Towards an Online Teaching Practice Supervision Model for Zimbabwe: Challenges and Possibilities in the context of the 4IR

The 21st Century brought with it new technologies, new knowledge and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This caused rapid changes in human life and the way people work. A change in the way people live and work prompts educational reforms to meet the rapid demands of changes in the workplace. Changes in the curriculum entail changes to the way teachers are developed. Several frameworks for rethinking curriculum reforms have been debated. This study set out to establish the feasibility of an online Teaching Practice model for pre-service student teachers on teaching practice at one teacher education institution in Zimbabwe. Through Domestication Theory, the study adopted a qualitative approach to gather data through teacher-educator interviews, student-teacher-focused group discussions and document analysis. The results indicate that online TP supervision would save time and financial resources. However, teacher education institutions in Zimbabwe are not yet ready for online TP supervision in terms of e-resources to support an online supervision model. The study recommends that for Zimbabwe teacher education to align itself with the demands of the 4IR era, the government through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education should invest in e-resources to equip teacher education institutions and schools with necessary Information and Technology tools. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the use of blended learning in teacher education and the possibility of using the online TP supervision and assessment model taking advantage of the advancement in technology brought about by the 4IR.