Shifting the Delivery but Keeping the Focus: A Reﬂection on Ensuring Quality Teacher Preparation during a Pandemic

: There is a strong focus to connect theory with practice in initial teacher education (ITE). This discussion paper explores how we shifted teaching modes and assessment tasks in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) when digital technologies were unexpectedly catapulted to the main delivery mode for the preparation of future teachers. During this time, connecting theory to authentic practice became a complicated issue. Globally, teacher educators were faced with the challenge of providing authentic learning opportunities for ITE without the ability to be physically present in school and classroom environments. Tertiary institutions were swiftly and unprecedently required to re-think and re-imagine their pedagogical practices. This change affected the self-efﬁcacy and conﬁdence of many academics who were underprepared for this major shift in teaching as they created, transitioned and implemented online material for their students under strict timelines. Our reﬂections in this paper present a guide and example for others to follow.


Introduction
This discussion paper shares how a teaching team of two academics were able to modify authentic face-to-face teaching and assessment tasks within a subject in an undergraduate teacher education degree at the University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article presents as a guide and example for others to follow and provides some evaluative perspectives of a large cohort of students who were forced to adapt to an unfamiliar learning context. Previous cohorts for this subject have engaged in place-based work-integrated learning (WIL), incorporating group work, lesson preparation, self-evaluation, peer reports and personal professional development plans. Due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the subject was altered for the 2020 cohort so that students received the same benefits as previous cohorts while completing the subject remotely. Utilising peer collaboration, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) [1] pedagogical theories, recordings from previous students, and supervising teacher and peer feedback, this subject facilitated students' professional growth in an online environment. This paper will demonstrate that with a little creative thinking and some technological know-how, students in an ITE degree can receive high calibre, authentic learning experiences in digital environments and that COVID-19 has reinforced that educators remain ever-resilient and adaptable.

Background
In recent years, there has been a strong focus towards a shift in sustainable education, focusing on integrating theory and practice [2]. More specifically, there has been a growth in areas such as e-learning, utilising active learning methods, and the creation and sustainment of partnerships with industry and community [2][3][4]. Integrating theory and practice within initial teacher education (ITE) is not only an effective way to incorporate real world experience for pre-service teachers (PSTs) (students within ITE degrees), but it has been seen to increase learner engagement [5]. This integration of theory and practice may be supported through work-integrated learning (WIL) activities and professional experience (PEx) placements wherein PSTs enter a workplace and learn and apply the skills that are necessary upon graduation, thus enhancing graduate employability skills and transferability [6].
In Australia, a typical initial teacher education (ITE) degree is made up of coursework alongside PEx placements where PSTs can observe and practice their skills in a classroom setting. In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, PSTs are required to complete eighty days of PEx placement over four years of an undergraduate ITE degree [7]. The kind of placements seen in most Bachelor of Primary Education degrees have an increased trajectory of PST responsibility as their studies progress [8]. Conversely, later placements include more responsibility for the PST where they are expected to teach without the supervising teacher's input. In addition to mandated PEx placements, ITE providers may incorporate additional WIL experiences and activities into their subjects to connect PSTs with the teaching profession and enhance their learning opportunities [3].

Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
The Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) was far reaching and seemed unavoidable [9]. The pandemic forced tertiary institutions to re-envision the way they taught, practiced, and delivered content [10]. In Australia, restrictive measures were put in place to minimise the spread of COVID-19 and these led to online (rather than on-campus) learning and the suspension of many WIL activities. ITE providers had to creatively revise their teaching strategies to manage these missed opportunities [8]. University students faced additional challenges, including navigating how to effectively learn online, manage online lectures/tutorials on unfamiliar electronic platforms, cope with reduced contact with lecturers and tutors, the closure of libraries and other study spaces, understand new assignment methods, and overcome general feelings of isolation [11].
In order for institutions to effectively cater to students' needs and assist them in learning, it is imperative to note that online teaching is not just a matter of placing all of the previous content online for students [11][12][13]. Instead, university academics needed to reorganise and reimagine the content and materials previously delivered in face-toface lectures and tutorials, and adapt them to online modes in such a way that students felt supported and safe to engage in the subject and master the content [11]. In many cases, the transition was relatively fast, and it remained the universities' responsibility to provide quality education and engaging content for the students in an online environment. In order to do so, academics needed to develop and provide clearly designed and wellprepared learning material that could be understood just as well in an online context, as in a face-to-face lesson [14]. Academics also needed to have an active presence in the online environment to ensure students felt supported and to maintain lecturer-student interactions and build positive relationships throughout the semester [15]. This paper explores how a teaching team of two academics (Michelle J. Eady and Corinne A. Green) adapted an undergraduate initial teacher education subject to mediate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their students' learning. This required creativity and strategic changes to ensure high quality experiences for the students in the midst of these circumstances. As Aristovnik [11] discusses, this was done in a manner that allowed for engagement and maintained a high level of significance for the students. Namely, instead of the PSTs being immersed in a WIL experience in situ, they were provided with a non-placement online WIL activity designed to help PSTs apply theoretical knowledge within a work-related setting [16]. In the following sections, we give details regarding the subject, including how its teaching modes and assessment tasks have changed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also share feedback from students that has informed our decision making processes moving forward.

