Making the strange familiar and the familiar strange: A critical reflection on teacher educators and the coronavirus crisis

Abstract

This chapter uses the framework of making the strange familiar and the familiar strange to discuss the sudden shift from face-to-face to online instruction in higher education during the coronavirus crisis. Educators should employ critical reflection questioning the familiar or the taken-for-granted and the underlying assumptions of ordinary everyday teaching and learning experiences as though they are entirely unaccustomed or strange. More specifically, the chapter focuses on teacher education and pedagogy and applies this framework to shifting to online teaching. The chapter explains possible questions that would be raised by both the familiar and the strange. The discussion includes examples and implications for professors as they transition from traditional teaching to online instruction.