Examination of Primary Teacher Candidates' Experiences in Distance Education Teaching Practices

Abstract

In this research, we aimed to examine and understand the experiences of the participants regarding the teaching practice courses held with distance education during the pandemic. The participants of the research are all eight students who took teaching practice courses in the primary school education program of a university in Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. The research was designed as basic qualitative research. Research data were obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted via video call individually with the participants. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Results show that participants experienced problems due to the lack of interaction with the primary school students and practice teachers. In the problems that arise in the distance education process; we can say that the lack of infrastructure, knowledge and experience of the stakeholders are effective. It is necessary to eliminate the infrastructure problems related to distance education and to provide information and experience to the stakeholders by integrating distance education into formal education processes. In this way, we can be prepared for the next pandemics or similar extraordinary situations.