The Practicum in Times of Covid-19: Knowledge Developed by Future Physical Education Teachers in Virtual Modality

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on the educational system in all its teaching and learning activities, and in the specific case of the practical training of teachers. This study seeks to investigate through qualitative research with a comprehensive interpretive approach, the training of the practicum of Physical Education teachers in Chile, considering the knowledge and experiences, in the context of virtual classrooms during the Covid-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to collect the data; and were analyzed with the content analysis technique. As result, it can be observed that the students manifest diverse experiences in their practicum process, with difficulties inherent to the remote work condition, such as difficulty in communication with students and school teachers, problems in didactic and evaluation processes, and adaptation to context. It is necessary to discuss the access of students and teachers to technologies, as well as the training of physical education teachers in areas of didactic and assessment in contexts where face-to-face is difficult.

Prácticum virtual en Educación Física: entre pandemia e incertidumbre (Virtual prácticum in Physical Education: between the pandemic and uncertainty)

“…Relacionado directamente con el proceso de PSP como tal, entendido como una instancia privilegiada de socialización profesional donde el estudiante ratifica los rasgos caracterizadores del rol profesional que desempeñará en su futuro laboral (Silva et al, 2018;Anversa et al, 2020;Almonacid et al, 2021b), un 87,2% de los estudiantes encuestados que realizaron la PSP estuvieron totalmente de acuerdo con que el proceso se llevara a cabo en una modalidad virtual.…”

Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during COVID-19 in Ghana: Evidence from Physical Education Practical-Oriented Program

“…This was evident in both developed and developing nations as governments and institutions became overwhelmed by the level of investment needed to adequately manage and contain the disease [ 25 , 57 ]. The reason most governments, as part of the prevention process, closed down schools, introduced virtual classrooms for learning, designated case management centers, among others [ 6 , 30 , 57 , 58 ]. However, when institutions are well prepared with adequate infrastructure to manage COVID-19 cases, it becomes a buffer against anxiety.…”

“…This unprecedented shift posed new challenges, which included the development of alternate studying approaches and self-directed management of the studies for students with widespread uncertainty, anxiety, and panic [ 3 ]. For physical education (PE), unlike the teaching of other subjects, the practical didactic design component through visual and manual guidance constitutes nearly between 60% and 70% of the overall study program [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Therefore, the adaptation to lectures using a hybrid system to provide authentic planning and modifications to the PE curriculum has become burdensome [ 10 ], especially adjusting to new teaching and assessment procedures [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Improving Professional Skills of Pre-Service Teachers Using Online Training: Applying Work-Integrated Learning Approaches through a Quasi-Experimental Study

“…Therefore, Thailand has many projects and programs designed to improve the education system with a focus on training student teachers as well as certified teachers. These programs focus on the development of effective, professional skills and abilities, including meeting the challenges of global changes and mastering the use of technology [31,32]. Realizing the importance of improving education in the country, the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Thailand announced in 2019 a teacher improvement plan to enhance the standards of teaching programs to include the integration of educational technologies and a competency-based approach [33].…”