Teachers’ and Gifted Students’ Views Regarding the Implementation of the DSC in the COVID-19 Distance Education Process

Teachers and students had to use distance education environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic that suddenly emerged globally. This research aims at obtaining the views of gifted students who took the differentiated science curriculum (DSC) and teachers who conducted the DSC on the distance education process. The research was designed as a case study. Twelve seventh-grade gifted students (aged 11-12), a researcher teacher, and an observer teacher participated in the research. Student diaries, teacher diaries, and online focus group interviews were used to collect data, which were then analyzed with thematic analysis. It was observed that the students had parallel expectations and goals to the DSC at the beginning of the process. Moreover, they had positive and negative views on the distance education process. The students stated that they achieved their DSC goals at the end of the process and generally had positive experiences. On the other hand, the teachers drew attention to the problems arising from the educational environment, students, and curriculum in the distance education process. These problems were like communication, technical issues, lack of motivation, and timing. At the end of the process, the teachers suggested solutions to the problems.