Museum education for pre-service teachers in an online environment: Challenges and potentials

Abstract

It was widely expected that the academic year 2020-2021 would be a different experience for all involved in educational processes. Everybody had to readjust and reimagine their practice in order to respond to the new reality of teaching university courses online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article focuses on the challenges and opportunities that were created because of the pandemic for experiential and collaborative learning during a museum education course addressed to student teachers in the context of initial teacher training. It focuses on a series of activities and reflective practices that took place in order to promote student engagement and active learning in the online environment within which the course was materialized, such as object-based learning and museum visits. It discusses opportunities for an embodied living inquiry as a space for learning and researching. These experiences have implications for museum education through online training and contributes to the digital transformation of teacher training courses in Higher Educational Institutions.