‘I’ll do it tomorrow’: supporting the engagement of primary pre-service teachers through blended, inquiry-based learning

Inquiry-based learning offers pre-service teachers (PST) the opportunity to develop skills appropriate to the teaching profession and is of value given the high level of decontextualised online learning that has taken place since the Covid-19 pandemic. Using the Universal Design for Learning, the purpose of this research is to explore how a combination of blended and inquiry-based learning supported the engagement of PSTs in primary physical education teacher education. Data were collected from a cohort of 58 year 3 students undertaking a Bachelor of Education primary generalist degree with a physical education specialism. Data were qualitative in nature and derived from interactions with students (exit slips, assessment comments and a focus group), peer partners (peer observation feedback) and the researcher herself (self-reflections). Reflexive thematic analysis was used in the construction of two themes (1) peer-to-peer relationship currency and (2) self-regulation: flexibility and choice. While IBL supported student engagement in a positive way, primary PSTs experienced a post-pandemic hangover in relation to their motivation and engagement with online learning. There were also some unintended consequences, whereby the high currency on peer-to-peer relationships created tensions in the face-to-face environment.