It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…Oops. Correction. Present tense. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times.

Last summer I was excited to be embarking on what everyone repeated would be a tough, demanding and all-consuming year of teacher training. Little did they (or I) know, it would be unimaginably more.

Six months into the school year and my teacher training programme, we were hit by Covid lockdown. Our school, the British School Muscat, in Oman, was set to close at short notice. That short notice was 15 hours.

Coronavirus school closures: a sharp learning curve for a trainee

These past few months have been a rollercoaster ride and though I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it’s a valuable learning experience that regular trainees would not get in a normal training year. Here are five ways it has helped me:

1. The IT journey

This lockdown provided for intensive CPD in IT for most of us. We’ve learned skills and navigation tricks we hadn’t bothered to worry ourselves with before.

I learned more about Google and Google Suites than I did at the Google training we received during Inset week last year - not because that training was lacking but because when the need arises you learn very quickly indeed.

2. YouTube teachers

This generation of students are going to be highly disappointed that their teachers are YouTubers before they are.

Posing for the camera, recording and re-recording lessons and screens, editing our videos 10 times, all while keeping safeguarding, engagement and lesson objectives in mind, meant we were thinking of students well beyond working hours.

As a trainee teacher, being prepared for a non-contact lesson without diluting teacher expectations has been a valuable experience.

3. Student engagement

While online teaching was, of course, a big focus, lockdown also taught me a lot about student engagement and wellbeing.

The school was quick to put a remote tracking system into place whereby we monitored the work handed in.

This helped to identify any patterns of non-engagement over a week and if we hadn’t managed to contact the child through group chats or discussions, the teacher or a member of SLT phoned home to check all was well.

This was a great insight into how vital this is to learning. After all, it would be easy and understandable if a trainee teacher was focused on teaching standards and forget the human element - but it’s important to question wellbeing at all times, especially during an experience like remote teaching.

Does the child have support at home? Are there enough devices for both children to work simultaneously? Do they have the resources needed for the activity?  Are parents on board with online learning? Should we set a non-screen activity?

Being empathetic to children’s needs, allowing for flexible deadlines and ways of presentation, setting fun activities to try with the family, understanding that it’s OK if they don’t submit every piece of work assigned, all contribute to their wellbeing and our maturity into being a good teacher.

4. CPD growth 

I’ve attended more CPD in the past three months than I would ever have been able to in a normal year.

The lockdown has allowed for a range of great practitioners to share their valuable expertise to anyone interested, regardless of location.

The downside was only that you might have to stay up late to suit the presenter’s time zone if a recording wasn’t available.

Ultimately, of course, trainees learn best from experienced teachers.

But while I haven’t been able to do the peer observations as stipulated by my course provider, I have managed to keep a diary of what I have attended and how I plan to implement it in my classroom.

5. Safe training bubble

Lockdown has allowed trainees to train in the theoretical aspects of the profession and master as much of it as can be done in a more discreet and calmer way.

It turned out to be an opportune time to improve subject knowledge and reflect on pedagogy and planning and, most importantly, to think about why we do what we do.

All without the squirms of handling behaviour and admin tasks.

Natural concerns

Of course, while these are the positives, there are concerns that exist for the future that trainee teachers will need to be ready for:

Course requirements: It’s highly likely that our course will run over into the next year, which may well affect all the plans we had for our first full teaching year.

Emotional downpour: When the students return, they would have spent about six months away from school without having to rise early, get out of their pyjamas or deal with classroom social dynamics.

Regardless of their age, some friction and settling in time to get back into the drill of the new normal is expected. This will be a test of our empathy, emotional resilience and behaviour management.

The academic gap: Teachers face the challenge of getting students up to speed with their learning, filling gaps or readjusting expectations and requirements depending on the circumstances. Trainees will find it harder.

The tip, I’m told, is to ask for help when needed. Teachers are a teacher’s greatest resource.

Krishna Sanal is a trainee teacher in Oman. She tweets @ikrishnasanal