Pre-Service Teachers’ Online Demo Experiences: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Shifting to online learning and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be an astute option. This qualitative study, using conventional content analysis, describes the experiences of pre-service teachers (PSTs) who teach English as a second language (ESL) in the Philippines and have undertaken online demo teaching from 2020-2022. It outlines the challenges and opportunities that emerged from online field demo experiences. Regarding challenges, four themes emerged: the internet bandwidth, technical skills and awareness, lack of technical equipment and interaction in the online environment. The analysis also unlocked two opportunities: ICT upskilling and collaboration in online teaching with peers (co-PSTs) and supervisors (cooperating teachers). With the shift to non-face-to-face classes, ICT became a boon and bane for the PSTs, which prompts this study to recommend requiring PSTs to submit ICT-integrated outputs and review for an ICT-infused curriculum.