Context of the Subject
At the University of Wollongong, the Bachelor of Primary Education (BPrimEd) degree sits within the School of Education under the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (ASSH). This ITE degree is comprised of several core subjects alongside elective subjects and is an accredited pathway into the teaching profession. Michelle and Corinne have developed and co-taught one of the core second year subjects, "EDPD202 Professional Development: The Teacher as a Managing Professional", which forms the focus of this paper. This subject is offered once a year in the 13-week Spring semester (August-November, with the academic year in Australia running March-November).
EDPD202 builds on an earlier professional development subject (typically completed the previous semester), helping the PSTs to develop a comprehensive understanding of the learning environment and the work of teachers. The aim is to develop PSTs as practical professionals, exploring areas of professionalism, critical reflection, assessment, ICT integration, learning content planning, and current curriculum developments. The learning outcomes of EDPD202 are directly aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) [1] and are seen in Table 1. In the following sections, we describe the details of the subject, such as teaching mode and assessment tasks, as they have changed over time. In particular, we present the changes that were made to this subject in light of the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subject Delivery Prior to COVID-19
Over 10 years ago, Michelle established a collaborative school-university partnership with a local primary school, Fairy Meadow Demonstration School (FMDS). As part of this partnership, PSTs enrolled in EDPD202 would visit FMDS for three hours once a fortnight throughout the semester. During their visits, PSTs participated in a one-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial in the school setting and also spent one hour in classrooms connecting theory to practice through observations and teaching school students. The school visits gave PSTs a valuable opportunity to connect what they have been learning through their ITE degree to what they see in classrooms, thereby meaningfully integrating theory with practice [3].
Further capitalising on the school-based learning opportunities, some of the assessment tasks in EDPD202 were aligned to PSTs' classroom visits. These assessment tasks were designed with feedback from the FMDS teachers, which was an important element of the partnership between the school and the university. The first of the assessment tasks was a series of lesson plans that PSTs developed in pairs under the guidance of the FMDS teacher to whom they had been allocated. The PSTs created three lesson plans for their assigned class, focusing on three different Key Learning Areas (English, Mathematics, and one of their choosing) and incorporating at least one ICT component. Each PST then selected one of these lessons and taught the lesson during one of their FMDS visits. The PSTs were placed in pairs in the classroom setting and while one PST taught their lesson, their peer made a recording of their teaching (with appropriate permissions given by the school and parents). Both the classroom teacher and the peer completed an evaluation sheet based upon the APST [1]. The PST then evaluated their own teaching practices, using the video recording and evaluations from both the peer and classroom teacher to support their critical reflections. Each PST submitted their evaluations and a plan for their ongoing personal professional development as the final assessment task for EDPD202.
The fortnightly school visits were complemented with additional material, which for early iterations of the subject (2011-2017) were delivered through weekly on-campus lectures. Adapting to a downward trend in on-campus lecture attendance, Michelle and Corinne collaborated with University of Wollongong colleagues specialising in Learning Analytics and Technology Enhanced Learning to explore how EDPD202 PSTs were engaging with these lectures, and how the subject could be redesigned to better support the learning experience. After considering the learning analytics data from the 2017 cohort, Michelle and Corinne decided to transform the delivery of EDPD202 to a blended approach. Instead of hosting weekly on-campus lectures, from 2018 this additional material was delivered through online asynchronous slow release modules that were made available through the learning management platform (Moodle) subject site every two weeks. Further details of how learning analytics data was used to inform this learning design change can be found in [17].
For each module, PSTs were required to complete a series of tasks with successful completion of each task unlocking the next task as follows: • Reading(s)-a book chapter or journal article related to the topic, • Formative assessment-questions about the reading(s) allowing the PSTs to self-assess their understanding of the topic before continuing, • Video(s)-a presentation from an expert (from the University of Wollongong or a local school) on the topic, • Formative assessment-questions related to the video(s) allowing the PSTs to selfassess their understanding of the topic before continuing, and • Summative assessment-final quiz contributing to the PST's grade.
The content and activity within each of these online modules was designed to foster student engagement with the topic and challenge them to consider how the topic impacts the teaching profession and teaching practice. Within each module, the final quiz contributed to the PST's overall grade in the subject. In 2018 and 2019, the delivery mode of EDPD202 was therefore a blended mode: every two weeks, PSTs engaged with an online asynchronous module (consisting of readings, videos, and a quiz) as well as faceto-face synchronous learning on the school site (including tutorial, lecture, and classroom observation/teaching).
A summary of the EDPD202 delivery modes and assessment tasks before COVID-19 are presented in Table 2. Note that the weighting of some assessment tasks has changed from year to year at the subject coordinators discretion.

