The phenomenon of learning at a distance through emergency remote teaching amidst the pandemic crisis

The threat brought about by Corona Virus or COVID-19 had made a huge impact not only on the economic, tourism, and health sectors, but it also hardly hit the education system of the world at large. Specifically, this pandemic crisis had caused the Philippine higher education institutions to abruptly shift to emergency remote teaching (ERT) as a response to the call for continued education despite the global health threat. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design, this paper discusses the lived experiences of five learners who were suddenly immersed in a remote learning context amidst the threat of COVID-19. There were four themes revealed in this study: poor to no internet access, financial constraints, lack of technological devices, and affective or emotional support. Interestingly, findings showed that learning remotely in these trying times is challenging because aside from the existing problems on access and affordability, the emerging concerns on financial stability and affective support contributed to interrupted learning engagement. Moreover, exposing culturally face-to-face learners in the context of ERT can put additional learning pressure. Nevertheless, the need to listen to the students’ lived experiences in ERT will provide a lending ear to be heard and a voice for building a pedagogy of understanding about their learning journey in this time of pandemic crisis.