Getting pre-service teachers into K-12 schools for clinical experiences during COVID-19 isn’t easy.
But Zach Wahl-Alexander, assistant professor of pedagogy in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, has engineered just that for NIU P.E. majors.
Wahl-Alexander worked the phones this spring, reaching nearly 10 cooperating teachers in DeKalb, Kaneland and Rochelle who were willing to welcome the Huskies beginning in late March.
“Obviously, with COVID, things have changed,” he says. “But I’ve worked with these teachers over the last five years, and built good relationships with them, so I called them all and said, ‘They’re going to student-teach and have never seen or taught a live child not on a screen.’ ”
Despite “trepidations at the schools with anybody coming in and out, especially college-age students,” he adds, a solution was reached – and a new, and compact, model has been created as a temporary substitute.
“In their second semester in the program, for their elementary clinicals, our students normally go into the schools for an hour or two every day to teach 18 to 20 lessons over a five- to six-week period,” Wahl-Alexander says.
“Each of our pre-service teachers now will get paired with a cooperating teacher and, basically, they will shadow and teach with the cooperating teacher for an entire school day, for an entire week, so they’re going to get 40 hours over the course of the week,” he adds. “It’s obviously different, but given where we are, and given the COVID environment, it’s nice that we’re actually going to get them in front of some live students. It’s pretty exciting for us.”
What is also changed is the routine for Wahl-Alexander and other clinical supervisors who remain unable to visit the schools in person.
To overcome that, they’re going virtual – and, again, with the help of the cooperating teachers.
Pre-teaching meetings will take place via Zoom to peruse the lesson plans and the schedules for each day. Cooperating teachers then will record the pre-service teachers in action and share those videos, Wahl-Alexander says, or the NIU supervisors will watch live on Zoom.
He is optimistic that things will turn out well.
“Typically in elementary clinicals, and prior to elementary clinicals, we usually do a lot of reps, face-to-face, in the gym. With COVID, we haven’t been able to do that, so they’ve practiced teaching stuffed animals. It’s not the ideal, but it at least gives them the repetitions and the routines of it,” he says.
“And we’ve tried the replicate the environment as best we can, and talking about the theory behind the ‘why’ – why it’s important to do the things we do,” he adds, “but nothing beats getting them into the schools and actually teaching, so it’s nice to get them out there.”
Students already have the names of their cooperating teachers so that they can make contact and start building relationships, Wahl-Alexander says, and are eager for their clinicals to begin.
“They know that student-teaching is coming, and they want this experience,” he says. “This is going to allow them to see the gamut – this teacher’s entire day – which is different and definitely exciting.”
He also is excited, and grateful, for the strong partnership of the cooperating teachers.
“These teachers are shifting back to in-person as well, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how receptive they’ve been in terms of their willingness to help out. This is one of those times when it’s really been a challenge for all teacher in the field, having to recreate plans, and this is an added challenge,” Wahl-Alexander says.
“But everyone I’ve asked has really accepted us with open arms, which is nice to see,” he adds, “and a lot of them have cited wanting to give back to the future professionals.”
