Examining pre‐service teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge as evolving knowledge domains: A longitudinal approach

The aim of this study is to outline the development and changes in pre‐service teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) assessments during the first 3 years in teacher education. Specifically, research was conducted at three measurement points over a 3‐year teacher education period. The target group consisted of pre‐service teachers (N = 148) from three Finnish universities. Results indicate a growth in confidence related to all TPACK areas during the research period. The strongest gains were in pedagogical content knowledge. In addition, the gains were larger in other areas related to pedagogical knowledge than areas related to technology or content knowledge. In areas without pedagogical knowledge, the changes were more moderate. In the discussion section, recommendations are provided on the potential of longitudinal use of the TPACK model to study and improve the development of pre‐service teachers' TPACK. Lay Description What is already known about this topic: There are several studies focusing on pre‐service teachers' self‐perceived technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) areas There are differences amongst pre‐service teachers based on their confidence with different TPACK areas There is a lack of longitudinal studies focusing on changes in pre‐service teachers' TPACK profiles during teacher education What this paper adds: This research provides 3 years perspective for changes in pre‐service teachers' TPACK during teacher education Confidence for different TPACK areas evolve at different paces during teacher education Highest gains were for TPACK areas related to pedagogy The relation of TPACK areas change during teacher education, that is, how differently or similarly TPACK areas are assessed compared with each other Implications for practice and/or policy: There is a need for better support for pre‐service teachers' technological content knowledge and technological knowledge in teacher education In future studies, it is important to outline factors affecting the changes in TPACK profiles Profiling of pre‐service teachers' TPACK is needed for targeting appropriate support.