Studying teachers' work and lives: insights from research before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Drawing on the notion of professionalism and the role of emotions, this chapter examines teachers' work and lives based on data from two major research projects. Data were collected before and after the COVID-19 pandemic through two online surveys. Findings point to collaboration as one of the key dimensions of teachers' work. While individual and collegial professionalism were identified, managerial and functional issues have also played a role in how teachers deal with tensions and contradictions in their daily professional lives. Positive and negative emotions stand out in teachers' accounts as well as the relational dimension of teaching and the use of ICT.

Online teaching and learning practices in teacher education: past, present and future

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has marked a before and after for online teacher education that needs to be examined. This article provides a review of the literature on online teaching and learning practices in teacher education. Drawing on previous research that analyzes online educational practices before (past) and after (present) the irruption of the pandemic, it aims to understand the nature and the kinds of practices and factors affecting impact in the online environment. The article discusses the implications of the findings for the development of online teaching and learning practices in the post-pandemic time (future).

Portuguese higher education students' adaptation to online teaching and learning in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: personal and contextual factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a global crisis affecting all sectors of society. Higher education is no exception. The closure of higher education institutions has dictated a sudden and unexpected transition from face-to-face to remote teaching to mitigate the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. This paper draws upon a wider piece of research which aimed to understand how higher education students adapted to the closure of their institution and how they looked at their experience of online teaching and learning. In total, 2718 students from different Portuguese higher education institutions participated in the study. Findings showed that both personal and contextual factors explained students' positive or negative adaptation to online teaching and learning as a result of the closure of higher education institutions. Institutional and pedagogical responses, individual self-regulatory and socio-emotional competencies and adequate resources were factors that led to either a more positive or negative student experience of online teaching and learning in times of COVID-19.

Teacher Education during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Insights from a Formative Intervention Approach Involving Online Feedback

This paper examines preservice teachers’ perspectives on assessment feedback developed in a teacher education course during the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As initially negotiated with students, feedback was learner-centred and involved a formative intervention approach applied iteratively by the teacher educator over the course of one semester. Although such feedback was initially face-to-face, it had to be given exclusively online following the unexpected closure of the university. Analysis of student teachers’ perspectives, which were collected through an online questionnaire completed after their final assessment, reveals both positive and critical aspects regarding the feedback provided by the teacher educator. While reaffirming the significance of feedback as a crucial element for learning in online teacher education contexts, the findings also show that the clarity, affective bonding and multimodal meaning-making involved in face-to-face interaction are particularly challenging when the communication of feedback is digitally mediated. The implications and limitations of such findings are discussed.