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The changes taking place in the schooling landscape because of the coronavirus are real and meaningful and have implications for the training of preservice teachers, especially the teaching practicum component of their initial teacher education programs. The havoc caused by COVID-19 forced many faculties of education into a state of 'panic-gogy' to ensure that student teachers could complete their teaching practicums. In this paper we argue that consideration should be given to core teaching practices and practice-based teacher education pedagogies (i.e., representations and approximations) that can be used in alternative "placement contexts" that will supplement and harness the authenticity of school-based experiences. We provide two conceptual tools, collaboratively developed by teaching practicum educators and mentor teachers, that can be used as heuristic by other university-school partnerships when considering teaching practicum redesign efforts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced lecturers at South African universities to reconceptualise their teaching and learning activities. Universities had to embark on remote teaching to salvage the 2020 academic year. This created the opportunity to draw on students' creative and digital skills to promote digital storytelling as a way of enhancing their learning experience. This article describes the journey of a teacher educator and a group of students registered for a language didactics module in an initial teacher education programme. Film study was traditionally presented through lively conversations in a contact session where students could exchange their perceptions and opinions regarding various aspects of film. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown this approach had to be reviewed. The lecturer in question employed digital learning competencies to transform learning through the innovative use of digital tools and resources to rethink student engagement with film. Students were invited to create digital stories. The outcome of the process not only improved their understanding of teaching film but also promoted their digital competencies and empowered them to create resources they could use in their careers.

South Africa went into lockdown on 27 March, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unlikely that thousands of preservice teachers will be able to complete their teaching practicum during 2020 at schools. In this action research study, we investigated a two-week teaching practicum experience that was completed via WhatsApp by 12 students. During this time, the student teachers were supervised and monitored by university teaching practicum lecturers and mentored by school mentor teachers via WhatsApp. The results indicated that all participants perceived the teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp to have contributed to the formation of a community of practice that resulted in feedback and assessment being focused on a core teaching practice, namely explaining subject-specific content. Guidelines are provided for universities or teacher training providers who have work-integrated learning components to show how a teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp can be integrated into their training programs.

Background: Universities, specifically faculties of education, have the responsibility to ensure that student teachers are introduced to the complexities involved in planning conceptually sound, coherent and cohesive lessons. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine how prepared students teachers are to plan children's literature and develop a tool for use by teachers specializing in Setswana to support them when planning and preparing for children's literature lessons. Methods: A Qualitative case study design was chosen for this study. Results: The results of this study indicated that primary pre-service teachers in South Africa do not receive cohesive and coherent as well as intensive preparation in the planning of lessons focusing on children's literature. In addition, most primary pre-service teachers were not familiar with the titles, some genres and levelled questioning techniques used in planning children's literature lessons. The results indicated that student teachers studying at a distance and specialising in Setswana as a Home Language were experiencing difficulties relating to the literature planning and preparation. Conclusion: Skillful planning, entails taking into account the knowledge and developmental level of learners, their specific social and cultural contexts, knowledge of subject matter and learning goals, as well as knowledge of teaching strategies and practices.