Subject Delivery during COVID-19
As we prepared for EDPD202 in 2020, it became clear that we would need to make significant adjustments to ensure PSTs still had quality teaching and learning experiences despite the impact of COVID-19. Significantly, FMDS was not able to host the 229 PSTs in the 2020 cohort as various lockdowns and restrictions were put in place by the government to manage the spread of the pandemic. This required strategic changes regarding the delivery of EDPD202. The changes are outlined in Table 3 then discussed in detail below. Table 3. Summary of EDPD202 Delivery Modes and Assessment Tasks (2020).

Iteration of the Subject 2020
Teaching modes Fortnightly online asynchronous modules (readings, videos, quizzes) Fortnightly online synchronous lecture and tutorial (one hour each)

Assessment tasks
Online module quizzes (45% weighting; 6 quizzes, 10 questions each; due throughout semester) Evaluation of teaching (40% weighting; 5 min video presentation; completed in groups of 2-3; due mid-semester) Professional development plan (15% weighting; 1 page overview + 3 min video blog; due at end of semester) Instead of school-based tutorials and lectures every two weeks, PSTs participated in a one-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial. In line with the university's remote delivery approach for 2020, these learning sessions were conducted synchronously via Zoom.
The online asynchronous modules that Michelle and Corinne had established two years previous were well-suited to the needs of the subject in 2020. The modules and the associated assessment task (quizzes) were able to be implemented as before for this cohort.
The same was not true, however, for the lesson plan and personal evaluation of teaching assessment tasks. Without the opportunity to visit FMDS for classroom observations, PSTs would have found the lesson plan assessment task much more difficult. Furthermore, as the PSTs could not teach a lesson at FMDS, the teaching evaluation assessment task was nigh on impossible. We therefore explored other non-placement WIL options that would connect the 2020 EDPD202 cohort to the classroom setting and encourage critical reflection and professional development. The solution was an evaluation of teaching task that, rather than focusing on the PSTs' own teaching practices, encouraged current PSTs to critically reflect on the teaching practices of a PST from the 2019 EDPD202 cohort. We reached out to our former students and collated lesson plans, evaluation sheets, and video recordings of three PSTs' lessons at FMDS which were made available to the 2020 EDPD202 cohort. The task description is given in Table 4. Table 4. Assessment Task Description for EDPD202 2020 (Evaluation of Teaching).

EDPD202 2020
Assessment 2: Evaluation of teaching An important element of teacher development is critically reflecting on teaching practice.
Professional and ongoing learning is core to becoming an effective teacher. This task requires you to form a panel of professionals and critically reflect on the teaching practice of one pre-service teacher (PST). The format of this submission will be a video in which all panellists (i.e., group members) professionally discuss the teaching practices that the PST has demonstrated. Remember that a critical reflection involves the integration of theory (i.e., research literature), experiences, and industry expectations (e.g., Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, Quality Teaching Framework). You will work in groups of 2-3 for this task-you choose who you will work with from your peers across this subject. Group contracts are expected by tutorials in Week 5. Assessment criteria See marking rubric (available on Moodle) for detail.

