aNazia Kanwal*
,
aSalma Nazar Khan,
aFarkhanda Jabeen,
aFaiza Imtiaz,
aAtika Batool,
bBaneen Fatima
aDepartment of Education, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
b Taxila Institute of Asian Civilization, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
A B S T R A C T
This study aimed to investigate the experiences of prospective teachers about their online teaching practicum during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to gain insights into the experiences and understanding of prospective
teachers about online teaching practicum during pandemic 19. To accomplish this study, a phenomenological
research design was employed. The targeted participants for this study were only 12 science students enrolled in the
B.Ed. Education program at Fatima Jinnah Women University in Rawalpindi. The researcher used purposive sampling
techniques and all the students of B.Ed. students of the science group were selected and the practicum supervisor of
the same group was selected for data collection. For the qualitative data collection research, purposive sampling was
used to conduct an interview. After the data collection the data was analyzed through thematic analysis and different
provisional and emergent themes were found. The provisional themes of this study were Online Teaching Practicum,
First Impression about OTP, Fears of OTP, Orientation of OTP, Interaction with Practicum supervisor, Online
instructions, Experience with Google Classroom, Barriers of OTP, Skills, and desired goal, Planning of OTP, Main
difference between Online teaching practicum and on-site teaching practicum, Online instructions, Online Training by
using Gadgets, Environment of OTP, Major components (1)Lesson Planning (2) Peer Feedback (3)Supervisor Feedback
(4) Lesson Reflection (5)Teaching Session (6) E-portfolio). The emergent themes of this study were Experience of online
practicum, Pre-Practicum Workshops [Onsite], Orientations with Focal Persons as Schools, Discussions with Co-
operative Teachers, Online practicum training, provided environment, planning of online teaching practicum, Action
Plan, Experience of E-portfolio). The finding of this study revealed that while the initial experiences of prospective
teachers were positive, they encountered difficulties such as internet connectivity issues, limited time, and utilizing
advanced technology. Additionally, the practicum supervisors faced challenges in providing feedback. Based on these
findings, the major recommendations include increasing the number of training sessions, providing comprehensive
instruction on lesson planning and uses of advanced technology, and revising the mechanisms for peer feedback.
