Rethinking Online Education: A Phenomenological Approach to Understanding Virtual Learning Dynamics though Puzzle Based Instruction

The Coronavirus outbreak led to the suspension of in-person education, prompting a transition to a virtual educational system. Such a paradigm shift caused challenges in teaching and learning. To uncovers the challenges of virtual education and teachers’ perceptions, a qualitative and phenomenological approach was adopted. The data were collected through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews with 17 high school teachers using the Microsoft Teams platform. The data were analyzed with MAXQDA software, following Colaizzi’s (2002) descriptive phenomenological method, to ensure a thorough examination of teachers’ perceptions. After analyzing open codes, the challenges were categorized into four themes (and 19 sub-themes), including material and technological difficulties, the education governance, the hidden elements of education, and the teacher training system. The findings underscore the importance of virtual education and the challenges it presents, emphasizing the need for education administrators to take proactive steps in addressing these issues. The implications extend to both practice and policy. Educational policymakers should design context-responsive frameworks that strengthen teacher training, digital infrastructure, and parental engagement. Practitioners can then utilize these findings to develop more equitable, resilient, and pedagogically sound online teaching strategies for future blended or emergency learning contexts.