Keyword: higher education

ABSTRACT: The impact of recent pandemics and natural disasters on societies requires a multidimensional examination. Chaos theory, which posits that small changes in the initial conditions of complex systems can lead to significant and unpredictable outcomes over time, can serve as a framework for this analysis. This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and earthquakes—both of which can be regarded as social problem situations within the framework of chaos theory—on pre-service teachers. This study, conducted during the 2023–2024 academic year, employed an explanatory case study design—a qualitative research approach—to explore the lived experiences of 27 students enrolled at Necmettin Erbakan University. The findings indicate that a considerable majority of participants reported a decline in motivation, encountered psychological difficulties, and recognized a lack of professional development opportunities, all of which were attributed to the inadequacies of distance education. Consequently, many students articulated feelings of insufficient preparation for the teaching profession. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the earthquakes of 2023, which are regarded as chaotic events in Türkiye, distance education was implemented. However, the distance education methods used by universities to maintain their educational services were generally found to be inadequate. As a result, students faced several psycho-social challenges during this period. Furthermore, research findings indicate a widespread belief among students that they lack adequate professional competencies.

ABSTRACT: Traditional education alone is no longer adequate to prepare students for the challenges of a globalized and diverse society within the context of sustainable development. The European Higher Education Area places a strong emphasis on educational methodologies to achieve its goal of fostering the holistic development of university students as competent professionals and responsible citizens and cooperative learning appears to be a more effective methodological approach to address this evolving reality. This study explores whether a collaborative learning approach promotes meaningful learning and skill development among university students. We compared two groups using different learning strategies: traditional and cooperative. The statistical analysis was conducted in two phases. First, a survey was distributed to students in both groups. A t-test was then applied to examine the differences between the two groups. The findings indicate that the cooperative group outperformed the traditional group in terms of motivation, personal skills, and self-assessment confirming that cooperative learning is more effective in developing the skills necessary for a sustainable society.