Researchers are interested in task design in distance learning. This task design is critical in emergency education that uses distance learning. The present research investigated mathematics and science teachers’ task design in distance learning during the emergency education due to COVID-19. Fourteen teachers participated in the research: seven mathematics teachers and seven science teachers. The data collection tool was the interview, and the data analysis tools were deductive and inductive content analysis, where the deductive analysis was based on the didactic situation framework. The research results indicated that the participating teachers could utilize the technological tools to design tasks that encourage the students’ devolution regarding the activities that they carry out. Furthermore, the use of the potentialities of the distance learning platforms enabled successful communication between the participants in the didactic situation. It is recommended that quantitative research is used to investigate the ways in which the various components in the design could affect students’ learning.

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IntroductionTeachers' task design in the context of online learning has been little researched by educational researchers. The current research examines the task design of science or mathematics teachers in the context of distance education based on the didactical situation theory and, in particular, situation types.MethodsFourteen teachers participated in the current study. They were interviewed regarding the situation types that they used to design online tasks. We used both deductive and inductive methods to analyze the transcribed interviews.ResultsThe research findings showed that the teachers utilized different categories of the situation types. Moreover, the teachers utilized three types of reference as follows: the institution, the individual, and the tool. The participating mathematics and science teachers attempted to integrate argumentation into their designed tasks. Furthermore, the situation of communication was designed by the participating teachers to enable the interaction between and inside different agents of online education (students, teachers, and parents) while utilizing different communicational channels (mobile social networks, Zoom rooms, Zoom sessions, student's homes, and Google Classroom). The teachers designed situations of action to address the various aspects of learning, namely, the cognitive, social, affective, and psychological aspects.DiscussionWe argue that the design of online tasks could utilize the didactical situation of action, where the online students are requested to reflect critically on the online tasks. We recommend that teachers request reflection and feedback from their students regarding the tasks that they design for online learning.