Abstract:

As we reflect on educator preparation practices implemented over the past five years, it is important to explore the status of some of the initiatives implemented since the pandemic pivot. When schools closed in March 2020, faculty and educational leaders identified some unprecedented problems of practice. We were compelled to examine the course design and delivery of the field and practice-based courses in which pre-service teachers were enrolled. With the quick pivot to remote and online course delivery, student teachers had limited access to learn how to teach children in a face to face learning environment. Further, master teachers were faced with learning how to facilitate instruction at a distance using technologies such as Zoom and Google Classroom. There was a learning curve as the constituents explored and introduced innovative ways to engage students within the online learning environment. In some cases, the children did not have the hardware, software, nor internet access needed to log into the virtual classroom setting. In other cases, distractions at home and/or limited experience and support from family members, impacted remote teaching and learning at the K-12 level.

While school district personnel collaborated with administrators and teachers to implement innovative practices to maintain schooling in a different format on a national and global scale, other stakeholders in schools of education were brainstorming and strategizing. Faculty had to identify alternative means of ensuring that pre-service teachers developed the necessary competencies and met course learning outcomes. At one school of education in the Northeastern United States, the faculty and department leaders used the opportunity to chronicle their lived experiences and produced a qualitative ethnographic study.

Revisiting the findings and implications of the 2021 inquiry project, the current study seeks to address the following questions:
1. How has teacher preparation practice changed post pandemic?
2. How has instructional design and faculty development evolved for teacher preparation programs over the past five years?

As with the initial inquiry project, data collection included qualitative feedback and reflections from department directors/chairpersons, clinical faculty, and a sampling of candidates and their cooperating or mentor teachers. Findings of the current inquiry revealed a paradigm shift in faculty and mentor perceptions about what constitutes authentic teaching and learning experiences for pre-service teachers.

With ongoing training and professional development opportunities, field based supervisors and cooperating teachers feel better prepared to conduct virtual observations and coaching conversations. Department chairpersons and directors in collaboration with faculty have also engaged in curriculum mapping and redesign activities to incorporate some of the remote learning activities, tools and technologies implemented during the pandemic. There is also evidence of stronger school-university based partnerships and shared governance among the constituents.

This presentation/paper is significant as it builds on an earlier ethnography that resulted in faculty and academic leadership collaborating with school-based practitioners to reframe and refine teacher preparation and clinical practice. We will share our lessons learned over the past five years and present implications for continuous improvement, practice, and further research.

Keywords:

Teacher preparation, professional development, remote instruction, online course design, pandemic pivot outcomes, student teaching.