What's Next for Teacher Preparation Programs?

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on all industries, and education was no exception. As the world of education has reopened post pandemic, schools and educators are still reflecting on the lessons learned from the emergency remote and hybrid instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the landscape of education is shifting, novice teachers are in a unique position to need support acclimating to their new careers. The goal of this chapter is to delve into what teacher preparation programs can include to meet the ever-changing needs of novice teachers.

The technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) model has long been used to classify teachers’ competencies in pedagogy, content, and technological knowledge. It provides a context, particularly for professional development and teacher preparation programs, to understand the various components of successful teaching and how they overlap. The COVID-19 pandemic had an incredible impact on education as well as on educators’ approaches to teaching, and the lessons learned from mandated remote instruction continue to have an impact on teaching and learning. Now, post pandemic, when most students and teachers are back in face-to-face classrooms, the TPACK model can be viewed with a new perspective in terms of how technology intersects with effective content and pedagogy knowledge. Further, this new perspective of effective teaching and learning with the proper use of technology has to be considered and applied in teacher preparation programs.

This chapter is organized into the following seven main sections, and described further below:

• 1.

  Understanding TPACK

• 2.

  Theoretical Framework

• 3.

  Teacher Preparation Programs

• 4.

  Skills Teachers Need Post Pandemic

• 5.

  Where Teacher Preparation Programs Go From Here

• 6.

  How to Support Faculty in These Shifts

• 7.

  Further Research

The first section, “Understanding TPACK,” provides a brief background on the origins of the TPACK model as well as examples of how TPACK has been used extensively in education research. The chapter begins with this foundation, as it helps to frame the ideas of pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge, which are critical to all teachers and, therefore, foundational to the idea of how teacher preparation programs develop their courses and work. These competency areas are at the heart of every teacher preparation program, in which preservice teachers learn about pedagogical theory and applications, with respect to specific content and effective technology integration.

The second section encompasses the “Theoretical Framework” in which this research is grounded. Bandura’s (1977) work on self-efficacy explains how an individual develops their sense of self-efficacy through various means. This theory is examined from the lens of teacher preparation. Framing the concept of teacher preparation programs on Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy gives decision-makers a theoretical framework to understand how they can impact their students’ confidence levels and abilities.

The third section, “Teacher Preparation Programs” delves into research concerning teacher preparation programs and how they have addressed TPACK skills into their curricula. Many teacher preparation programs in the United States are guided by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standards for accreditation, that provide a standard for programs to develop clear goals for pedagogy and technology for their students. In this section, there will be discussion of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected teacher preparation programs. This section also addresses the special considerations for novice teachers. Novice teachers’ needs are important to consider and analyze particularly in relation to the teacher preparation programs. Decision-makers in teacher preparation programs can use the unique needs of novice teachers to make programmatic changes that may address some of their needs early on, even when they are placed in another school after graduating. Further, teacher preparation programs should strive to have completers who can reflect on the program in a positive manner and relate their knowledge development back to their experiences within the program.