A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE TRANSITION TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The purpose of this study was to explore the unique lived experiences of four middle school science teachers from North Carolina and South Carolina during and following the transition from in-person to online instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four predominant themes were identified from individual, semi-structured interviews of the teachers: technology change; organizational change; changes in curricula, delivery, and student interaction; and career and personal changes. The teachers in this study described the challenges and opportunities experienced during the rapid transition in March 2020 to virtual teaching and learning. The teachers’ lived experiences seamlessly aligned with the stages of change discussed by Lewin (1947) and other researchers (Bridges & Bridges, 2017; Kotter, 2012; Lewin, 1947; Page & Schoder, 2019). The teachers’ comments and experiences provided a unique perspective into the technical, personal, psychological, social, and cognitive shifts during unplanned, rapid, and disruptive change. The results of this study provided evidence of the teachers’ resilience and their ability to persevere in times of crisis