TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL COMPETENCE BY PARTICIPATING IN TEACHMEETS

Abstract

This study examines teachers’ experiences in fostering professional digital competence (PDC) by participating in TeachMeets. TeachMeets are bottom-up professional development events where teachers meet to share pedagogical ideas about teaching and learning using digital technology. The study also examines how this participation may nurture teachers’ transformative digital agency as competent digital practitioners. The study employs qualitative methods, drawing on data from open-ended questionnaire answers (n=36) and five in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis is performed by taking an inductive approach to identify themes and drawing on the Norwegian PDC Framework for Teachers as the analytical lens. The findings reveal that the teachers consider participation in TeachMeets useful for the development of their PDC and participation may nurture teachers’ transformative digital agency. These findings have implications for facilitating teachers’ continuing professional development by focussing not only on their pedagogical and technological competencies but also their agentic capacities.

Keywords

• Teachers' Professional Digital Competence
• Transformative Digital Agency
• Continuing Professional Development
• TeachMeet
• Educational Technology
• Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)