Distance Learning at Pedagogical Faculties of Universities in the Czech Republic

Abstract

This study focuses on the topic of distance education at pedagogical faculties of universities in the Czech Republic during the time of COVID-19 and tries to map how theoretical and practical teaching was implemented during the Coronavirus pandemic. Based on the research goal, the following research questions were formulated.RQ1: Which tools were used to enable distance education at pedagogical faculties in the Czech Republic?RQ2: How were the defences of qualification theses and the state final examinations carried out?RQ3: How was the practical pedagogical training implemented?To answer the individual research questions, a content analysis of information provided on the websites of individual faculties and in the reports published on the Internet in the course of theoretical and practical teaching at pedagogical faculties in the Czech Republic during the Coronavirus pandemic was used. The research found that the distance teaching took place using various tools, frequently mentioned were the Moodle LMS, MS Teams, Zoom, Google Classroom or Meet. Practical subjects, which cannot be fully realised online, were taught in a full-time form in blocks at the end of the semester. The exams also took place online, the MS Teams or Zoom platform was used for oral examinations, and the Moodle LMS was used for tests. At the Faculty of Education of Palacký University Olomouc, the defences of qualification theses and state final examinations took place in the examination room of the university under strict hygienic conditions. At the University of Ostrava and Masaryk University, the defences of qualification theses and state final examinations took place online, using MS Teams. Practical teacher training also took place online, students participated in online teaching at individual faculty schools. Students helped teachers create materials for online teaching, participated in online teaching or led online teaching themselves. At the Faculty of Education of University of Hradec Králové, they performed the function of a teaching assistant or led tutoring.