‘It’s been very different’: Learning to be a teacher in a pandemic

When Robyn Lynch began training to become a teacher prior to the pandemic, it was like she had a mountain to climb. When Covid-19 arrived and shut schools down, suddenly the teaching terrain changed beyond recognition.

"From your first week in Mary I [Mary Immaculate College] you are hearing about the final-year placement," says Lynch."Then we had a pandemic."

School placements and the teaching practice element of it is a crucial part of teacher training. It gives students the opportunity to apply educational theories to classroom settings and enables them to gain “hands-on” experience in a variety of school-based contexts.

But Covid-19 meant schools, colleges and student teachers were forced rethink the structure and, in many cases, the duration of the programme.

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“It was very different; we were getting a lot of emails from the college about the fact that the tutors weren’t coming in and how it was all going to work,” says Lynch.

One key difference was the absence of school visits by inspectors, now known as tutors. In normal times tutors observe the student teacher in the classroom and offer advice and guidance based on these observations. This posed problems for the colleges.

"How do we guarantee the integrity around what we do, because we have not been able to conduct school visits to engage in the mentoring and supervision?" is how Dr Neil Ó Conaill, director of school placement at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, characterises the problem.

In response, the college replaced the in-school visits with online one-to-one meetings between the tutor and the students.

“We have also developed reciprocal peer tutoring systems for the students in an organised way so that they are a support to each other,” adds Ó Conaill.

Lynch says she was apprehensive about not being observed and the impact this might have on her grading, but now believes the online meetings gave her tutor a more comprehensive insight into her teaching practice.

“We did a preliminary meeting before placement started,” says Lynch. “It’s such a small thing but it brings down that wall of formality and you are not afraid to admit you made a mistake because you know that they are going to appreciate it.”

Being honest

Caoimhe Forkan, another student, completed her final school placement this year and was also concerned about not being observed.

“I was apprehensive at first, but there is no point in coating it and saying that everything is great,” says Forkan. “You have to be honest; it is strange to get used to.”

The pandemic has also forced tutors to find new ways to assess and support the student teachers. “How do you support somebody who is having challenges and difficulties around classroom management when you don’t actually see them in there?” asks Ó Conaill.

While students were honest about the areas in which they needed support, tutors were relying on the students’ communication skills.

Tutors focus on positive aspects of practice, but they also use questioning to ascertain areas that need support or development.

“By asking students questions like ‘Describe a lesson that didn’t go well or describe a lesson that you are really glad the tutor wasn’t there to witness’, tutors can help students.” Ó Conaill says this allows the tutor to take on the role of mentor as well as assessor.

Lynch says the absence of the on-site visits had a positive impact on her final block of school placement.

“When tutors come into the room it is very nerve-racking – you are just hoping it all goes well,” says Lynch. “This time that was gone but it was a lot more than that.”

Lynch’s meetings with the tutor were broad and covered all aspects of her teaching practice rather than the focus being on the day of the visit. “He really got a window into the classroom life as well as our teaching,” she says.

The removal of the in-school visit had another positive impact, according to Catherine Carragher, principal of Scoil Mochua, Celbridge, Co Kildare. Removing the threat of the inspector, she says, allows student teachers to take more risks.

“I think there are benefits to it. It’s freeing. They are not afraid to try the ‘messy’ lesson and that is life experience with teaching,” she says.

Class teachers were asked to take on a more supervisory role, and Carragher believes the experience has been mutually beneficial for both teacher and student.

“I do think that the teachers stepped up to the mark and took on the role of supervising. Class teachers are very protective of their children, and they don’t want to be picking up the pieces after four, six or eight weeks of a student being in,” she says.

Virtual experience

Student teachers on placement at Scoil Muchua also gained virtual experience by assisting teachers with remote teaching.

"Some of the Froebel students did four weeks of their practice in January remotely. It worked really well," says Carragher, "The student teachers were a dab hand at Google Classrooms and putting together videos and YouTube clips."

The development of meaningful, self-reflection skills was another benefit reported by student teachers.

“We would always have done reflection, but this year it really made me think about it,” says Forkan. “You are thinking more about the learning and you get a true experience of what the daily life of a teacher is like.”

Ó Conaill says this increase in self-reflection has enhanced the school placement experience.

“It has been interesting for us to see the empowerment of the students, rather than them being reliant on the tutor for advice and guidance and next steps,” he says. “Our task is to identify now how to incorporate these practices into the regular supervision once it resumes.”

Teachers and principals were also contacted by the colleges to discuss a student’s progress.

“The other component to our supervision is direct contact with the school personnel while the student is there,” says Ó Conaill. “This is our means of replicating the conversations that a tutor would have with school personnel during an actual visit. It’s not quite the same but we certainly don’t want schools to feel that they are just left with the students.”

Students were also required to provide detailed documentation of their teaching.

“For example planning documents, the reflective portfolio and samples of children’s work,” says Ó Conaill.

Forkan says there was a notable increase in paperwork. “We had to do weekly assessments and weekly reflections and some of them were fine but others were kind of repetitive,” says Forkan. “There was definitely a lot more paperwork, which was probably a disadvantage.”

While school placement is an essential component of a teacher’s education, those with an underlying health condition can postpone their placement.

“No student is obliged to go on placement; they can take what is known as an ‘I grade’, which means they can step out of that module and take it at another time,” says Ó Conaill.