Digital pedagogy and cooperative learning: Effect on the technological pedagogical content knowledge and academic achievement of pre-service teachers

Abstract

Given the growing role of digital technology and its relevance in the national curriculum, the design and enactment of aligned pedagogies is a challenge for the community of teacher education. This research aims to explore: (a) whether Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model and cooperative learning (CL) facilitate preservice teachers’ perception of TPACK and academic achievement; and (b) whether there is a relationship between preservice teachers’ perception of TPACK and their academic achievement. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with three groups (n = 293) was performed for 15 weeks. One group has experienced a pedagogical approach based on TPACK and small-group work. A second group experienced a pedagogical approach based on TPACK and CL. A control group experienced a teacher-centered pedagogical approach and individual assignments. Main findings show that the two experimental groups improved their perception of TPACK and their academic achievement. However, statistically significant improvements were found favoring the group that experienced TPACK and CL. The prediction model also showed that TPACK predicted the academic achievement of pre-service teachers who also experienced TPACK and CL. In summary, digital pedagogies based on TPACK and CL improve pre-service teachers’ TPACK and academic achievement. The use of these pedagogies could influence the development of the digital competence of future teachers. Increasing the digital competence of future teachers is indeed a crucial aspect, given the current social and pedagogical scenario.

Ante el creciente rol de la tecnología digital y su importancia en los currículos educativos, el diseño y la aplicación de metodologías adaptadas es un desafío para la comunidad educativa. Esta investigación persigue conocer: (a) si una metodología basada en el modelo Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) y el aprendizaje cooperativo (AC) favorece la mejora de la percepción de los conocimientos TPACK y el rendimiento académico de alumnado universitario; y (b) si hay relación entre la percepción de los conocimientos TPACK y el rendimiento académico. El diseno ̃ es cuasi-experimental de medidas pretest-postest con tres grupos de clase (n = 293) durante 15 semanas. Un grupo ha experimentado una metodología basada en el modelo TPACK y tareas grupales. Un segundo grupo ha desarrollado una metodología basada en el modelo TPACK y AC. Un grupo control ha seguido una metodología centrada en el docente y tareas individuales. Los resultados muestran que los dos grupos experimentales mejoran la percepción de los conocimientos TPACK y el rendimiento académico. Sin embargo, se hallan mejoras estadísticamente significativas a favor del grupo que sigue ambos modelos. El modelo de predicción