Challenges and Obstacles of Teaching Geography during the First Wave of COVID-19 Outbreaks: Lessons Learned from Several Provinces in Indonesia

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became a global problem with a massive impact on people’s lives and habits, caused an unprecedented health crisis in various countries, and influenced the economy and social structure of society (Favale et al. 2020), including the education sector. Burgess and Sievertsen (2020) predicted that the global lockdown of educational institutions would cause major interruptions in learning at various levels of education, from elementary school to higher education. In Indonesia, a great transition occurred, from face-to-face learning in classrooms to online learning. In addition to causing the closure of schools, colleges, and universities in many countries (Burgess and Sievertsen 2020), the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the way teachers teach and the way students learn during this period. For health reasons, face-to-face learning during normal periods was substituted by online learning (Chiodini 2020; Ng and Or 2020). Murphy (2020) calls this “emergency e-learning” with a rapid transition. In Indonesia, another problem was that the massive changes occurred unexpectedly and suddenly and were not enhanced with adequate preparation. In addition, certain disciplines require readjustment on how to teach virtually, especially when teaching complex and difficult material. Online learning designed to develop higher-order thinking skills requires strong preparation. However, this learning model is hard to implement if teachers are not familiar with the appropriate methods. Challenges become even greater due to variation in technology readiness, culture, and infrastructure support between regions. Geography courses at the senior high school (SHS) level also face challenges and difficulties when classroom learning must be carried out online because geography requires intensive teacher assistance, detailed explanations, and hands-on practices to strengthen students’ understanding. For example, in delivering physical geography materials, having students study from a textbook is insufficient. Markuszewska, Tanskanen, and Subiros (2018) explain that physical geography learning requires an experiential learning model that accommodates learning by doing. Intensive teacher assistance is needed when conflicting information is encountered (Knight 2007). How will emergency online learning accommodate these approaches so that learning objectives can be achieved when traditional methods are implemented? This paper offers alternative information about challenges faced by geography teachers in implementing online learning during the first wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Indonesia. This paper is based on the experiences of teachers from various regions in Indonesia. First, we describe how online teaching and learning are performed by teachers. Second, we examine various obstacles faced by teachers during online learning. Third, we gather ideas for future online learning developments to prepare for emergency situations to achieve sustainable and quality learning.