Teacher Preparation

How Teacher-Prep Programs Should Help Future Educators Adapt to Crisis and Change

By Mark Lieberman — June 29, 2022 2 min read
Image of a teacher working with a student through a screen session.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a 3rd grade teacher was desperate to have a face-to-face meeting with her students. But some parents said 9 a.m. was too early; some said 10 a.m. was too late; some weren’t available at all to help their child during the school day; and some said anytime would work, but then didn’t show up because of something unexpected.

Figuring out how to schedule learning time amid the chaos of a still-emerging deadly virus was just one of the myriad challenges teachers faced when COVID shut down school buildings nationwide in spring 2020.

In essence, teachers became supply-chain distributors, technical assistants, social services facilitators, guidance counselors, and emotional support providers for students and families, according to a paper by Jenny Gawronski, an associate professor at the Rocky Mountain College of Art, that was published last August in the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education.

Gawronski surveyed 28 elementary English teachers and three dual-language teachers from 15 schools, including 11 Title I schools, in the Pacific Northwest about their experiences ramping up online instruction, in most cases for the first time and without much prior training. All of the interviewees were mentor teachers in the teacher education program where Gawronski worked.

“If we as teacher educators can better understand their thinking and how they were operating during those first few months, we can help prepare future teachers to adapt to changing conditions that are happening now and into the future,” Gawronski said June 29 during a virtual panel that was part of the annual International Society for Technology in Education conference. She was presented with the outstanding research paper prize from the Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education.

Here’s how Gawronski recommends teacher education programs adapt.

Practice what you preach. If teachers are expected to be flexible and quick on their feet, people involved in teacher training should demonstrate similar skills. If teachers need to learn certain technology tools or programs, colleges should incorporate those programs into their own courses.

See Also

Illustration of tablet computer.
Francis Sheehan/Education Week and Getty

Use what you know. Current pre-service teachers likely had online learning experiences that were at least somewhat comparable to what K-12 students dealt with in 2020. Reflecting on those experiences can help emerging teachers recognize some of the pitfalls of remote learning so they can design their own tech-enabled learning experiences in ways that serve students.

Don’t assume the status quo will return. More than two years after the pandemic began, it’s still upending classroom instruction and posing new headaches for educators. And it’s impossible to know the other disruptions that will inevitably emerge in the coming years. “What can we learn from that?” Gawronski said. “How can we imagine and rethink our classrooms for the future?”

Examine mentor-mentee relationships. Gawronski plans to center future research on the experiences of pre-service or intern teachers and their interactions with mentor teachers during the disruptions wrought by COVID-19. How did they use technology to communicate? What atypical classroom roles did they fill when the normal classroom experience wasn’t possible? These insights will help shape instruction for the next generation of teachers and beyond.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Webinar
Reimagining Grading in K-12 Schools: A Conversation on the Value of Standards-Based Grading
Hear from K-12 educational leaders and explore standards-based grading benefits and implementation strategies and challenges
Content provided by Otus
Reading & Literacy Webinar How Background Knowledge Fits Into the ‘Science of Reading’ 
Join our webinar to learn research-backed strategies for enhancing reading comprehension and building cultural responsiveness in the classroom.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Innovative Strategies for Data & Assessments
Join our webinar to learn strategies for actionable instruction using assessment & analysis.
Content provided by Edulastic

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teacher Preparation Teacher-Prep Programs Miss Chances to Build Teachers' Content Knowledge, Report Says
Teaching programs should guide candidates to courses that give them broad knowledge in science and social studies, as well as reading and math.
4 min read
Photo of college girls working in lab.
E+ / Getty
Teacher Preparation Q&A A New Program Will Train Teachers to Teach Climate Change, Without the 'Doom and Gloom'
Climate change is a subject experts say goes beyond science class, and one that should be woven through subjects and grade levels.
8 min read
Photo of graph being drawn on whiteboard.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Teacher Preparation Here's What Separates the Best Teacher Mentors from the Just-Sort-of-OK Ones
They're empathetic listeners who offer lots of constructive feedback, our readers say.
2 min read
Black woman watering and growing a flower in which sits a happy white girl.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Teacher Preparation Apprenticeships Are the New Frontier of Teacher Preparation. Here's How They Work
States are using federal labor funding to support the hands-on approach to teacher training and remove cost barriers for would-be teachers.
8 min read
Silhouette of a woman with her arms crossed and looming over a classroom watching the teacher instruct her classroom
iStock/Getty Images Plus