Part I: Modeling Media-related Educational Competencies

The following part is concerned with modeling media-related educational competencies from a theoretical viewpoint. First, the state of research in both countries will be summarized in the following chapter by a selection of central, related models and frameworks from an international context and from the USA and Germany. Generally, all competency models share a certain dependence on their national or international background or origin. This is true for deductively derived models, which mirror a certain selection of sources considered important by the researchers, and it is equally true for inductively developed models, reflecting practices and experiences from a specific background. Hence, the structure of presentation follows the objective of including a wide range of respective backgrounds. Although the main focus of this dissertation is on a comparison of Germany and the USA, it is yet valuable to include international models in the following considerations as well. Characterized by an explicitly broad applicability and impact, they offer a contrast and enrichen the perspective with potentially different foci and emphases. Hence, the perspective will be widened to international models first and then narrowed down to the USA and Germany, as the two countries of key interest

Part III: Advancing Media-related Educational Competencies

In the first part of this dissertation, selected models and standards from Germany and the USA were introduced, based on a literature review and thus revealing what is considered relevant for practice in a variety of sources and which competencies preservice teachers should acquire, according to these sources. In the second part, methods and selected results of competency measurements were introduced, thus demonstrating ways to operationalize the models and to assess the outcomes of respective processes of such a model integration. Complementary to these theoretical and measurement-focused perspectives on media-related educational competencies, it is important to extend the viewpoint to practices of media-related education of preservice teachers: the objectives both of competency models and of competency measurements ultimately include impacting the respective practices in teacher education and offering a grounded basis and stimuli for improvements and enhanced practice. In accordance with this, various sources emphasize the importance of research on the integration of ICT and respective competencies into initial teacher education (Enochsson und Rizza 2009; Krumsvik 2014; Tondeur u. a. 2017)

Conclusions: Media-related Educational Competencies of German and US Preservice Teachers

In the previous three main parts, the dimensions of modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies were analyzed in detail. Against this background, it has now become evident how closely interrelated the three dimensions are. The fourth research question addresses this issue: “What is the relationship between modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies in both countries?” Hence, the following final chapter will bring together and draw conclusions on the findings presented above and conclude the work with an overall summary and analysis of the relationships between modeling, measuring and advancing media-related educational competencies and with an outlook to further perspectives and research desiderata

Editorial: Media-related Educational Competencies of German and US Preservice Teachers: A Comparative Analysis of Competency Models, Measurements and Practices of Advancement

