Experiences of Online Supervision of Teaching Practice at an Open and Distance Learning Institution, South Africa

When training teachers, teaching practice is a compulsory requirement that exposes student teachers to acquire the skills and learn how to apply theory into practice in a classroom environment. The study reports the experiences of conducting online supervision of student teachers on teaching practice in an open distance learning institution, South Africa. Ten female student teachers were supervised online while they performed their teaching practice in various primary schools using smartphones and WhatsApp video calls. A qualitative case study research design and approach was used with students’ teachers that were purposively chosen. The data were collected using virtual classroom observations, document analysis and interviews during the feedback session. Thematic analysis yielded three themes of pre-online supervision, during online supervision and post-online supervision where student teachers were given feedback about the teaching practice session. The findings revealed that student teachers’ experiences about the support they received from the school-based teacher mentors. The study concludes that online supervision relies on clear, regular communication, and continued support for both student teachers and supervisors. The use of smartphones and WhatsApp when conducting online supervision of teaching practice cannot be underestimated. It is recommended that this open and distance learning institution should review their policies to incorporate smartphones and WhatsApp as formal social media platforms for use in teaching and learning activities by both students and lecturers.