Tensions and Opportunities of Teachers “Learning Through Crisis”

Abstract

The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in immense shifts in several sectors of society, including education. Social distancing was recommended as one of the measures to reduce the transmission of the Coronavirus, which resulted in many countries introducing lockdowns and the closure of schools. This chapter reports on the challenges experienced and transnational ‘learning through crisis' by two teacher educators based in South Africa and San Francisco (USA). A qualitative methodological approach was used to highlight two case studies of how teaching strategies and curriculum delivery to postgraduate students were redesigned. Findings from critical reflections and personal narrative accounts highlighted the tensions or challenges of social inequalities and lack of resources, technological and emotional challenges, school closures, and isolation. Curriculum innovation and redesign and mapping as a pedagogical tool were captured as opportunities. Teachers ‘learning through crisis' involved engaging in culturally relevant pedagogy and living the curriculum.