Digital competence and lesson design : exploring how pre-service teachers plan for technology-enhanced, student-centered learning

Abstract

In today’s classrooms, teachers are expected to do more than just teach subject content. They also need to create learning experiences that are engaging, interactive, and student-centered. As digital tools become more common in education, teachers need to understand how to use them effectively to support teaching and learning. This study explored how a university course designed to build pre-service teachers’ pedagogical digital competence (PDC) influenced the way they planned technology-enhanced, student-centered lessons.

A mixed-methods approach was used. Quantitative data was collected from 108 pre-service teachers through pre- and post-course questionnaires based on three areas of the DigCompEdu framework: Teaching and Learning, Empowering Learners, and Facilitating Learners’ Digital Competence. This was done to evaluate pre-service teachers’ competence in applying digital technology in the classroom. 35 lesson plans developed in small groups as a collaborative task during the course were evaluated using two frameworks: Task-Specific Teaching Quality and Technology Exploitation, and the ICAP model of cognitive engagement. In addition, a smaller set of 10 lesson plans was qualitatively analyzed using thematic coding to find patterns in teaching strategies and digital tool use.

The results showed a significant improvement in participants’ digital competence following the course. Lesson plans from groups with higher competence levels included more interactive, constructive, and collaborative learning activities. The qualitative analysis supported these findings, showing that digital competence played a key role in shaping student-centered lesson designs.

The study emphasizes on the importance of including digital competence training into teacher education programs. It suggests that pre-service teachers benefit from learning not only how to use technology, but to use it effectively in their lesson plans. Structured training helps future teachers feel more confident and ready to make meaningful, student-oriented choices in their classrooms.