Promoting pre- and in-service teachers’ digital competence by using reverse mentoring

The study investigated the effectiveness of reverse mentoring as an innovative instructional method to promote pre- and in-service teachers’ digital competence. We conducted a quasi-experimental intervention study with 90 pre-service and 57 in-service teachers who took part in two-day online-workshops. The effectiveness of the reverse mentoring-intervention, where pre- and in-service teachers worked together in pairs to jointly develop ideas for the use of digital technology in the classroom, was compared to collaborative learning formats among peers in university seminars for pre-service teachers (control group 1) and professional development workshops for in-service teachers (control group 2). Technological-pedagogical knowledge (TPK), self-efficacy and positive beliefs about teaching with digital technology were investigated as outcomes. Pre- and in-service teachers in all groups gained in self-efficacy beliefs, whereby reverse mentoring was not more effective than the control conditions. TPK and positive beliefs about teaching with digital technology did not change over the course of the interventions. The results show that pre-service teachers can effectively act as mentors for in-service teachers to support their self-efficacy beliefs regarding the use of digital technology. However, we did not find evidence that reverse mentoring is more effective than peer learning among pre-service and in-service teachers to promote digital competence.