Out of Synch: A Schutzian Study of Space, Time, and Intersubjectivity in Seventh-Grade Online Teaching.

Rich intersubjective experiences are rooted in real-time, physical interactions where bodies and non-verbal cues play a crucial role in fostering shared understanding. In digital settings, such as online teaching, participants are separated in space and interact through virtual representations: images, initials, or live video. This study focuses on a Danish seventh-grade class during the 2021 pandemic lockdown to explore how the digital representation of bodies and spaces in video-based teaching shapes students’ and teachers’ experiences of intersubjectivity and temporal flow. The findings reveal that fragmented bodily gestures and a lack of eye contact hinder the development of we-relations. As a result, students become more engaged with their physical surroundings and fall into individual temporal rhythms, rather than aligning with the shared digital context.