Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the reflection of the faculty of education science and social studies teacher candidates in the emergency distance education process (their motivation for education, educational activities, purposes and preferences of social media use) during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is a qualitatively prepared study. As a research design, it is a descriptive research that is also included in qualitative studies. The research group of this study total consists of 120 science (N = 42; 38 females, 4 males) and social studies (N = 78; 60 females, 18 males) teachers candidates. An open-ended survey was used as a data collection tool in the study. The data collection tool was applied within the scope of the "Instructional Technologies" course, which is common in the program of the students of both departments. The data obtained from the survey were subjected to content analysis. Findings: As a result of the study, it was concluded that the social media environment most used by science/social studies teacher candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic process was WhatsApp. Highlights: It has been determined that the COVID-19 epidemic process offers significant opportunities science/social studies teacher candidates to explore the digital learning world. Considering the positive effects of the digital literacy of candidates during the COVID-19 epidemic process, it is recommended that teachers, teacher candidates, curriculums and textbooks are developed in terms of digital competencies.

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