An Administrative and Faculty Autoethnographic Analysis of Shifting Modalities of Pre-service Technology Education Programming during the Onset of COVID-19

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted ordinary professional and personal practices, forcing major changes in education. This research paper examines challenges, benefits, and lessons from reorganizing a pre-service technology education diploma for remote, blended, and face-to-face learning in the pandemic’s early period. Using a collaborative autoethnographic methodology, authors build two administrator and instructor narratives. Interpretive descriptive analysis identifies organizational challenges and positive instructional outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

An Administrative and Faculty Autoethnographic Analysis of Shifting Modalities of Pre-service Technology Education Programming during the Onset of COVID-19 David Gill, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada Thomas Kennedy, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our collective normal patterns of behavior in almost all aspects of our personal and professional lives. While many K-12 and post-secondary subject area curricula lend themselves more easily to a migration to online and remote learning, technology education faces unique challenges. This research paper sought to understand the challenges, benefits, and lessons learned through an analysis of the process of re-organizing a pre-service technology education diploma for remote, blended, and face-to-face learning during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation followed a collaborative autoethnographic methodology as the authors constructed two narratives based on their roles of administering and instructing in a pre-service technology education diploma program. An interpretive descriptive analysis suggests a number of challenges associated with the organizational changes, but also a number of positive outcomes related to the instructional shifts. Challenges included maintaining equitable access to physical materials and technologies for all students, scheduling issues related to changing pandemic rules and regulations, and a loss of social presence with students. Benefits included more student autonomy, less dependence on group work for technical skill development, and the development of alternative delivery models for pre-service technology education that could be used to expand program offerings to non-traditional students. Keywords faculty perceptions of COVID-19, pre-service teacher education, technology education, COVID- 19, autoethnography Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our collective normal patterns of behavior in almost all aspects of our personal and professional lives. While many K-12 and post-secondary subject area curricula lend themselves more easily to a migration to online and remote learning, technology education faces unique challenges. Access to course-specific materials and hardware paired with the range of personal devices used for remote learning has certainly been a learning curve for both pre-service teachers, course instructors, and administrators. Technical activity at the foundation of technology education has traditionally been delivered ina face-to-face environment. Technology education adopts an epistemological perspective where knowledge is created through dialogic interaction between co-participants while engaging with tools, materials, and processes. It builds upon constructivism through an emphasis on the production of an external artifact of knowledge. As a result, Technology Education can be situated along a spectrum of established epistemologies as an example of constructionism. Each year’s technology education diploma program cohort forms a community engaged in similar activity where relationships are formed and built into support structures. Within the traditional context, technical skill development is supported by program instructors and preservice classmates in real time. Troubleshooting problems and timely support have become foundational constructs to assist pre-service teachers in understanding technology education and internalizing their own sense of best practice pedagogies. The COVID-19 pandemic and the transition towards remote delivery of technology courses within the technology education preservice program changed the established model. As institutions attempted to move forward remotely in their offerings, courses grounded in technology education required special consideration and planning to transition towards a more virtual pedagogy. Instructors with experience delivering technical courses know that effective p

FAQs

What problem does the paper investigate about technology education during COVID-19?

It investigates challenges, benefits, and lessons learned from reorganizing a pre-service technology education diploma for remote, blended, and face-to-face learning during the early COVID-19 onset.

What research method does the study use?

The study uses a collaborative autoethnographic methodology, with authors constructing two narratives from their roles as administrators and instructors.

What challenges and benefits does the analysis report?

Challenges include maintaining equitable access to physical materials and technologies, scheduling difficulties from changing rules, and reduced social presence. Benefits include more student autonomy, less reliance on group work for technical skills, and development of alternative delivery models.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk