Caught “Flat-Footed” in the COVID Moment: The Processes, Narratives and Outcomes of Transforming F2F Teacher Training Programmes for Online Delivery in Guyana

Abstract

PCF10 Sub-theme: Building Resilience // The Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in Guyana, pre-COVID, had only offered face-to-face teacher training programmes, notwithstanding the enduring presence of online education. Despite Guyana’s expansive geographical terrain, the uneven distribution of subject specialists across the country, and CPCE being the only teacher training institution there – conditions ripe for online/blended modes of instruction – CPCE’s programmes, then, consistently remained face-to-face. Given this modus operandi for instruction, it is unsurprising that CPCE was “flat-footedly” unprepared when COVID hit in 2019. Later, faced with either closing classroom doors indefinitely during the lockdown, or transitioning instruction online for sustainable teacher training, CPCE’s response by October, 2020, was to train seventy-five (75) faculty to convert and facilitate, at first, 28 in-person courses for online delivery in eight specializations, namely: Education, English, Enrichment, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Modern Languages, and Technical Vocational Studies. With the Commonwealth of Learning’s assistance, facilitating 30 hours of online workshops plus another 30 hours of asynchronous support, CPCE’s faculty gradually built their capacity to design, develop and teach online courses (DTOC). Based on their resilience with online capacity building, this paper employs a qualitative design, pulling on case study and participatory action research, to share the processes, showcase the narratives and experiences, and to report on the outcomes of CPCE’s journey of transforming face-to-face courses for online delivery even while bolstering the continuous professional development of its faculty. // Paper ID1546