Abstract
Spring 2020, or the COVID-19 pivot, will be forever remembered as the semester that took educators by surprise. The challenges educators faced were numerous and they varied extensively depending on different variables like student level, subject, institutional support, among others. This article chronicles the journey of a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) educator teaching a TESOL methodologies course that used experiential learning in the form of classroom observations and reflections. Through vignettes of her experiences and those of her students, as they navigated the challenges of completing field-work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the educator discusses areas of strength and areas for improvement in using experiential learning to prepare teachers, including those who teach writing directly and those who teach writing as a language skill. Central to this discussion are the ideas that a) preparing teachers requires flexibility—sometimes not easily afforded by experiential learning assignments—and b) willingness to remain truthful to one’s teaching objectives and teaching philosophy is essential, even in light of challenging circumstances.
Recommended Citation
Pelaez-Morales, Carolina
(2020)
"Experiential learning in the COVID-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities for ESOL teacher educators,"
Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 12.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/wte/vol9/iss1/12