All it Takes is One Click to Join Me on a "Meet": The Positive Impact of Technology on Peer Observations in the Virtual Learning Environment

Abstract

Physically stepping foot into the middle and high school classroom is the opportunity teacher candidates (TCs) look most forward to as they enter their final year in our middle and secondary teacher preparation program. It is in this internship year when TCs practice the theory they have learned and start making their own pedagogical choices. The internship year and its experiences are recognized by AMLE Standard 1: “Middle level teacher candidates understand, use, and reflect on the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to young adolescent development and use that knowledge in their practice” (AMLE, 2012). The question I faced with the arrival of COVID-19 and the shutdown of in person school this past spring and fall as a teacher educator (TE) was this: How will I be able to provide these valuable moments of professional growth for my TCs if they are not in the buildings? The following description presents fellow teacher educators with my response to this question. I describe the creation of virtual peer observation experiences and in-real-time peer coaching that occurred in the virtual internship. Additionally, I describe the impact this process had on virtual post-observation conferences. Keywords: Virtual, Peer Coaching, Teacher Candidate, Observation