The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on interior architecture education: Students' point of view

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global epidemic in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, and poses a deadly risk to humans. As in many sectors, changes and transformations have taken place in the field of education as well. Both communication methods and educational models of the traditional education paradigm have changed. After the start of distance education, technology-based tools have replaced the courses continuing within the framework of face-to-face education. Instructors and students experienced five different education models in synchronous and asynchronous lessons between the years 2020 and 2022. In each of these different education models experienced, positive and negative aspects have emerged, and a change has begun towards more intensive technology use in education compared to the pre-pandemic period. In this context, the aim of this thesis is to examine and evaluate the problems, opportunities, and changes in Interior Architecture discipline education during and after the pandemic and to make suggestions about the future of Interior Architecture education in the context of the data obtained. In the scope of the research, The curriculum of Çankaya University Interior Architecture Department and the transition stages from the old face-to-face education model to the new face-to-face education model were examined, and the positive and negative aspects of five different education models were analyzed in the context of the Design Studio courses, which form the backbone of Interior Architecture education. Within the scope of the thesis, by focusing on the values that can positively affect the design education of the department during and after the pandemic, it has been tried to capture with a pedagogical approach how students and academicians cope with the compulsory transformation in Interior Architecture education.