PANDEMIC TIMES: EFFECTS OF THE REMOTE LEARNING IN HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CLASSES IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL OF BENJAMIN CONSTANT, AMAZONAS, BRAZIL

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached the world's population in 2020, interrupting thousands lives. To break the virus dissemination in the initial phase of the disease (COVID-19), severe health procedures such as quarantine and social distancing were adopted by governments, as per recommendations of the World Health Organization. The impact of these procedures affected several sectors, among them the Education, compelling educational institutions around the world to close its doors and, consequently, to look for alternative forms of education. Teachers and students needed to quickly adapt to the remote teaching model, which required changes in teaching methodology and in the intensity of use of digital educational resources. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the development of remote teaching as well as its association with the difficulties for Chemistry teaching and learning of a group of 3rd year high school students of a public school in in Benjamin Constant, AM, Brazil, in 2020. This is a case study with a quali-quantitative approach, in which data were obtained through semi-structured questionnaires. Although the remote teaching was approved by majority of these students (92%), some obstacles coexisted to a truly meaningful learning. Between them are the low quality of the local 4G network, problems with educational resources, and the psychological and social impact of the pandemic on the students live. The issue is still complex and requires further investigations in order to obtain a better use of the remote teaching while this to mean a feasible option to keep the educational process active.