•
Critically reflect on the chosen PST's lesson • Participate in a professional discussion • Organise information and communicate knowledge • References This task facilitated PSTs to critically reflect on the teaching practices of someone quite like themselves-a PST in the early stages of their ITE degree. It accomplished similar goals to the personal evaluation of teaching task in the previous iterations of EDPD202 and added a feature of collaboration with PSTs working together as a panel of professionals critically reflecting on the teaching practice of a peer. Following on from this task, we wanted to ensure that the PSTs in this cohort were given an opportunity to consider their own professional development. Under normal circumstances, a PST enrolled in EDPD202 would have already completed one Professional Experience (PEx) placement-a three-week block in a local school with emerging teaching responsibilities. However, due to COVID-19 the 2020 EDPD202 cohort had not been able to undertake this placement. These PSTs had therefore not yet had a chance (within the ITE degree) to be physically present in a classroom. Their engagement with the APST had also been limited to any connections made through university subject content, rather than seeing the Standards enacted in the classroom teaching or demonstrating the Standards themselves during teaching opportunities in the classroom. The final assessment task for the 2020 EDPD202 cohort was designed to engage PSTs in critical reflection of their own practices and professional development. As seen in Table 5, this task required PSTs to develop a professional development plan (aligned with the APST) and communicate that plan through a one-page written overview and a video blog (analogous to a conversation with their PEx supervising teacher). Table 5. Assessment Task Description for EDPD202 2020 (Professional Development Plan).

EDPD202 2020
Assessment 3: Professional development plan Setting specific goals related to your Professional Experience (PEx) placements through critical reflection is an effective method of supporting a transformative learning experience and promotes the utilisation of future PEx placements as an opportunity for professional development. For this task, you are to choose one specific graduate descriptor from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) that you have determined will need specific attention for your professional development. You will then make an explicit plan for your next PEx placement. You are to provide a justification for choosing this descriptor, such as through discussion of current academic literature and other relevant sources (e.g., Teacher Magazine, TED Talks, etc.).
You should connect this discussion to your own teaching philosophy and emerging teaching practices. You are also expected to develop an explicit and practical plan for how you will focus on this APST descriptor during your next PEx placement. For instance, consider how you will communicate this plan with your supervising teacher; how you will act in the classroom in accordance with the descriptor; how you will measure any change in your behaviour over the period of your PEx placement, etc. Your submission for this task will consist of two complementary parts: a written overview and a video blog.
• For the written overview, follow the template available on Moodle. • For the video blog, we expect you to expand upon your written overview and give further detail.
Assessment criteria See marking rubric (available on Moodle) for detail.

•
Justify chosen APST descriptor • Detail an explicit professional plan • Organise information and communicate knowledge Through the adjusted delivery modes and amended assessment tasks, we were able to facilitate meaningful situated learning for the subject, despite the significant impact of COVID-19 on this EDPD202 cohort specifically, and university learning in general.

Student Feedback
To deepen our reflection regarding the teaching mode and assessment tasks of EDPD202 and how we adapted these elements over time, we have drawn upon feedback that has been provided by students. Some of this feedback has been collected as part of the regular anonymous subject evaluations that all students in the cohort are invited to contribute to. The feedback from the 2018 cohort-the first group to experience the slow-release online modules-was particularly useful to us in informing ongoing changes to the subject. Other feedback has been gathered as part of another distinct project [17]. Fourteen PSTs from the 2020 cohort of EDPD202 volunteered to be interviewed on their perceptions of their personal and professional growth, and applying new knowledges to other contexts in the university setting. While evaluating EDPD202 was not the main focus of these interviews, some responses gave feedback on the way that we shifted the delivery of EDPD202 in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and are therefore included in this paper.

