Mathematics and science teacher educators' experiences of using the WhatsApp platform as a tool for supporting teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic

This article problematises the media used for delivery of curriculum at the onset of lockdowns due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in a sudden cessation of all face-to-face teaching and learning at a South African university. The article reports on how the otherwise neutral WhatsApp social media platform was appropriated to become a serious teaching tool for mathematics and science pre-service teacher educators. The study draws predominantly on connectivism learning theory to understand how WhatsApp was used to continue the teaching of mathematics and science during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The sample consisted of 10 mathematics and science teacher educators from whom data were collected through authentic conversations and questionnaires. The article reports on the affordances and constraints the WhatsApp platform presented, as well as how it reshaped the teaching of mathematics and science. Findings indicate that teacher educators transformed the use of WhatsApp from a social media tool to a tool for supporting teaching. However, being a social tool, WhatsApp does have affordances and constraints when used for teaching. The affordances include ease of access and ease of use, while constraints include the risk of students not possessing smartphones and intrusion into the personal lives of teacher educators.