In case of emergency, use adaptive expertise: A qualitative study to understand what type of knowledge teachers use during emergency remote teaching

Abstract

In case of emergency, emergency remote teaching (ERT) solutions can be used. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic caused educational institutions to shut down and switch to ERT. Teachers had to adapt, out of necessity, to the situation of ERT. Teachers that were able to adapt effectively to the ERT-situation can be called adaptive experts. This research will focus on the adaptive expertise of higher educational teachers. Specifically the types of knowledge used by teachers during the transition to ERT, which have an influence on adaptive expertise, will be researched. Remote semi-structured interviews were held with fourteen higher education teachers. Results showed that the teachers’ own declarative and procedural knowledge has supported them during the transition to ERT, but that also knowledge from other sources and practicalities has helped them. Additionally, teachers gained knowledge during the transition which supported them in the next steps of the transition to ERT. To support teachers to deal with future ERT situations they could be trained in their adaptive skills. The role of age and experience on adaptive expertise could be further investigated in future research, as well as the role of knowledge creation and the development that teachers have made during ERT.