Work-Integrated Learning Activities at FMDS
The first unique aspect of EDPD202 is the work-integrated learning (WIL) that occurs on-site at FMDS. As stated above, the EDPD202 cohorts visited FMDS once a fortnight during the semester to participate in lectures and tutorials as well as spend time in a classroom observing and teaching. The assessment tasks for all but the 2020 iteration have been tied to these visits.
The PSTs have often mentioned that this is the best aspect of the subject, with comments such as those displayed in Figure 1.
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 12 The PSTs have often mentioned that this is the best aspect of the subject, with comments such as those displayed in Figure 1. There have been some negative comments regarding the FMDS visits, such as one PST who declared, "I did not like how the subject was structured at all. I found it stressful, inconvenient, and not any more beneficial than a traditional lecture/tutorial structure" (PST in 2018 cohort). It is important to note that this was one comment out of 184 evaluations received. On balance, we believe that the WIL activities at FMDS are valuable opportunities for the EDPD202 cohort to integrate theory with practice and gain further experience in school settings. As one PST commented, "The practical side of this subject is what all teaching courses should be like" (PST in 2018 cohort).

Online Slow-Release Modules
As detailed above, since 2018 the additional content for this subject has been delivered through online slow-release modules rather than weekly on-campus lectures. Every two weeks, PSTs complete a series of tasks (readings, videos, self-assessment questions) to unlock an assessment quiz related to the topic of each module.
From the PSTs' feedback (see Figure 2) it is clear that they appreciate the flexibility that the online modules offer, allowing them to engage with the material at a time and place that best suits them. The chunking of the material in each module, as well as the length of time allocated to each (i.e., two weeks per module), enables the PSTs to work at their own pace which was seen as much more agreeable to the PSTs' schedule than a fixed two-hour lecture on campus. The format of the online modules was also reported to be more engaging and facilitated the PSTs' deepening understanding of the concepts presented. There have been some negative comments regarding the FMDS visits, such as one PST who declared, "I did not like how the subject was structured at all. I found it stressful, inconvenient, and not any more beneficial than a traditional lecture/tutorial structure" (PST in 2018 cohort). It is important to note that this was one comment out of 184 evaluations received. On balance, we believe that the WIL activities at FMDS are valuable opportunities for the EDPD202 cohort to integrate theory with practice and gain further experience in school settings. As one PST commented, "The practical side of this subject is what all teaching courses should be like" (PST in 2018 cohort).

Online Slow-Release Modules
As detailed above, since 2018 the additional content for this subject has been delivered through online slow-release modules rather than weekly on-campus lectures. Every two weeks, PSTs complete a series of tasks (readings, videos, self-assessment questions) to unlock an assessment quiz related to the topic of each module.
From the PSTs' feedback (see Figure 2) it is clear that they appreciate the flexibility that the online modules offer, allowing them to engage with the material at a time and place that best suits them. The chunking of the material in each module, as well as the length of time allocated to each (i.e., two weeks per module), enables the PSTs to work at their own pace which was seen as much more agreeable to the PSTs' schedule than a fixed two-hour lecture on campus. The format of the online modules was also reported to be more engaging and facilitated the PSTs' deepening understanding of the concepts presented.

Non-Placement WIL Activities (Due to COVID-19)
The most significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 iteration o EDPD202 was the inability to visit FMDS for WIL activities in situ. As discussed above this had implications for not only how we taught the content to the PSTs but also inter fered with the assessment tasks that PSTs completed. Ultimately, we opted to incorporate non-placement WIL activities including having the PSTs critically reflect on the teaching of a peer from the previous year's cohort.
Our creative adaptation of the teaching and assessment tasks in light of the unusua circumstances that COVID-19 presented resulted in PSTs reporting similar benefits from the non-placement WIL opportunity as other PSTs (both in previous EDPD202 cohorts and in the research literature) have identified for place-based WIL activities (see Figure  3). PSTs prepared deep reflections that were grounded in theory, practice, and policy. The PSTs identified that their engagement in the non-placement WIL task affected their ongo ing development. Notably, even without being in a classroom, PSTs in this cohort were able to experience a realistic sense of the complexities inherent within the teaching profession.