The reading literacy crisis, among learners, in countries throughout the world and in South Africa seems to be reaching pandemic levels. Hence, the quality of teaching and the preparation that pre-service teachers receive at initial teacher education institutions is under the spotlight. A proactive action research design is used to integrate mixed reality simulation into reading literacy modules. Our data collection methods included professional conversations, WhatsApp voice notes and video calls, reflective journal entries and reflections on observing video recordings of lesson segments in the MRS environment. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The main themes emanating from the data included: lack of focus on high leverage teaching practices, limited use of pedagogies of enactment, add-on to existing content, experimentation, perceptions, planning and preparation, content-method integration, pedagogies of enactment, assessment, resources and feedback. Grounded in a Community of Practice framework, we narrate our experiences of re-imagining mixed reality simulation as a core component of initial teacher education programs. The authors conclude by sharing insights and recommendations for policymakers, faculty leaders, and curriculum designers, contributing to informed decisions regarding integrating and potentially upscaling mixed reality simulation within reading literacy modules in initial teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to give an account of the study conducted to determine if teachers in the intermediate phase are ready to teach and to use literature within the classroom. The study was conducted from an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative research approach was used. The qualitative approach gave the researcher the opportunity to examine the research question in depth. Aside from the qualitative research approach, a phenomenology design was used in order to get rich descriptions of the participants that emerged within the phenomenon. The study has shown that the teachers who participated in the study were not necessarily ready and knowledgeable on how to use literature in the teaching of language or how to teach literature itself. In some cases, the department subject advisors were not able to lead and support these teachers in the integration of literature within the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African education system is in a process of change yet again. An important aspect of change in the education system is the professional development of in-service teachers. According to the South African Department of Basic Education the implementation of a professional development programme can be very valuable because it transforms and enriches the education system. According to the Department of Basic Education, teachers and principals need to understand the importance of a professional development programme because this will add value to the development of teachers. When a professional development programme is developed, it is important that great caution is taken especially with the main aspects of a professional development programme. These aspects firstly include who should be presenting the professional development programme and who should attend the programme. Secondly, what (type of content) should be included in the specific professional development programme and thirdly, how (format of) the professional development programme should be presented to the attendees. Besides the above mentioned aspects that have to be considered some organisational features also have to be taken into account when planning and presenting a professional development programme. When planning a professional development programme the Department of Basic Education policy, namely the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) has to be taken into account. The school, Department of Basic Education and higher education institutions have to be part of the process in order to make the programme as effective and sustainable as possible. Furthermore, the access and scope have to be taken into account, namely when and where the programme will be presented, and what it will cost will have to be explored. The programme should also be evaluated by interested parties and experts in the field. The last feature that has to be considered is the resources that are required. The tools and resources for the presentations and the tools and resources that will be presented to attendees in order to make the programme as effective as possible, need to be considered. According to Spera et al. (2009:1150), learners' academic achievement is influenced by the knowledge of teachers, the curriculum and the management of the school, and this is the main reason why professional development is important. Teachers' continuing professional development has to be encouraged to give teachers the support in the changing environment of schooling. When teachers attend a professional development programme they usually get the opportunity to adjust to the changing elements of education. These elements include the content, pedagogical knowledge, demographic changes, innovation in the school environment and social and cultural changes. Professional development programmes have to be active, constructive and problem orientated. For this reason, a W (workshop), S (support) and M (mentorship) programme is suggested. This professional development programme structure is used in order to give teachers the relevant information and to support teachers in their workplace with components they may not yet have mastered. The mentorship component of the programme gives teachers a forum to ask questions about, for example, the components of the curriculum they might find challenging. This article focuses on the presentation of practical guidelines for the planning and presentation of a professional development programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Die onderrig van kinder- en jeugliteratuur (KJL) is ʼn integrale deel van die nuwe Nasionale Kurrikulum en Assesseringsverklaring (NKABV) wat vanaf die begin van 2012 in die land se nasionale skole geïmplementeer is. In die NKABV word daar egter min leiding aan onderwysers gegee oor watter konsepte deel van letterkunde onderrig op skool uitmaak en daarom is dit nodig om goeie hulpmiddels te ontwikkel om onderwysers te ondersteun wanneer hulle kinder- en jeugliteratuur onderrig. Die doel van hierdie artikel is om die belangrikheid van hulpmiddels in die klaskamer te bespreek en tot watter mate dit onderwysers en selfs leerders kan ondersteun in die onderrig- en leerproses. In die artikel sal daar gefokus word op wat in die NKABV as rigtinggewende dokument ten opsigte van letterkunde en poësie onderrig in die Afrikaanse kurrikulum uiteengesit word, en laastens sal daar gekyk word na die gebruik van die voorgestelde hulpmiddels in die klaskamer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]