GATEways to Teacher Education

A journal of the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators case study methodology can “enhance our understandings of contexts, communities, and individuals” (Hamilton & CorbettWhittier, 2012, p. 3). Given the novel circumstances the COVID-19 pandemic caused in teaching and education, case study methodology was implemented in order to examine pre-service and in-service middle and secondary social studies teachers’ perspectives on lecture as an instructional method, and if this pandemic had any impact on how they chose instructional methods when teaching in in-person, online, or hybrid formats.

Several data collection and analysis protocols were employed in this study. First, we created a survey-on-Survey Monkey that was organized into two sections. One section contained 16 questions with a Likert Scale asking participants whether they agreed or disagreed on statements pertaining to lecture as an effective instructional technique when teaching social studies, and their beliefs on whether COVID-19 impacted their views on lecture in online or in-person settings (Appendix A). Another section included open-ended questions that asked participants to expand upon their definitions and views of lecture and whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their decisions to lecture when teaching social studies.

Second, we asked participants to participate in focus group sessions about their perspectives on lecture as an instructional method, and their experiences teaching or preparing to teach, social studies during the COVID-19 pandemic (Appendix B). Additional follow-up questions were posed to participants who wanted to share more about their perspectives on lecture. Upon analyzing these data, follow-up interviews with participants were conducted in order to clarify their responses with regard to how and why they made pedagogical decisions when opting to lecture. Third, findings were triangulated by analyzing notes from the focus group session and follow-up interviews, survey responses, and participants’work samples in order to identify any patterns or themes that align with the theoretical framework with regard to participants’knowledge of students, content, and contexts where they teach when making pedagogical decisions to lecture.

Four major themes emerged from the data analysis. These themes include participants’1) experiences as students on their decision to lecture, 2) views on students’reading abilities and prior knowledge of social studies on their decision to lecture, 3) expectations of their school districts and this college of education when choosing instructional methods, and 4) beliefs on lecture when teaching in online and hybrid formats due to COVID-19 school closures. Themes were organized in alignment with the NCSS (2016) powerful and authentic social studies framework by examining participants’definitions of lecture and social studies, their views on the effectiveness, benefits, and limitations of lecture as related to knowledge of students, and their beliefs about how online teaching due to COVID-19 impacted their decision to lecture or implement other methods of instruction.

Study Site and Participants

There were eight participants in this study who were enrolled in a middle and secondary Master of Teaching program at a private, four-year university located in the Southeast. Students who are enrolled in this program have earned a bachelor’s degree in a content area and are seeking teacher certification. Some students work in public schools on provisional licenses or in private schools. There are students who are not inservice teachers. All students must complete field observations, practicum, and student teaching experiences to graduate. There