Non-Placement WIL Activities (Due to COVID-19)
The most significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 iteration of EDPD202 was the inability to visit FMDS for WIL activities in situ. As discussed above, this had implications for not only how we taught the content to the PSTs but also interfered with the assessment tasks that PSTs completed. Ultimately, we opted to incorporate nonplacement WIL activities including having the PSTs critically reflect on the teaching of a peer from the previous year's cohort.
Our creative adaptation of the teaching and assessment tasks in light of the unusual circumstances that COVID-19 presented resulted in PSTs reporting similar benefits from the non-placement WIL opportunity as other PSTs (both in previous EDPD202 cohorts and in the research literature) have identified for place-based WIL activities (see Figure 3). PSTs prepared deep reflections that were grounded in theory, practice, and policy. The PSTs identified that their engagement in the non-placement WIL task affected their ongoing development. Notably, even without being in a classroom, PSTs in this cohort were able to experience a realistic sense of the complexities inherent within the teaching profession.

Discussion and Implications
The COVID-19 pandemic, has quickly brought to the forefront, the level of adaptability that is needed in order to deliver quality teacher preparation in online environments. Upon critical reflection of our approach to teaching pedagogy in authentic, relevant and meaningful ways, we would like to suggest a variety of takeaway messages that other academics who find themselves in similar situations can apply in their own context.

The Importance of Ongoing Evaluation and Improvement
We suggest that the changes that occurred as a result of the pandemic should not stand alone as improvements or alterations in situ. We encourage academics and subject coordinators to "practice what they preach" and approach their own teaching as lifelong learners themselves.

Third-Space Communities
There is a long history of school-university partnerships in teacher education [3] and we highly recommend that an ongoing conversation and relationships be built between local school teachers and teacher educators. This dynamic relationship is more than a, "supervisor" for students on placements; it is an opportunity for reciprocal learning and robust collaboration. We encourage others to include these invaluable front-line workers in training ITE students.

Creativity Is Key
Learning in an online environment is not simply taking what one did face-to-face and delivering that content online. We need to continuously find new and creative approaches that engage and inspire our students to become the best version of themselves possible.

Discussion and Implications
The COVID-19 pandemic, has quickly brought to the forefront, the level of adaptability that is needed in order to deliver quality teacher preparation in online environments. Upon critical reflection of our approach to teaching pedagogy in authentic, relevant and meaningful ways, we would like to suggest a variety of takeaway messages that other academics who find themselves in similar situations can apply in their own context.

The Importance of Ongoing Evaluation and Improvement
We suggest that the changes that occurred as a result of the pandemic should not stand alone as improvements or alterations in situ. We encourage academics and subject coordinators to "practice what they preach" and approach their own teaching as lifelong learners themselves.

Third-Space Communities
There is a long history of school-university partnerships in teacher education [3] and we highly recommend that an ongoing conversation and relationships be built between local school teachers and teacher educators. This dynamic relationship is more than a, "supervisor" for students on placements; it is an opportunity for reciprocal learning and robust collaboration. We encourage others to include these invaluable front-line workers in training ITE students.

Creativity Is Key
Learning in an online environment is not simply taking what one did face-to-face and delivering that content online. We need to continuously find new and creative approaches that engage and inspire our students to become the best version of themselves possible.

Students as Partners
We have found through the course of our actions that there is nothing more valuable than a PSTs' voice in helping to shape teacher education. Finding out what skills ITE students feel confident in, what they think they do not know and providing them with the tools to get where they are going enables us to foster self-directed, independent school leaders of tomorrow.

Conclusions
In this paper, we have detailed the ongoing pedagogical and strategic choices that we have made within an undergraduate ITE subject to ensure high calibre and authentic learning experiences for PSTs. Significantly, we have discussed how we shifted the teaching modes and assessment tasks in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of both academics and students.
At the time of writing this paper, we are preparing the 2021 iteration of EDPD202. Thankfully, we have been welcomed back to FMDS for classroom observations and teaching, allowing place-based WIL activities to resume. However, we are hesitant to simply revert to a replication of the 2019 iteration of EDPD202. Instead, we are carefully considering whether there are aspects of the 2020 iteration (such as the group-based evaluation of a PSTs' teaching, or the explicit identification of professional development goals) that will be incorporated into the 2021 version and future iterations of EDPD202.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive (to say the least) in many ways [13,18]. Even so, it was not the first time (and will not be the last time) that academics and universities have needed to be creative, resilient, and adaptable [19]. As the ripple effects of this pandemic continue to emanate, we are committed to ongoing critical reflection of our pedagogies in teacher education and strive to provide high quality learning experiences for our PSTs, ultimately enhancing the teaching profession as a whole.