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Table 10 Themes, categories, and sample codes for barriers

From: I will teach you here or there, I will try to teach you anywhere: perceived supports and barriers for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

Example Open Code

Category

Theme

Harder to engage with students

Difficult to encourage peer–peer interactions

Hard to communicate math via Zoom

Communication difficulties

Structures getting in the way

Delays getting Zoom licenses

Instructor access to technology

Low instructor internet bandwidth

Instructor technology issues

 

IT interference with video creation

Institutional pressure to be primary communicator

Lack of clear shutdown timeline

Administrative issues

 

Student bandwidth limitations

Lack of student access to technology

Lack of face-to-face technical support for students

Student technical issues

 

Having TA grade in Canvas

Assessing if students are watching videos

Incorporating formative assessment

Assessment difficulties

 

Background noise during class time

Cooperative and group learning didn’t feel feasible

Harder to be aware of student issues and motivation

Instructional space

 

Covering material more slowly

Hard to cover all material by remote instruction

Time necessary to develop/modify materials for online labs

Time management

Spending more time and effort

Inability to monitor student attention distracted instructor

Finding the right balance of pace and flexibility

Figuring out how to transition the labs to online format

Instructor teaching inexperience

 

Institutional training didn’t match instructor’s need

Lack of staff help to prepare for ERT prior to ERT

Difficulty finding necessary resources

Teaching and learning resources

 

Managing TAs was challenging

Responsibility for adjunct instructors

Needing to be in total control of course

Responsibility and workload

 

Decreased student accountability

Students were less interactive

Decrease in office hour attendance

Student presence and participation

 

Concerns about academic integrity

Hard to prevent cheating in online exams

Not being too flexible to avoid being taken advantage of

Student integrity

Affective issues

Concerns about student mental health

Not knowing the student work environment conditions

Student name visibility

Student emotion and comfort

 

Frustration with student preparation for lecture

Zoom fatigue

Difficulties managing work life balance

Instructor emotion