Future-Proofing Teacher Education

This book presents a variety of perspectives on teacher education for a fast-changing world. It deepens the discourse on teacher education and specifically considers teacher education in light of the technological advancements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as education in times of uncertainty. Drawing on examples from South Africa and showcasing international authors, the book offers a nuanced evaluation of how teacher education might adapt for the future. It explores the tension between the perennial in education and the unpredictability of the future and asks the question of how teacher education can contend with these tensions and how teachers can prepare for unexpected circumstances. Chapters draw on the science of learning and foreground lessons learned from the abrupt move of teacher education online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book invokes these themes to reimagine and strengthen teacher education for the future, presenting reports on research, case studies, and theoretical stances. Future-Proofing Teacher Education explores what is relevant in teacher education in the 21st century and will be a key reading for researchers, academics, and post-graduate students of teacher education, technology in education, and digital education.

Sarah Gravett is Professor of Teacher Education and Development and former Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Nadine Petersen is Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Part 1: Current and future relevance of teacher education. 1. A framework for initial teacher education in an uncertain and fast-changing world. 2. Using concept mapping to ensure adaptable and responsive curriculum development and learning designs. 3: Teacher education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution - teachers, technologies, and transformation. 4: Science teacher education for current and future relevance. Part 2: Relevance in teacher education and the science of learning. 5: Lesson design in pre-service teacher education: a learning-centred approach. 6: The science of reading in a foundation phase teacher's toolkit: implications for teaching reading in an African language. Part 3: Teacher development for a fast-changing world. 7: Creating a context conducive to creative learning in a coding club: student teachers' experiences. 8: Looking at teacher professional development through a fourth-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory lens: the value of "Change Laboratories". 9: Preparing pre-service teachers to use guided play as a core pedagogy in Grade R. 10: The effectiveness of technology-supported teacher professional learning communities in emergency settings. 11: Preparing pre-service teachers to teach with robotics. Part 4: Learning for teacher education during and from the COVID-19 pandemic. 12: Reimagining teacher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of South Africa and Hong Kong. 13: COVID-19 - lessons learnt: a teacher education leadership perspective. Afterword