Developing Teachers’ Digital Competence through Expansive Learning: A Study of Teacher-Researcher Collaborative Teaching Research

Abstract

In the context of rapid educational digitalization and the emergence of technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, enhancing teachers’ digital competence has become a critical issue. However, existing training models or projects often fail to address contextual challenges or stimulate teachers’ professional agency. This study explores how expansive learning supports the development of teachers’ digital competence and transformative agency. Based on a case of collaborative curriculum design between teachers and researchers, the research analyzes how teachers identify and resolve systemic tensions in practice. Using the DigCompEdu framework and Transformative agency analysis, the findings reveal a four-phase developmental trajectory—Questioning and Analysis, Modeling and Testing, Implementation and Reflection, and Consolidation and Standardization—through which teachers evolve from passive users of digital tools to active pedagogical innovators. The study highlights the importance of collaborative, reflective, and practice-driven professional learning in advancing digital competence.