Research On Digital Competence Assessment Of Pre-service Teachers

In the context of Digital Transformation of Education,digital competency is the key to teachers’competence in digital teaching.Because of their dual identities as future teachers and university students,preservice teachers face the challenges of their own digital learning and future digital teaching readiness,so developing digital competency of preservice teachers is important for cultivating excellent teachers in the new era and building a high-level teaching force.This study focuses on the competencies required for pre-service teachers to carry out digital teaching and learning,and clarifies the essential differences between digital competencies and related concepts according to the evolution of media literacy,information literacy,digital literacy,and then digital competencies.Unlike other related concepts,digital competencies point to complex problem solving and extend to comprehensive higher-order competencies at the levels of innovation,creativity,social responsibility,and personal qualities,with different external manifestations in different professions.The study concludes that digital competence of preservice teachers is a collection of competencies,thinking and ethical attitudes of preservice teachers in applying digital technologies to teaching and learning activities,being qualified to teach digitally,and carrying out digital learning for professional development in the face of the challenges of digital transformation and development of education.In order to further investigate the components of preservice teachers’ digital competency,the study firstly conducted content analysis and comparative research on relevant standard documents at home and abroad,initially condensed the components,and constructed the initial model of preservice teachers’digital competency.Secondly,two rounds of expert consultation were conducted using the Delphi method,and the digital competency model of preservice teachers was determined to include five primary constituents of digital cognition and attitude,digital technology competence,digital learning,digital teaching and professional quality,as well as 22 secondary constituents.Again,in order to reflect the relative importance of different constituents,the study used hierarchical analysis to determine the weights of each constituent,which further improved the preservice teachers’ digital competency model.Finally,in order to test the rationality and reliability of the model,a questionnaire was developed based on the pre-service teachers’ numerical competency model,and a survey was conducted among pre-service teachers in University N.The statistical results showed that the model had good reliability and could be used to assess practice.Since the empirical test can only justify each constituent element of the model,a variety of specific methods and tools are needed to obtain comprehensive and objective assessment results.The study took the 22 secondary components of the validated preservice teachers’ digital competency model as content,designed a framework for assessing preservice teachers’ digital competency,including four levels of learning behavior,digital cognition and attitude,digital technical competence,and practical wisdom,selected learning behavior analysis,observation method,test method,work evaluation method,and microcompetency certification as evaluation methods based on the evaluation objectives of each level,and corresponding evaluation tools were designed and cited.Finally,the assessment was implemented in a digital competency-related teacher education course,presenting examples of the four levels of assessment,and suggesting strategies for compiling a stepped digital competency assessment scale and developing a process-based digital competency accurate assessment system.The practical level can provide a reference for teacher education institutions to assess preservice teachers’ digital competencies and can also provide ideas for preservice teachers’ own learning and growth.