TEACHER PREPARATION DURING COVID-19: A SHIFT FROM FACE-TO-FACE TO REMOTE FIELD EXPERIENCES AND STUDENT TEACHING

Abstract

The onset of COVID-19 brought education to a halt: schools closed and teaching and learning as we know it moved from face-to-face to remote. With no direct access to mentor teachers or to children, teacher education programs were forced to ensure candidates had authentic learning experiences. On a global scale, schools of education were required to rethink teacher preparation and explore innovative approaches. Teacher educators at the school and university level (clinical faculty and mentor teachers) had to interact with student teachers differently. One of the major problems that surfaced was that the field and practice-based courses were not initially designed to be facilitated in an online or remote format. Furthermore, faculty and teacher candidates typically engaged in the work of teaching and learning within school buildings where they had access to children. These problems prompted the academic leadership and faculty in one graduate school of education in the Northeastern United States to engage in deep inquiry and chronicle their lived experiences to produce a qualitative ethnographic self-study. The major questions driving their work were: (1) How to find remote placements for candidates to engage in clinically rich experiences in special education settings for Practicum or student teaching? (2) How to develop alternate assignments for candidates to meet course and state certification requirements? (3) How to prepare clinical faculty to facilitate remote learning experiences? Data collection and quality assurance initiatives included a critical review of the following: quantitative course evaluation data, qualitative student feedback and reflections, clinical faculty observations, outcomes assessment, and reflexive practice data. An analysis of findings revealed the following themes: existing dissonance between methods and field-based curriculum, competing philosophies among stakeholders about what constitutes authentic teaching experiences, and the impact of faculty collaboration and learning communities. Field supervisors indicated that for candidates to be successful they need more face-to-face time and direct interactions to engage in coaching conversations. Additionally, supervisors believed that academic leadership needed to revisit sequencing and scaffolding of opportunities for teaching practice throughout the education preparation program. Doing so would allow for additional touch points to monitor progress as candidates develop competencies and translate theory introduced in foundational courses to the field. This study is significant as its ethnographic nature allows faculty and academic leadership to engage in program evaluation and collaborate closer with school-based practitioners to reframe teacher preparation in the era of COVID. Implications exist for ongoing collaboration and teacher educator professional development in a new format. The ensuing results of additional research can inform curriculum redesign and teaching practice on a wider scale.