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

Abstract

As education rapidly digitalizes and technologies like generative AI continue to evolve, strengthening teachers’ digital competence has become more crucial than ever. However, many existing training programs are highly structured and pay limited attention to the diverse needs teachers encounter in their own classrooms. This study explores how expansive learning supports the development of teachers’ digital competence (TDC) 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 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.