Teaching Practices under the Shadow of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started to be seen around the world at the beginning of 2020 and affected all the countries of the world in a short time, has severely affected all social systems, health being in the first place, and forced change. In this period, transformations that can be called reforms took place in education. The effect of distance education in formal education necessitated changes in teacher training processes, as well. This study aimed to evaluate the action plan designed to minimize the adverse effects of teaching practices, an essential pillar of the teacher training system. The participants of the study intended as action research, are mentor teachers and student teachers taking part in teaching practices in the 2020-2021 Academic Year. At the end of the research, three themes were reached from the views of the participants: the effects of the action on professional life, the obstacles encountered and suggestions for improvement. In light of the data obtained, it is suggested that teaching practices should be supported with tasks suitable for distance education, innovative technological material development should be given importance among these tasks, and student teachers should go through the teaching processes in which they can prepare these materials. [Paper presented at the International Congress on Curriculum and Instruction (8th, Burdur, Turkey, March 25-27, 2021).]