A Qualitative Study of Teacher Cognition and Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic

A Qualitative Study of Teacher Cognition and Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Lin Shu wen, Gareth Humphreys, Jonathan Donnellan, Dave Bollen

Sojo University

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a turbulent period for teaching and learning around the world. As in other ELT settings, significant adjustments to educational practices have been made at Sojo University, Kumamoto. To support learning, lesson delivery was initially moved online before a hybrid face-to-face and online system was established, details of which are outlined in the presentation. The impact has been significant on teacher cognition and there has been continued reflection on how to adapt to new influences. We wanted to understand how individual teachers had navigated recent educational challenges to facilitate student engagement and learning. A qualitative interview study with 10 teachers led to insights relating to the philosophy of experience: learning and teaching is transformed when there is disequilibrium. The focus of the presentation is on how these teachers have navigated recent challenges. It describes their individual stories, looking at their perceptions through reflection of what has been essential to teaching and learning as well as changes in teacher cognition when facing the unanticipated. The variability in teachers’ individual stories offers insight which may resonate with other teachers reflecting on their own processes of adaptation to these new educational challenges.