Promoting pre-service teachers’ psychological competence for online learning and teaching: The T.E.A.C.H. programme

During the widespread COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face teaching was not viable because many schools were forced to close as a preventive measure. Educators abruptly shifted to online classes without sufficient time and resources to prepare for such an enormous transition. Although shifting from traditional face-to-face format to modern e-learning approach ensured that students could be educated outside of the classroom, its impact on the quality of learning and teaching (L&T) can be mixed. This project aims to address the knowledge gap in conventional teacher training by developing a web-based programme called T.E.A.C.H. to enhance pre-service teachers’ psychological competencies for conducting online L&T. The programme consisted of five modules, each focused on one dimension of psychological competence (creativity, curiosity, love of learning, judgment, and perspective) and applied to the ‘three foci’ for online L&T (attendance and participation, engagement, and assessment). A total of 314 pre-service teachers were allocated into the intervention or control group. Programme effectiveness was evaluated using pretest and posttest questionnaires, a teaching design task, short quizzes, and a programme quality assessment.