Development of pre-service chemistry teachers’ knowledge of technological integration in inquiry-based learning to promote chemistry core competencies

The Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework is a cornerstone in teacher education, equipping educators with the skills to effectively integrate technology into their teaching practices. However, there is a noticeable research gap in the specific application of TPACK training to enhance chemistry core competencies (CCCs). This study, a collaborative effort with 32 Indonesian pre-service chemistry teachers (28 females and four males) from a public university, sets out to fill this gap by exploring the development of their knowledge of technological integration, with a focus on promoting core competencies in chemistry. We designed and implemented a TPACK-CCCs training intervention, a beacon of hope in teacher education, to foster both declarative and procedural knowledge in a technology-infused inquiry learning environment in chemistry. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving pre- and post-intervention assessments to measure changes in declarative and procedural knowledge framed with TPACK through a multiple-choice TPACK test and chemistry competencies lesson plan design. The results brought about significant improvements in the pre-service teachers’ specific and overall TPACK. These findings paint a promising picture, suggesting that the TPACK-CCCs training intervention can effectively prepare pre-service teachers to incorporate digital technology in ways that enrich inquiry-based chemistry education and foster CCCs. The implications for teacher education programs and future research directions are discussed in a positive light.