Challenges in pre-service physics teachers’ practical training after pandemic restrictions

The paper presents challenges caused by COVID-19 pandemic situation and lockdowns of pre-service teachers’ practical training between March 2020 and May 2021. The standard structure of practical training is introduced and the impact of pandemic restrictions on practical training from pre-service teachers’ and supervising teachers’ views are described. Suggestions for changes in future design of practical training are formulated.


Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the largest disruption of education in history, affecting students and teachers around the world at all levels of education [1].Reimagine education and accelerate change in teaching and learning was one of the recommendations of United Nations to prevent a learning crisis from becoming a generational catastrophe.This also applies to the pre-service teacher education.The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted, that teacher education needs to be reformed.Moreover, if the main driver of the variation in students learning at school is the quality of the teachers [2,3].
When discussing professional training, different terms such as competencies, professional standards or outcomes-based qualifications are used in different countries [4].The OECD [5,6] emphasizes, that a competency is more than just knowledge and skills -"it involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilizing psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context".It is demonstrated by using expert knowledge and skills in real life situations and has behavioral indicators.Competences always refer to a context and a task or problem to solve [7].Regarding competencies development, the practical training is an essential part of teacher' preparation.It enables the integration of the theoretical and practical components of their university education, the familiarization with school practice and the acquisition of experience with it, and the development of pedagogical competencies.At the same time, it is a source of motivation, shaping attitudes towards pupils and towards the teaching profession and teachers' community.Practical training of pre-service teachers is a crucial part of their professional identity development [8,9].

Theoretical backgrounds
The Slovak Ministry of Education [10] defines the requirements to be met by different categories and subcategories of teachers.Competencies of teacher in secondary education are divided into three areas:  1).Required knowledge and skills connected to practical experience are defined for each competence in subcategories: beginning teacher, independent teacher, teacher with first certification, and teacher with second certification.At the national level, there is not formalized definition of physics teacher competencies.

Competencies of physics teachers
Crick [11] emphasizes that the term competence is a good example of complex, multifaceted dynamic collage.Current educational researches offer numerous definitions of teacher competencies referring specific aspects of physics (or science) teaching [7,12,13,14,15].In all approaches to physics teacher competencies there can be identified at least three aspects -(i) competencies connected with physics content knowledge and scientific skills, (ii) education and teaching competencies enabling to facilitate effective learning process and reflect the teaching-learning process, and (iii) social competencies based on life-long learning.They are linked to motivation, beliefs, and values of the teacher.The complexity of physics teachers' competencies is reflected in the components of pre-service physics teachers' education.

Components of pre-service teachers' education
The Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava (FMPhI CU) offers bachelor and master study programs Teaching physics in combination with mathematics or informatics.The content of physics teachers' pre-gradual education can be divided into 4 components: • psychological-pedagogical education focused on the concept of institutional socialization process, psychological aspects of development, upbringing and education and selected theoretical models of cognitive socialization and education; • subject didactics focused on understanding the didactic system of the physics curriculum and on the development of knowledge and skills in the field of support and management of student cognition and learning; • selected knowledge and skills from the field of physics, including modern physics and selected problems addressed by current physics research; • knowledge and skills in the use of teaching techniques, including digital technologies related to education.As the physics teachers' competencies are manifested in real life situations, practical training is an integral part of pre/service teachers' education.Students complete it in the form of observations, assistantships, micro-outputs (short teaching episodes lasting a few minutes) and teaching of complete lessons in the real conditions of lower and upper secondary schools.Students undergo their practical training at lower and upper secondary schools under the supervision of experienced physics teachers in Bratislava -in the city where the FMPhI CU is located, regardless of which part of Slovakia they come from.The pedagogical practice consists of three parts as characterized in table 2, terms are fixed in the Study schedule.Students spend the same amount of time in practical training of their second subject (mostly mathematics).During the practical training, it is the duty of pre-service teachers to write a pedagogical diary and create their own professional portfolio.The main goal of Part I. of the practical training is to provide pre-service teachers with the opportunity to experience a real school environment from the teacher's point of view and to facilitate the process of changing their mindset from students to teacher-beginners.It is an observation practice, when students mainly observe real lessons conducted by supervising teacher and analyze them.Besides this, pre-service teachers get acquainted with the institutional processes in the school.
During the Part II.students combine their academic knowledge and skills in physics, pedagogy, and didactics of physics with the planning and conducting of teaching-learning process.Pre-service teachers can manifest themselves as creators of the teaching-learning situation.They select appropriate teaching methods, choose existing or create their own learning materials, form assignments, and assess pupils.Ongoing discussions with the supervising teacher help pre-service teachers to evaluate their work and improve their ability to plan lessons.
In the Part III. of the practical training pre-service teachers have to develop their professional competencies and manifest their autonomy in planning, organizing, realizing and analyzing the teaching-learning process.Of course, they discuss educational issues with the supervising teachers and get feedback from them.

