PST Online: Meeting the Need for Teaching Innovation for Virtual Schools
Keywords:
virtual schools, online teaching, pre-service teacher educationAbstract
Virtual schools are no longer a pipedream: they are already
with us. Pre-service teachers need to be prepared for this alternate
teaching medium. Unlike blended learning in the classroom, new virtual
schools have no need for physical classrooms, and students can be
geographically distant from both each other and the teacher. This
change in education delivery in schools will necessitate a new approach
to curriculum design accompanied by a reshaping of discipline-based
courses in higher education institutions in regard to teacher education.
Exclusively online teaching changes the teacher/student dynamics and
new skills, techniques and strategies should be developed. While there
has been some online teaching for many years, initial teacher education
has not prepared students for this new way of teaching. In this article
the authors present the conceptual underpinning of the need for changes
in teacher education and the perceptions of pre-service teachers in terms
of their preparedness for virtual teaching. The data from a survey
conducted with these pre-service teachers will inform the development
of online resources that are part of a funded, ongoing project.
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