Leadership and Learning for the Development of Teachers’ Professional Digital Competence

The underlying idea for the research project Leadership and Learning for the Development of Teachers’ Professional Digital Competence (LeadDig), is to develop schools that learn by focusing on professional digital competence to enhance the pupils’ learning environment and learning in six schools. Hulsbos et al. (2016) review study focused on school leaders’ learning and found that school leaders’ workplace learning has largely been unexplored (p. 22). Our intention is to focus on the professional learning of school leaders—both principals and middle leaders—and on their ability to enhance teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC) when using Ipads for their teaching, which is expected, in turn, to contribute to pupils’ learning. Our idea is based on the premise that an entire school would work towards a common goal (object) using developmental work research design (DWR), which is a “formative intervention” (Engeström & Sannino, 2010) methodology developed within the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). Research has found that a collective object that everyone in a school is aware of and understands the importance of acting upon is the reason why school-based development can be successful (Postholm, 2018; Timperley et al., 2007). What we propose is that municipal school leaders can also, in addition to external research persons like researchers/teacher educators (R/TEs), be the resource persons for one another in school-based development. Consequently, clusters of schools in a network can develop their practice together. Our research will embrace processes from leaders’ learning to pupils’ learning in the classroom, and is guided by the following main research question: How can collaboration between R/TEs, student teachers and schools, which focuses on leaders’ learning for the sake of leading the development of teachers’ professional digital competence, contribute to development in both teacher education and schools? In the first of four years, we have conducted development and research work in one school, the core school. The school has developed an overarching problem statement for the entire staff and development questions for the lower and middle grades. We have had leadership follow-up, and observation followed by joint analysis of teachers’ teaching has been carried out as planned. We have had presentations and activities in the classroom based on the needs of the staff. Presentations have focused on professional learning communities, development of ownership, teachers’ learning, and digital tools. Additionally, we have had example teaching in the classroom with a focus on mathematics and the use of digital tools. We have conducted a network meeting where the two schools participating this year (2024/2025) heard about the experiences of leaders and teachers at the core school. We have also started work at the two schools participating this year. The core school will continue the work, and the leaders at this school will continue in a professional learning community together with the leaders at the two participating schools this year. In this way, the work will continue at the first school (the core school), and observations and joint analysis will also be carried out at this school in the coming school year (2024/2025). We have monthly meetings in the research group, and research is being conducted on how the leadership of such a group can contribute to development in schools and research on these development processes. We find that we learn based on the collaboration with schools and among us researchers. We are also planning how this work can impact learning beyond our own research group and thus be disseminated initially within our own organization. Based on the work during the first year, we participated in the international ISCAR conference in Rotterdam, August 28-30, 2024. For this conference, we prepared a symposium consisting of four presentations. These were titled: ‘The start-up phase in a DWR project,’ ‘How do teachers use and how do they reason for their use of digital tools in mathematics?,’ ‘How to be learning leaders in a DWR project?,’ and ‘The resource teacher’s role in the development of teachers’ professional digital competence.’ Professor Annalisa Sannino from Tampere University was the discussant for the symposium.

The main objective is to develop research groups in teacher education including student teachers (STs) when promoting school leaders 'competence in leading school-based competence development in order to develop teachers' professional digital competence. In order for leaders' learning to be linked to the school's objectives, the first step in the work is to develop an ownership of the theme, professional digital competence. What needs do the individuals and the community in the school experience in connection with the theme, which in this project is determined by the municipality/four. In the project, emphasis will be placed on the start-up phase so that the participants experienced needs can become the foundation and power force for further development in the schools, and the phase where development goals and development issues are formulated, which in turn will form a framework for leaders' learning. Within this framework, leaders' learning will be based on observed teaching conducted by a teacher and observed by leaders and researchers/teacher educators (R/TE) and ST. In a subsequent reflection, leaders together with teachers will give feedback to the teacher who has taught, R/TEs and STs observes this learning dialogue. Following this learning dialogue, R/TE will provide feedback to managers on how they have led the learning dialogue (in a learning session) There will be one such "learning loop" in the start-up semester, and three the second semester where R/TE participates, otherwise the practice of observation and reflection will include all teachers at the school without R/TEs participating. The development work will start in one (1) school in the municipality, and then, according to a plan, be carried out at all six (6) schools that will participate in the project. In planned networking processes, experiences will be shared and learning will take place across schools. Research during the innovation will be used to support the development processes.