Researching with the Sturm und Drang of COVID-19: telling tales of teachers' teaching

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on the effects of COVID-19 on teachers' pedagogical approaches, and how this has consequences for student learning.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the impact of COVID-19 through teachers' experiences, perceptions from a critical cultural perspective. The paper draws on preservice and graduate teachers' narrative reflections as articulated through Instagram posts.FindingsThis paper articulates a comparison between the concept of Sturm und Drang and the contemporary landscape of teaching and learning remotely as a result of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and limitations.Research limitations/implicationsThe data upon which this paper is based were limited to five participants' accounts taken from the teacherwhispers Instagram site. They indicate relevant themes but are not representative of the overall phenomenon that COVID-19 has generated.Practical implicationsThis paper is representative of the particular elements encountered when drawing upon an online-based methodological approach. It suggests the productive affordances of technology for narrating lived experience in a professional context.Social implicationsRetelling embodied narratives can be a fraught affair. This paper brings together associative experiences of COVID-19 to draw together individual stories to narrate a collective experience.Originality/valueThis paper addresses a dynamically evolving phenomenon. As such, it is highly original and explores dilemmas, situations and implications that have not previously been addressed.