On Integrating Digital Competencies into German Teacher Training: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Abstract: Digital competencies are essential for German teacher training students to design contemporary German lessons. The acquisition of media literacy and the integration of digital tools into lessons are crucial factors for successfully preparing students for digital participation in society. Additionally, digital tools offer significant benefits for subject-specific didactic use in German lessons: planning and support, linguistic analysis and reflection, collaborative environments, visualization techniques, multimodal applications, and more. This potential is only limitedly utilized in Austrian schools.The current study investigates the possibilities and potentials of incorporating digital competencies into German teacher training with a focus on subject-specific didactic implementation. It proceeded under the framework of the funded nationwide project "Teaching Digital Thinking" (TDT), an initiative of the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Vienna, to promote digital competencies. Two years ago participatory action research (PAR) was started to study the explicit inclusion of learning objectives that address pre-service teachers’ acquisition of digital competences in the context of their initial experiences in teaching German to secondary level students (age 10-18). In this context the focus of the current study is on the most recent group of a practically oriented seminar in German (Bachelor) in the winter term 2024/25.The investigation is based on the following research question: What support do pre-service teachers need to expand their digital competencies and actively incorporate them into German lessons?To respond to this research question from the perspective of students as well as instructors, a Participatory Action Research Approach was taken, following Baskerville’s (1999) five phases: diagnosing, action planning, action taking, evaluating, and specifying learning. In the paper the authors are going to describe the phases and their outcomes in detail. To generate data for the evaluation phase, pre- and post-test questionnaires were used. The seminar design included the introduction of digital tools in a subject-specific didactic context. At the same time the participating students observed and taught at schools as part of the general school internship, where they were requested to observe the integration of digital elements at the practice schools. Reflective portfolios served to document and analyze students´ observations and experiences, with digital competencies creating a focus of reflection.The results of the first cycle of action showed that active confrontation with digital skills in the accompanying seminar had a positive impact on the use of digital tools. The majority of students reported back that the exchange with peers in the seminar contributed to the expansion of their own competencies and that they felt it was part of their task to support pupils with the acquisition of digital competencies. Based on the insights gained, the following measures are planned for the subsequent cycle of action to optimize the integration of digital competencies: systematic involvement of mentors in the project, invitation of external experts to the accompanying seminars and the creation of a digital resource collection with practice-relevant examples of application for German lessons.

Keywords: Digital Competences, Teacher Education, Participatory Action Research

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006735

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