teacher, Bekir, argued that traditional education did not change much, stating,

I think this was a bad process for innovative teaching. The approach to innovation should not just be the usage of cameras and computers and students passively listening to the teacher's lectures; it (the distance education process) was supposed to be the beginning of innovative teaching.

In addition, another point emphasized by the participants was that they did not consider innovative teaching methods to be sufficiently instructional. A teacher of Turkish, Tarık, expressed this situation with the following statement:

In the end, we have a result-oriented system, not a process-oriented one. When students finally completed high school, they take an exam. Their futures are shaped by the success they have on that exam. And the children who do the most practice tests are succeeding, not the ones who learn the subject through activities, right? Students want concentrated information.

High School teacher Hasan states, “When the students start 9th grade, they have one thing in their mind: get accepted to medical school! How do they get accepted to medical school? By doing practice tests and answering questions with minimal mistakes. What is the only way to do this? To adapt to the test system. When the students face the questions, the (innovative) activities you conducted do not matter.”

Innovative teaching practices

Under the innovative teaching practices theme, the characteristics of innovative teachers and innovative teaching practices used were categorized. When the participant's statements were interpreted, the concept of the innovative teacher was explicitly defined as a person who has acquired lifelong learning skills. Technological literacy is an important skill, especially during the ERT period. The participants stated that some teachers with lower technology literacy decided to retire during this period. Bekir mentioned this:

When the transition to distance education was enacted, some teachers who reached retirement age retired, saying they could not deal with this situation. However, some of those teachers did not retire and sat down and tried to figure out how to conduct distance education using their own efforts.

This statement presents that the distance education process prompted and motivated some teachers to develop themselves because of its stimulating and novel effect. The inevitability of innovative teaching requires teachers to adapt to technology swiftly. Osman, who has 28 years of experience and describes himself as an innovator, clarifies how he felt when he was compelled to update his teaching methods:

When it was first communicated to us that we would do lessons with children in front of a screen, I didn't sleep for three days. I'm not unfamiliar with computer use, but I thought about how we would communicate with children, what programs we were supposed to use, and how I would use maps since my field of study is history in the distance education system. How would I give the lecture? I went to bed with these thoughts and got up thinking these thoughts. I couldn't sleep. But over time, I realized that when I was dedicated about doing something, I could do it. My perplexity was over then. I got used to the system, and the kids got used to it.

Similarly, Ayşe expressed that the process contributed to her self-development, clarifying “I must define myself as a teacher who practices innovative teaching. Otherwise, there would be no point in doing what I do. I can say that I can adapt quickly to changing conditions, I am willing to use technology, and I am open to learning. At this point, I think I have become more competent in the last year.” This statement clearly indicates that characteristics of continuous development – adaptation and motivation – are essential competencies for innovative teaching. It was also explored that experimental educational games, case studies, demonstrations, role-playing, Web2 tools (e.g. Kahoot and Quiz), presentation programs, interactive course contents, graphics, tablets, smartbooks/online tests, animations, STEAM applications and coding were among innovative teaching practices. Hatice, who describes herself as an innovator and is a classroom teacher at a private school, explains the different methods she employed as:

I'm a person who still does research and writes projects. I think about how to teach my children better, and I apply my thoughts to my work. I think I'm innovative. I lived through the process while transforming it to be very healthy and enjoyable both academically and emotionally as a whole. For example, I talked about a scientific topic every day, I grew plants at home, I befriended animals, I planned sharing hours each evening, and used digital tools.

Osman said he could take advantage of the online education process and use different teaching practices: “We can connect to museums during the instruction. We can connect to libraries. For example, we were able to participate in a history project by Kabataş High School with my students, which lasted for three weeks.”

Needs for innovative teaching

It was also discovered that various needs occurred for innovative teaching needed to be used more widely. These are categorized as guidance, training and technological infrastructure needs. The urgent nature of the distance education process often made teachers feel lonely and uncertain. Teacher participants stated that they considered themselves inadequate from time to time in their ability to teach innovatively and that they tried to cope with this situation on their own. This led to the need to provide guidance to teachers and students. In addition, the participating teachers stated that they needed pre-service and in-service training. There have been recommendations that this need could be met through university courses or peer learning. Tuğçe, a teacher at a private school, emphasizing peer learning, expressed the need for training related to innovative teaching:

Teachers must apply innovative teaching, or they must observe another teacher, or information must be shared with group teachers. Maybe it (innovative teaching) should be given wider recognition in university. We attended lessons related to the subject, but when we don't apply them, they are in vain. There should be trainings where teachers can also be involved in. Teachers who have applied innovative teaching should give seminars, too.

