Pandemic prompts changes in how future teachers are trained

By KANTELE FRANKO
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The pandemic is already leaving its fingerprints on the education of future teachers. Though formal changes to standards and curriculums happen more slowly, many teacher preparation programs are incorporating more about digital tools, online instruction and mental and emotional wellness. Those moves reflect takeaways from their pandemic experiences, even as schools are resuming in-person classes. Changes are happening not just in what aspiring educators are learning, but how. More programs are using tools such as computer simulation training and virtual field supervision of student-teaching, and they say they might continue to do so regardless of whether circumstances require it.