A material for education process and the Teacher: the use of digital storytelling in preschool science education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background One of the technologies that can be used to enhance the education process is digital stories. Digital stories can be used for different purposes due to their benefits to the education process. When the research conducted on higher levels of education has been examined, it has been determined that the use of digital stories in science teaching has a positive effect on teaching and learning process. Yet, no study conducted to investigate the process of using digital stories in pre-school science activities has been found in the literature. Purpose Through the current study, it was aimed to investigate the pre-service teachers’ opinions and experiences about the process including the selection of the science concepts, preparation, and implementation of the digital story by focusing on the use of digital stories in pre-school science activities. Study group and Method The study was conducted on the basis of the multiple holistic case design. The study group of the current research is comprised of six pre-service teachers with differing levels of technology disposition. In the collection of the research data, observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis were used. In the analysis of the collected data, the data obtained from observations, interviews, and document analyses were evaluated together through content analysis. Results: The findings of the current study are presented under two main themes; the digital story as a material for education and the digital story as a means of technology for the teacher. The results are discussed in reference to the advantages of using digital stories in pre-school science activities, the dimensions that need to be improved, limitations of using digital stories, and digital literacy. Conclusion The current study has produced some data about the advantages of using digital stories in pre-school science activities, which aspects of them should be developed and which bring about limitations to their use. Another important conclusion of the current study points out the importance of incorporating technology in general and digital stories in particular into teacher training programs.