Distance teaching experiences of engineering lecturers at Latvian and Lithuanian universities during COVID-19 lockdown

Abstract

. COVID-19 has changed the pedagogical work of university lecturers. All lecturers have been forced to learn quickly and to find new educational solutions for distance learning. The biggest challenges were in organizing and conducting laboratory work remotely and in motivating students to participate actively in the learning process. During the online teaching period, university lecturers have gained new knowledge, skills and tried various pedagogical solutions. These include the use of different software applications, creation of short video lectures, the use of pre-prepared video and audio instructions, and many more. In this paper, a qualitative content analysis was used to study the case of teaching with technologies to engineering students at universities in Latvia and Lithuania. The study discloses the challenges faced by university lecturers in preparing video materials, organizing laboratory work, and assessing student performance. Recommendations based on the research findings have been provided. These recommendations could be useful not only for university lecturers who teach engineering subjects but also for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics pedagogues and vocational education trainers and educators.