Abstract

Abstract
COVID-19 forced education systems to embrace what they had repeatedly rejected. A group of researchers have seen it as the first exceptional opportunity to move away from traditional education and adopt digital approaches, tools, and media. If the pre-corona era can be considered an era of "technophobia" and "technoavoidanc" among teachers, the Corona and post-corona era can be considered an era of "techno-acceptance." The purpose of this research was to provide a teaching-learning model for virtual education of primary schools in North Khorasan province.
The research method was mixed (qualitative-quantitative). The research community included teachers working in the primary level of North Khorasan province in the academic year of 1402-1401. In the qualitative phase, 20 people were selected from among the community members with the purposeful sampling method, and in the quantitative part, 367 people voluntarily participated in the research. The research tool in the qualitative part was a semi-structured interview and in the quantitative part, a questionnaire. The analysis of qualitative interviews was done using the Strauss-Corbin method and the model test obtained from the qualitative stage, through structural equation modeling.
The causal conditions of the model were theory vacuum, lack of digital competencies, dependence, and adherence to common educational models. The intervening conditions were infrastructural, hardware, and technical problems, the traditional structure of the educational system, and the support of the administrators to the teachers. The context included the following: cooperation, consensus, and synergy between teachers, teaching in a glass classroom, teaching in front of a mirror, a high-pressure and busy educational environment (students, teachers), interference of work and family, students' attention in virtual space, and the multiple roles of parents. The action strategies were emphasis on teacher-made content, access to the teacher and content over long hours, playing games and comprehensive feedback (justice of attention), stylization of teaching, setting up a permanent and universal exhibition of activities, beautifying and emotionalizing the virtual education space, grouping, contingent management of the virtual education space. The consequences included a decrease in the quality of the teaching-learning process, a decrease in the authority of the teacher, a decrease in the validity of the evaluation, a decrease in social-emotional relationships, a decrease in self-confidence, and an increase in the student's dependence, fatigue from virtual education, an increase in digital knowledge and skills (universal), strengthening explanatory teaching skills and increasing practical activities. "Reproduction of direct educational strategy" was chosen as the central phenomenon. Also, the quantitative analysis showed that the model has a suitable and acceptable fit with the data. Researchers have presented micro and macro suggestions to the educational system and teachers, the main one of which is to emphasize the "low-effect integrated approach" with the special conditions of the Iranian educational system.
The first and most important similarity between the findings of the present study and many international studies is the “decrease in the quality of the teaching-learning process.” If the main goal of educational systems is “learning,” then based on the present study, it can be claimed that this goal has been challenged during the Corona era and its quality has decreased compared to the in-person era. The second comparison concerns teaching methods. In many countries, it was found that teachers, in addition to not having sufficient digital competencies, use traditional methods in electronic distance learning. The third similarity found in the current research with international findings relates to the lack or weakness of technological infrastructure. The fourth similarity that can be found between the findings of the present study and other studies relates to the discussion of teachers’ “digital competencies.” Numerous studies can be found that indicate that teachers’ skills are inadequate in facing the COVID-19 emergency. The fifth similarity is that the Covid-19 emergency was a forced opportunity for teachers and the education system to in some ways increase their capabilities and skills in the field of online teaching. According to Malaysian researchers, teachers who had never been in front of the camera before are now having to learn new skills and new tools. The sixth similarity relates to "work-family conflict." During the coronavirus pandemic, work-family conflict arose. A similar situation occurred for teachers in other countries. The seventh item is “a high-pressure and busy educational environment.” Given that teachers and students did not have sufficient skills and competencies for teaching and learning in the context of ICT and digital technologies, teachers were forced to spend more time and energy on educational activities. The proposed model is an operational and realistic model; in a way that it clearly shows the actual capacities and weaknesses to planners and even teachers. The key point is that in the data-based model, the central phenomenon is "reproduction of direct educational strategy", and in the proposed model, "low-effect integrated approach" has taken its place. In fact, these two terms represent the current situation and the desired situation. The first describes a phenomenon that occurred in the era of virtual education, and the second is a situation that could be desirable for the educational system. The best decision for the educational system is to pursue an integrated approach, so that, while benefiting from the unique and genuine benefits of face-to-face education, the advantages of ICT are also used in line with global changes. According to the findings of the present study, one of the best and most effective types of integration is for "teaching" or "presentation" as well as "evaluation" to take place in the classroom and in person, and "submitting homework" and "feedback on homework" to be pursued in this SHAD context. The word “low-effect” refers to the realities of the country’s education system. Given the structure of our education system, it is neither possible nor desirable to talk about a medium-impact or high-impact blended approach. In a low-impact blended approach, in-person education receives little impact from online or virtual learning. In this approach, in-person training and traditional learning activities will continue, while also leveraging the capabilities of virtual space, online learning, and the like. This approach is considered the simplest and fastest approach to integration.