Research goal and methods
The goal of realized research was to summarize changes in practical training caused by pandemic restriction, analyze how students approached to practical training under changed conditions and how they appreciated it, and finally formulate suggestions for changes in the future pre-service physics teacher training.
Changes in practical training caused by pandemic restrictions were summarized using official documents of Ministry of Education of the Slovak republic, public documents of secondary schools involved in pre-service physics teachers' practical training, as well as communication with supervising teachers.
Students' approach to practical training was determined using selected questions from an online survey, that is administered to students regularly at the end of each study period (two times in academic year).The survey consists of 5-point Likert-type questions and open-ended questions where students can explain their opinions.Students answer the survey voluntarily.Additional information was gained using interviews with students and assessment of students' performance in practical training provided by supervising teacher.

Organization of practical training during pandemic restrictions
The main problem in organizing the practical training in March 2020 was the uncertainty of how schools will work during next days and weeks.Despite the shock, everyone believed that the world would soon return to normal.Upper secondary schools in Bratislava region were closed.Lower secondary schools were still open, but school-managements feared the health consequences of pre-service teachers' presence in the school and canceled the agreed practical trainings.Therefore, students who had a practical training scheduled for March, completed it in an alternative form under the guidance of a university teacher.From April 2020 all schools were closed.Lower and upper secondary schools most often started the transition to distance learning within one week [16].This enabled to realize the practical training in distance form as well.Several supervising teachers canceled the agreed practical training because they did not feel confident in online teaching.Other experienced teachers were contacted instead.This turned out to be a rather big problem, especially because of the enormous burden on inservice teachers and their insufficient technical and methodical support.
In September 2020, at the beginning of the new school year 2020/21, the schools were opened.However, the general closure of schools and soon transition to distance education were expected.All pre-service teachers studying at FMPhI CU completed their Part III. of the practical training in face-toface form at lower secondary schools in their place of residence in regular term.In several cases, small size of school caused reduction of lessons completely taught by the pre-service teacher.
From the middle of October 2020 schools switched to distance education again.Therefore, all preservice teachers studying at FMPhI CU had their Part I. or Part II. of practical training in distance online form.

Pre-service teachers' view
The quality of educational process at FMPhI CU is regularly assessed by student survey.The anonymous on-line questionnaire is answered by more than 40% of all FMPhI CU students on average.The participation in the survey is usually lower among physics teacher students.Their answers are nevertheless worthy of attention.Changes in education caused by the Covid-19 pandemic situation did not lead to higher participation of students in the survey.
Totally only one student evaluated the quality of the Part I. practical training as "poor" (not during the pandemic restrictions).The quality of Part II. and Part III. of the practical training was evaluated mostly as "very good" (table 3).No answer 2 0 1 Before the pandemic period, three students expressed the opinion that observing the teacher at work during the Part I. of the practical training is a waste of time and a disruption of personal study regime and extracurricular activities.One student expressed dissatisfaction with the fact, that students could not choose the school where they would perform their training.One student suggested change of practical training system, so that students are obliged to work as a teaching assistant with a salary, e.g.half of the semester.Two students completing the Part III. of their practical training expressed they would welcome a longer practical training.
During the pandemic period three students expressed the opinion that practical training is always useful, and they learned a lot from it.
Interviews with 17 students performing their practical training during Covid-19 pandemic restrictions showed they perceive immediate contact with school practice as very important regardless of whether it was in distance or face-to-face form.All students appreciated the possibility to have practical training at all.Nevertheless, Part I. of the practical training was rated lower, especially by students who did not have former experience with educational activities in the frame of pupils' science clubs or science-popularizing activities.
Students stated that in case of distance form of the practical training they did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with the operation of the school as an educational institution.They focused only on teaching physics and communication with pupils.
Before Covid-19 pandemic, all FMPhI CU students used distance learning in the form of asynchronous supportive courses in the learning management system Moodle and multimedia materials.However, this was not enough preparation for full-fledged distance learning, and not at all for effective online teaching.In March 2020 pre-service physics teachers had no experience with online synchronous education.In this context, they perceived practical training as a challenge and an opportunity to experience new forms of teaching with which they had no experience so far and to show their creativity.Pre-service teachers did not report any obstacles in using new technologies, but some of them pointed out the difficulties in time management, communication with unknown pupils and maintaining their attention in distance education.
Pre-service teachers who come from other parts of Slovakia welcomed the opportunity to perform their practical training in the place of residence, in schools where they had previously studied, i.e. in a familiar environment.They believe that supervision by their former teachers gives them deeper and more complex insight in the school practice.
Pre-service teachers, who were in contact not only with their supervising teacher, but also with other teachers in the school, expressed more satisfaction with their practical training.

