Abstract
This chapter describes the design, implementation, and evaluation process of a series of modules to support preservice teachers in the sudden transition to distance teaching during the COVID-19 crisis. In response to the transition, teacher education programs urgently made efforts to provide alternative field experiences and redesign their curricula. For PSTs at Arizona State University who transitioned to remote/online field experiences, the authors designed modules targeting the most relevant aspects of quickly shifting to remote/online teaching. Based on a mixed-methods analysis of an online survey, PSTs perceived the modules to be useful but also emphasized a need for more relevant modules further aligned with their coursework and field experiences. The findings also indicated a need for teacher education programs to continue exploring alternatives to traditionally structured programs, such as moving beyond the three-credit course structure and solely in-person field experiences, to better prepare PSTs to teach during times of crises and within the virtual age.
TopIntroduction
The COVID-19 crisis caused abrupt school closures and transitions to distance teaching, affecting at least 1.6 billion students and 63 million teachers worldwide (Azevedo et al., 2021; UNESCO, 2020). In early March 2020, nationwide school closures affected more than 120,000 schools and 57 million K-12 students in the U.S. (Donohue & Miller, 2020). Eventual prolonged school closures led to long-term educational and economic consequences (Dorn et al., 2021; Psacharopoulos et al., 2021). As a result of the school closures, pre-existing opportunity and achievement gaps for K-12 students in the U.S. significantly widened. By the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, students had fallen several months behind in reading and mathematics (Dorn et al., 2021). These learning losses are expected to lead to collective lifetime earning losses of 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars in high-income countries and 15.3 trillion U.S. dollars globally (Psacharopoulos et al., 2021).
The school closures, described as “one of the most disruptive forces in the COVID-19 era” (Hoffman & Miller, 2020, p. 301), forced teachers to quickly determine how to educate their students from a distance, while working to maintain academic skills as well as social, emotional, and physical well-being (Donohue & Miller, 2020, Hoffman & Miller, 2020). This unprecedented pressure led many teachers to experience high levels of negative emotions leading to stress, burnout, and symptoms of depression (Baker et al., 2021; Steiner & Woo, 2021). In a survey administered to 1,006 K-12 teachers across the U.S. following the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 75% were frequently stressed, 50% felt burned out, 25% experienced symptoms of depression, and 23% expressed a desire to leave the teaching profession (Steiner & Woo, 2021). For these teachers, their highest-ranked sources of job-related stress included blended teaching, remote teaching, and changes in instruction mode (Steiner & Woo, 2021).
Amid school closures, teachers were required to engage in emergency remote teaching (ERT), defined as “a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances” (Hodges et al., 2020, para. 13). In contrast to the careful design processes required to develop robust ecosystems for online teaching, ERT calls for immediate and flexible responses to diverse learning needs by maximizing the use of available resources and infrastructures (Hodges et al., 2020). While lower-income countries relied more on television and radio broadcasting to teach at a distance, higher-income countries, including the U.S., predominantly utilized online platforms (Azevedo et al., 2021). A tool usage analysis by LearnPlatform (2021) indicated that teachers in the U.S. frequently used educational technology products throughout 2020 and 2021, such as Google Classroom, YouTube, Zoom, Quizlet, Flipgrid, Canvas, and Jamboard. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, teachers, including pre-service teachers (PSTs) preparing to enter the classroom, experienced heightened levels of uncertainty and pressure to immediately adapt to school closures and implement ERT effectively and appropriately. The abrupt school closures and transitions to distance teaching also called for a deeper understanding of the complexities of distance learning and teaching experiences. The current chapter focuses on how one of the teacher education programs at Arizona State University (ASU), one of the largest in the U.S., worked to support PSTs who were unprepared for the transition to remote field experiences or placement in online settings.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Active Learning: An approach to instruction that deeply engages students in learning materials and processes through meaningful learning activities.
Micro-Credential: A form of certification used to verify, validate, and attest to the development of specific skills and competencies through experiences outside of formal coursework.
Field Experience: A learning opportunity designed to provide preservice teachers with practical hands-on experience in K-12 settings under the guidance of mentor teachers.
Technostress: A negative psychological response to technology usage caused by perceptions of discrepancies between technology-related resources and demands.
Distance Teaching: An institutionally based form of teaching characterized by physical separation of teachers and students and the use of technologies to provide instruction, share resources, and facilitate communication.
Online Teaching: A form of distance teaching that primarily takes place in web-based virtual environments and involves extensive planning, preparation, and development.
Module: An adaptive, self-instructional unit designed to enhance learning processes by presenting theoretical and practical information on a particular topic.
Pre-Service Teacher: A student enrolled in a teacher education program at a higher education institution and pursuing certification to become a practicing teacher. The certification process includes a semester- or year-long teaching field experience in a K-12 classroom.
Learner Agency: A sense of ownership and control over learning processes fostered through tailored instruction, explorative tasks, and meaningful interactions.
Teacher Education: A formal curriculum that equips preservice teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, skills, and experiences needed to successfully teach in classrooms.