Difference between zoom-based online versus classroom lesson plan performances in creativity and metacognition during COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Learning environments research 2023-10, Vol.26 (3), p.803-822
• Main Authors: Maor, Rotem, Levi, Rotem, Mevarech, Zemira, Paz-Baruch, Nurit, Grinshpan, Niv, Milman, Alex, Shlomo, Sarit, Zion, Michal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 21st century; 21st Century Skills; Blended Learning; Classrooms; Conventional Instruction; COVID-19; Creativity; Education; Educational Environment; Educational Technology; In Person Learning; Learning and Instruction; Learning Processes; Lesson Plans; Metacognition; Original Paper; Pandemics; Performance Based Assessment; Sociology of Education; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Videoconferencing; Web Based Instruction
• ISSN: 1387-1579; 1573-1855
• DOI: 10.1007/s10984-023-09455-z

The COVID-19 crisis has forced education systems around the world to switch hurriedly from learning in class to learning via online technology. One of the common platforms worldwide for teaching online was zoom. Working under uncertain conditions and facing rapid changes are characteristics of the twenty-first century. Coping adaptively with these challenges requires teachers to apply twenty-first century skills such as creativity and metacognition in their teaching. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether teachers integrate metacognition and creativity in their online lessons more than in classroom instruction. To examine the research question, we analyzed 50 lesson reports (25 for each learning environment) using a mixed-method design model. We used a performance assessment that was based on a creativity metacognitive teaching reports index. Teachers reported greater use of the 'debugging' metacognitive component in online lessons than in classroom lessons. Also, an online environment could provide a suitable platform for promoting students' learning process and encourage teachers to be more creative in terms of diversifying their teaching methods and developing student’s creativity. However, the originality component of creativity was less pronounced in online lesson reports. These results can contribute to the field of blended learning and to the literature dealing with the adaptation of teaching to learning environments in the twenty-first century in general and during pandemics in particular.