Supervising teachers' view
Prestige of teaching profession in Slovakia is rather low.Teachers feel overwhelmed and underappreciated for a long time.This affects their willingness to supervise pre-service teachers.The pandemic period even worsened the situation.Several teachers canceled the agreed practical training because they did not feel confident in online teaching.Those, who agreed to supervise pre-service teachers, rated the experience positively.Pre-service teachers brought to practice of online physics education some new resources and teaching methods (e.g.simulations, applets and videomeasurements), which supervising teachers did not use before.Pre-service teachers were also helpful in solving some technical problems.They actively participated in the creation of online educational content, the lack of which was identified by supervising teachers as one of the most limiting conditions of distance education.

Discussion
The sudden transition of education to a distance form at the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions showed the necessity to train pre-service teachers not only in face-to-face education, but also in methods of distance education.Pre-service teachers need to be familiarized with a wide range of educational materials, including non-formal and informal educational resources.These results were also confirmed by unpublished results of our partial research in the frame of The Global Online Survey: COVID-19 Impacts on Education and the Need for Distance Education/Digital Solutions conducted in April 2021 under the coordination of Stockholm University.These results showed that 46% of 753 involved Slovak teachers agreed with the statement "We have enough skills for distance education".Nevertheless only 31% declared self-confidence in their own readiness to teach distantly.
Physics teachers' preparation in Slovakia is undergoing change [17].Its focuses on giving pre-service teachers the opportunity to think about the main dimensions of a teacher knowledge, abilities and relations and the quality of physics education.
The shortage of supervising teachers seems to be very limiting in the coming years.Therefore, the search for new forms of practical training and more extensive inclusion of practical tasks into university subjects involves discussions of using online content in analyzing the teaching-learning process [18].

Conclusion
The pandemic period highlighted the weaknesses of the pre-service physics teachers practical training.Although students appreciate the practical training and some of them would welcome its longer duration, not everyone fully understands the role and importance of the practical training, especially its first part.On the basis of the results, four suggestions were formulated, the application of which can improve the pre-service physics teacher preparation: • Early contact with pupils can help pre-service teachers to stay motivated and understand the purpose of particular components of their pre-service education.In this context it seems to be helpful to encourage involvement of pre-service teachers in non-formal and informal education and recognize such practice in their training.Such practice can also help pre-service teachers to understand their change from student to teacher-beginner as a gradual, long-term process.• The perception of acceptance by the teaching community helps pre-service teachers to develop their professional identity and has a stabilizing effect.Therefore, it seems to be useful to encourage pre-service physics teachers' participation in professional events including seminars, workshops, and non-formal meetings.• Realization of practical training in familiar environment of the school where students received their secondary education, i.e. in place of residence, is an opportunity to support deeper immersion in school life and familiarization with a wider range of teacher activities.At the same time, it represents a challenge to find inspiring experienced supervising teachers in different regions of the country, specify competencies of supervising physics teacher and provide them adequate support.
• The broader use of information and communication technologies in education during the pandemic restrictions outlined new opportunities to improve quality and effectivity of the practical training.Starting with online introductory meeting of the pre-service and supervising teacher, via the remote observation of pre-service teachers' lessons by faculty members, up to the online analysis of lessons and pupils' outcomes.

Table 1 .
Competence profile of a secondary school teacher defined by Ministry of Education of the Slovak republic.

Table 2 .
Structure of pre-service physics teachers' practical training.

Table 3 .
Summary of the internal assessment of the practical training quality by physics teacher students participating in the survey during the years 2016-2021