This panel remembered and reflected on the past two years of the pandemic and reimagined the future of teaching and learning.

As we journey from what has been a huge global pandemic affecting not only schools but entire communities, a conversation on the FÉILTE 2022 theme Remembering, Reflecting and Reimagining is both timely and apt.

When schools were forced to close, the need for and the importance of collaboration within the entire education system became even more clear. During these extraordinary times, teachers, student teachers and schools rose to the challenge, demonstrating their ultimate professionalism along with creativity, compassion, and collaboration to ensure that learning for all continued.

While the pandemic posed many challenges across the education community, it has also resulted in new, exciting, and innovative practices, many of which we saw at FÉILTE 2020 and 2021. One obvious challenge was online teaching, where teachers faced decisions such as camera on or off during class time, most suitable platform to use, GDPR, broadband connectivity, student engagement and well-being, curriculum delivery and much more.

The pandemic highlighted another theme which our panel will drew on. Respect; for the teaching profession, and respect for the role that teachers play not only in the classroom but in the community. Teachers adapted admirably during the pandemic, and as former President of Ireland Mary Robinson at FÉILTE 2020 noted “every parent values teachers more now because they did their home schooling during the lockdown and learned how difficult it is to home-school well”.

Teachers now have an opportunity to remember teaching through the pandemic, both the good and not so welcome elements, and to reflect on what is important. There is now an opportunity to reflect and explore what has changed, what are the implications of these changes, what have we learned?

This panel remembered and reflected on the past two years and reimagine the future of teaching and learning.