Abstract:

Teacher education programs are characterized by large variety in subject areas and lack of coherence and common vision. There is a need to gain insight into transdisciplinary learning processes, such as the development of digital competence, to understand how teacher education programs secure professional competence that can meet the needs of future society. Furthermore, it is interesting to learn more about how learning arenas, such as campus and student placement, play different roles in developing teachers’ professional competence.

The understanding of teachers´ professional digital competence is under continuous investigation (Gudmundsdottir & Hatlevik 2018, Johannesen et al 2014, Mishra & Koehler 2006). The research focus on what constitute such competence, how to measure such competence as well as critical perspectives on the prevalent understanding of the epistemological and ontological understanding of teacher qualification in a digital age.

Several of these definitions and frameworks describe the concept of digital competence using operational digital skills/digital literacy like for example “the ability to search, chose and share information”. On the other hand, 21st century skills are striving to define future competences in terms of generic skills such as the four c’s; creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.

In this paper, we employ three different overarching approaches for teachers´ digital competence to understand a small set of empirical data. The three different approaches are Krumsvik’s model for self-awareness and practical proficiency (Krumsvik et al 2016), Davies’ framework of technology literacy (Davies 2011), including awareness, praxis and phronesis, and the Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK model (Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Mishra 2019), including technological, pedagogical and content knowledge as well as contextual knowledge. The three approaches represent quite different perspectives for understanding and analyzing teachers´ professional digital competence.

In our study, four student teachers were observed during their teaching practice in primary school. The students were interviewed on their ideas of digital competence, what they need to know to manage their practice placement and the relevance of the digital competence they have from the teacher education program. Their practice, utterances and opinions are analyzed according to Krumsvik’s model for self-awareness and practical proficiency, Davies’ framework of technology literacy and Mishra and Koehler´s TPACK model.

This ongoing research aims at gaining increased knowledge on how to investigate the understanding and the development of digital competence as a transdisciplinary learning processes in teacher education. The analytic strength of the three approaches will be analyzed and discusses and form the basis for recommendation for future employment in teacher education research.

Keywords:

Teacher professional digital competence, teacher profession, digital competence.