Uncharted WATERS: Sustaining a Meaningful Student Teaching Experience Amidst a Global Pandemic via an Online STEM Curriculum

Abstract

Field experience is the culminating experience for pre-service teacher training. As COVID-19 closed schools across the country, pre-service teachers’ field experiences were disrupted. This case study examines how a student teacher, a team of mentor teachers, and a university supervisor at a regional public university adapted to remote learning. The findings suggest that there were gains and losses in terms of the pre-service teachers’ ability to develop essential skills; classroom management skills suffered while formative assessment practices, innovative lesson delivery, and reflection on instruction were enhanced. The transition to remote learning also caused the way student teachers’ skills were valued, as well as the effectiveness of their teaching, to change. How future teachers are prepared will need to be altered. Going forward, all teachers will need the skills to reach students in a variety of environments including face-to-face, remotely, and hybrid models.