STUDY EDUCATION IN THE AGE OF COVID-19

An Interview with Betsy McMahon, Class of 2020

Betsy McMahon is a graduate of the Master of Art in Teaching (MAT) program with an emphasis in special education. While completing field experience in the spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Betsy and her peers to transition rapidly to face-to-face instruction to online learning platform. Here, Betsy shares about her journey in the MAT program during the pandemic and how the School of Education at Webster University prepared her for a successful career.

What are your thoughts on how COVID-19 might change the way we prepare teachers for success in the future?

I think that there needs to be a course dedicated to virtual platform use. Proficiency in using virtual platforms in a way that continuously engages learners is a real need. We all know students have much freer access to distractions when they are safe in their own homes and only within the scope of their computer’s cameras. Teachers need specific instruction about easy ways to do what they do in the classroom, which is to use natural opportunities to engage students and keep them on their toes. Virtual teaching needs to feel natural, too.

During student teaching, I was in a role of simultaneously being a teacher and a student. In our Apprentice Teaching seminar, our instructor Dr. Stephanie Mahfood talked about the concept of liminal space; how as an apprentice teacher, you are in an in-between spot. In hindsight, there could not be a more appropriate analogy for all of us during a global pandemic.

The only disappointment was that the interview-based career fair was cancelled. That is an important leg-up for Webster students to get their faces in front of all of the school districts. Don’t forget: we were facing job interviews during this time as well. Now it would be all about emailed resumes and Zoom meetings.

How would you describe your field experience journey during spring 2020 when we abruptly moved from face-to-face to online class?

Field experience is about highs and lows and facing new experiences on the fly. Quarantine teaching mirrored that, and then some. Suddenly we were confronted with having to simultaneously learn and use new technology. Overnight, we were tasked with becoming proficient at using new platforms to reach our kids. Not only did we have to teach ourselves how to use the new tech, we had to make sure to adhere to lists of newly compiled guidelines from the school districts about privacy concerns and new best practices, on top of researching instructional strategies that would be effective to keep students engaged.

At times it felt like standing on my head in a video was what would be necessary to keep the students entertained enough to stay focused and learn! It was a relief to me when the requirements for the first portion of quarantine were review-based and ungraded. It took a lot of pressure off of us, and confirmed that “the powers that be” understood the magnitude of the instructional challenges that we all were facing.

A large part of a special education teacher’s job is to remove barriers to access. Ironically, Covid-19 added barriers not just to our own teaching but to our learning. We as students, got to experience what our students felt like. In addition, the quarantine of 2020 raised the question of whether or not we would be prepared to move into the field, whether we would get a job, and whether we would have to repeat student teaching! This was on top of the national/international unrest due to the pandemic…after all of our time in the program!

My Field Experience directors, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood and Tracey Brenner, were calming, fully informed and made the situation “doable.” They were knowledgeable about every facet of the situation, and communicated regularly, observing best practices by moving among different platforms; WebEx, shared docs, personal emails, Canvas. They also communicated with our cooperating teachers.

My favorite seminar was when they gave us a choice of breakout sessions by topic. All of the topics had to do with issues related to instruction like behavior management, assessments and self-care. Small group formats allowed us to really address the teaching-related issues we were most concerned about moving forward as teachers in this new environment.

Dr. Mahfood and Tracey were like the Mama Bears of Apprentice Teaching. There were no ridiculous questions or feelings, and they were always thinking ahead to how best to support us as fledgling teachers ready to leave the nest. Best of all, they made our May 9th celebratory last seminar memorable, thoughtfully orchestrated, socially distanced yet somehow personal. On top of that, they were in silly costumes, making us laugh at the absolute absurdity of it all.

What do you want people to know about Webster?

The special education department as well as the Webster University School of Education are responsive, proactive and sensitive to the cultural climate they exist in and into which they send their students. The unique circumstances of my student teaching experience have prepared me in ways that will directly serve me the second I hit the classroom during a global pandemic. I do not feel less qualified in any way. In fact, I feel more prepared. Much of my confidence has to do with my increased flexibility and ability to adapt quickly as modeled by my teachers.