Distance Teacher Training and Assessment in the Era of Covid 19 Pandemic

Abstract

The situation induced by the Covid-19 health crisis has urged the pedagogical actors in education and training into an emergency mode of distance education. Previous research conducted during this period of health crisis, showed a major focus on the experience of distance teaching and assessment in both school and university contexts. Nevertheless, research in the context of pre-service as well as in-service teacher training is very scarce. In this regard, it seems appropriate to focus more on distance teacher training and distance assessment within the Regional Centers for Education and Training Professions, in French “Centres Régionaux des Métiers de l’Education et de la Formation (CRMEF)”. To achieve this purpose, a survey was conducted at the end of the pandemic containment period. The survey consisted of two questionnaires. The first one was administered to 20 teacher trainers of different specialties. The second one was addressed to 46 teacher trainees of the 2020 cohort. Analysis of results revealed that all the participant teacher trainers interviewed offered teacher training and conducted assessment from distance, using different instruments and modalities. However, the evaluations carried out at a distance were, in the majority of cases, formative evaluations with a rate of 93%. The respondents also reported that the main objective of these evaluations was to support and regulate the learning of future teachers. The study also recommends the promotion of distance teacher training and distance assessment procedures, as well as, the construction of valid and reliable digital equipments and adaptive e-learning platforms.