Pre-service chemistry teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK): findings from a teacher training program design

Abstract

To integrate digital technologies into the classroom, qualified training of teachers is essential so that future teachers may appropriate the use of digital technologies. To guide the integration of technologies in teaching, the theoretical model called Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), designed by Mishra and Koehler in 2006, highlights the importance to relate teachers’ pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge. This mixed method study aimed to understand how the perceptions of pre-service chemistry teachers related to their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge bases (TPACK) are modified when participating in a teacher training program. The pre-service teachers’ pre- and post-perceptions of participation were analyzed using a quantitative questionnaire to ten participants and a semi-structured interview with two participants. The results showed that after participating in the training program, the future chemistry teachers demonstrated an increase in self-perception regarding all the TPACK’s knowledge bases, mainly regarding Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Therefore, the continuity of research supported by the TPACK framework may lead to innovative practices in pre-service teacher education.