Knots and Bolts of Online Teaching Internship amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The use of an online learning modality during the COVID-19 pandemic has become widespread. This paper aimed to ascertain the "knots and bolts"of teaching internship, utilizing both the quantitative and qualitative methods of research. With the eighteen (18) student interns of the Cebu Normal University academic year 2020-2021, a survey was employed to gather data on the influence of their personal, family, and academic backgrounds on the areas of lesson planning, teaching modality, communication skills and classroom management. In addition, an unstructured interview was conducted to solicit their experiences. Results revealed that among the factors of influence, the school background engendered the "knots"or greatest motivating influence on their online student internship. On the other hand, the online modality with intermittent connectivity issues as well as the young learners' behaviors has proved to be the greatest challenge, namely the "bolts". The teaching interns' sustaining powers were rooted in their belief in the Supreme Being, self-confidence, and the encouragement of significant others. It was therefore concluded that online student internship during the pandemic was both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunities may be enhanced and the challenges may be examined by allowing the teacher education institutions to repackage the teaching internship programs' teaching and learning modalities.