Participating teachers especially felt a need for special pre-service and in-service training. In addition, they mentioned the shortcomings of undergraduate education and stated that a teacher's lifelong in-service learning ability is important.

Salih explained the need for training as follows:

How much training have we received in innovative teaching? (meaning undergraduate education) How adequate and innovative were those who gave us the teaching training at university? There are those who started teaching 20 years ago, and there are those who started 15 years ago. There is a lot of difference between the education they have received. How would more senior teachers be able to keep up-to-date?

Another category of needs related to innovative teaching practices through distance education is the lack of technical infrastructure. The participants stated that technical problems, experienced by teachers but primarily by students, disrupted teaching. Participants expressed that students could not learn efficiently due to issues such as the Internet connection not being available for every student or students who can access the Internet but were losing connection. In addition, the fact that Zoom, which is used as an online learning platform, is not adequate for teaching is another problem. Participating teachers also highlighted the need for an online program that they can use to both conduct meetings and teach.

Barriers to innovative teaching

The participating teachers stated various barriers related to the implementation of innovative teaching. These barriers are divided into the following categories: barriers related to the teacher, the learner, the learning environment and others.

The teachers making up the study sample often mentioned the barriers to innovative teaching. The inadequacy of the computer programs adopted for online courses was a factor that teachers specifically alluded to. Participants stated that the students' failure to turn cameras on constituted an interaction problem. This state of miscommunication, in turn, created a very difficult situation for the teachers. Another important issue is the need for in-service distance education training, which is a recent development. Teachers underlined the difficulty in keeping their students engaged and motivated throughout the process. Regarding this issue, Ayşe, an English teacher, stated the following:

If the student is not willing to be more active and to research, instruction becomes challenging. This is a problem we especially experience in synchronous lectures. Being unable to conduct interactive lessons, the inability to gather the students' attention and to motivate them about the subject is a challenge. This is because of our inability to regulate the educational environment. We were compelled to be the background music for students playing games while the lesson was ongoing or to be the lullaby while the student was sleeping throughout this process.

Osman conveyed that the process involved teachers and students influencing each other's motivation:

I had mixed emotions during the distance education process. For example, if students turned on their cameras and actively participated in the lesson, this motivated me and the class. But if they had their microphones and cameras off and did not participate in the lesson, this lowered my motivation. In that case, students were attending only in name, but not in practice.

The ERT process entailed that both teachers and students use their 21st-century skills. The respondents especially complained about their students' lack of entrepreneurship, initiative-taking and self-regulation skills. Students whose self-regulation skills are not developed need external regulation. In cases where external regulations were not applied, students didn't feel the need to learn, and problems linked to non-participation in education were observed. When the planned innovative teaching methods did not receive a sufficient response, the teachers suffered from dissatisfaction and loss of motivation.

Focus group interviews reveal the effect of central government interventions in the educational process. Dilek stated:

The next day after our Minister of National Education explained that there will be no exams or attendance requirement, the number of students that attended the lesson out of a class of 34 students decreased from 30 to 15. Then it dropped to 10. And it continued to decrease.

Adnan, who shares similar views, expressed that students did not feel the need to participate in the educational process when external regulation was non-existent, disclosing that “When assessment is eliminated, students ceased attending classes because they already knew that they will pass the exam.” Teachers stated they could not get feedback on what and how much they taught when measurement and evaluation, an indispensable part of formal education, were eliminated. In the focus group interviews, Dilek also expressed the effect of the lack of assessment on student motivation as: “I sent a link to the students for instructional purposes. Then I checked who saw the message. Around 1%–3% of the class viewed the material I sent out. Why weren't they viewing the material? Because there was no assessment.”

Bahar stated that the student attendance problem had a negative effect on the implementation and persistence of innovative practices due to loss of motivation, asserting that:

I have a student group of 30 students; 3–5 of them attend classes. Those who attend do not engage in the course. This made me think that the work I was doing was in vain. I've used various methods, but as I said, the methods we apply only work if the students attend the class.

In addition to the attendance problem, the students' cameras were frequently turned off; thus, the teachers and students could not interact, disrupting the educational process.

The teachers viewed this situation as a problem that negatively affected students taking responsibility for their education, even more so in distance education than in face-to-face education. Salih, who has 22 years of professional experience, expressed his experiences related to students' initiative:

Their cameras are turned off. In distance education, all learning responsibility is given to the student. The students themselves pick out the information. They listen if they want to and don't when they don't want to. Only students who knew what they wanted have somehow improved themselves.