Medien sind in den Lebenswelten heutiger Kinder und Jugendlicher allgegenwärtig, und auch für pädagogische Kontexte bieten sie vielfältige Chancen, aber auch Herausforderungen. Einerseits können Medien beispielsweise effektiv die Lernprozesse von Schülerinnen und Schülern unterstützen, Unterricht um innovative Instrumente und Methoden ergänzen und zur Individualisierung von Lehr- und Lernprozessen beitragen. Andererseits müssen Schülerinnen und Schüler beispielsweise lernen, wie sie diese Medien nutzen, wie sie sie auswählen und einschätzen und wie sie in einer digitalisierten Welt verantwortungsvoll handeln. Lehrerinnen und Lehrern kommt dabei eine zentrale Rolle zu. Um die Vorteile, die Medien für Lehr- und Lernprozesse bieten, nutzen zu können, um Schülerinnen und Schüler beim Erwerb entsprechender Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen unterstützen zu können und um zahlreiche weitere medienbezogene Aufgaben und Herausforderungen bewältigen zu können, müssen Lehrerinnen und Lehrer bereits im Studium entsprechende Kompetenzen erwerben, die als medienbezogene pädagogische Kompetenzen [media-related educational competencies] bezeichnet werden können. Die Relevanz dieser Kompetenzen zeigt sich auf verschiedenen Ebenen. In der Wissenschaft werden entsprechende Kompetenzmodelle entwickelt, und in der Praxis der Lehrerbildung werden Kompetenzen gemessen und es werden Anstrengungen unternommen, um die Kompetenzen von Lehramtsstudierenden zu fördern. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt diese teilkumulative Dissertation eine theoriebasierte und empirische Untersuchung der betroffenen Kompetenzen aus einer umfassenden und vielschichtigen Perspektive vor. In Übereinstimmung mit den skizzierten zentralen Aspekten sind die drei systematischen Kernfelder Modelle medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen, ihre Messung und Praktiken der Förderung im Lehramtsstudium, sowie das Zusammenspiel dieser drei Felder. Es wird eine international vergleichende Perspektive eingenommen, die beispielhaft die Lehrerbildung in Deutschland und den USA in den Blick nimmt. Die teilkumulative Dissertation umfasst drei Hauptteile, die durch eine Einleitung und ein Schlusskapitel gerahmt werden. Die Einleitung stellt in Hinblick auf Terminologie, Forschungsabsicht und die grundlegende Methodik eine Grundlage für das folgende Werk dar. Im ersten Hauptteil werden Modelle medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen behandelt und ein theoriebasierter systematischer Vergleich dreier relevanter Modelle wird vorgestellt. So werden die Unterschiede zwischen Kompetenzmodellen verdeutlicht und zentrale Aspekte der Auswahl und des Einsatzes diskutiert. Im zweiten Teil werden Methoden und unterschiedliche Möglichkeiten der Kompetenzmessung fokussiert, und in einer veröffentlichten Studie werden Ergebnisse einer explorativen quantitativen Messung der entsprechenden Kompetenzen bei deutschen und US-amerikanischen Lehramtsstudierenden vorgestellt. Insgesamt werden in diesem Teil die Möglichkeiten und Einschränkungen der Kompetenzmessung aufgezeigt und auf die Modelle übertragen, die im ersten Teil eingeführt wurden. Im dritten Teil werden gegenwärtige Praktiken der Förderung medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenzen in Deutschland und den USA analysiert. In diesem Zusammenhang werden auch Parteien und Interessengruppen, die einen Einfluss auf diese Praktiken ausüben, hinsichtlich ihrer Rolle und ihres Einflusses systematisiert und analysiert. Die veröffentlichte Studie in diesem Teil stellt Experteninterviews vor, deren Ziel es ist, einen Einblick in die Perspektiven ausgewählter Expertinnen und Experten bezüglich relevanter Modelle, Praktiken und Ergebnissen der medienbezogenen Lehramtsausbildung in Deutschland und den USA zu erlangen. Am Ende werden im Abschlusskapitel die verschiedenen Bereiche zusammengeführt und die enge Verbindung und die gegenseitigen Abhängigkeiten zwischen den Bereichen der Modellierung, der Messung und der Förderung der untersuchten Kompetenzen verdeutlicht und diskutiert. Diese Perspektiven tragen dazu bei, sowohl Dimensionen, die zuvor in der relevanten Forschung oftmals separat behandelt wurden, zu kontextualisieren und zusammenzuführen, als auch neue Facetten hinzuzufügen, um ein umfassendes und mehrperspektivisches Verständnis medienpädagogischer Kompetenzen zu erreichen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer international vergleichenden Sichtweise werden die Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse schlussendlich zu einer ausführlichen und tiefgehenden Analyse und Reflexion zum komplexen Themengebiet der medienbezogenen pädagogischen Kompetenz in Deutschland und den USA und darüber hinaus führen.Media have become omnipresent in children’s and youths’ everyday lives, and they also offer rich chances and challenges for educational contexts. On the one hand, media can, for example, support students’ learning effectively, enhance lessons with innovative tools and methods and help individualize teaching and learning processes. On the other hand, students need to learn, e.g., how to use these media, how to select and evaluate them and how to act responsibly in a digitalized and mediatized world. Teachers are a core stakeholder in this context. To take advantage of the benefits media offer for teaching and learning processes, to support students in the acquisition of respective competencies and to fulfill numerous other media-related tasks and challenges, teachers need to acquire respective competencies in their initial teacher education, which can be summarized as media-related educational competencies. The relevance of these competencies is evident on different levels. In related research, respective competency models are developed, and in practices of teacher education, competencies are measured and efforts are taken to advance the competencies of preservice teachers. Against this background, this semi-cumulative dissertation presents a theory-based and empirical analysis of the competencies in question from a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective. In accordance with the central aspects outlined, the three systematic main fields focused on are models of media-related educational competencies, their measurement and practices of advancement in teacher education, as well as the interplay of these three fields. The dissertation takes on an international comparative perspective and focuses on the examples of initial teacher education in Germany and the USA. The article-based dissertation comprises three main parts, framed by introduction and conclusion. The introduction provides a basis for the following work with regards to terminology, scope of research and overall methodology. The first main part is concerned with models of media-related educational competencies and includes a theory-based systematic comparison of three relevant models. This part explicates the varieties between competency models, and it discusses central aspects of selection and application. In Part II, methods and varieties of competency measurement are focused on, and an article is presented which shares results of an exploratory quantitative measurement of the respective competencies of German and US preservice teachers. Overall, this part reveals the potential and limitations of competency measurement and transfers these conclusions to the competency models introduced in Part I. Part III is concerned with an analysis of current practices of advancing media-related educational competencies in Germany and the USA. In this context, stakeholders influencing these practices will be systemized and analyzed in their role and impact. The article included in Part III introduces interviews which were conducted to achieve insights into the perspectives of selected experts, regarding relevant models, practices and outcomes of media-related teacher education in Germany and the USA. Finally, the Conclusion of the dissertation will draw together the different strands, clarify the close connection between the domains of modeling, measuring and advancing the competencies in question and discuss the interdependencies of these three dimensions. These perspectives help both to contextualize and bring together important facets which have often been treated separately in related research and will add new facets to ultimately achieve a comprehensive and multifaceted viewpoint. Against the background of the intercultural comparative perspective, the results and findings will ultimately achieve an enhanced and deep analysis and reflection on the complex field of media-related educational competencies in Germany and the USA and beyond

Part II: Measuring Media-related Educational Competencies

Measuring the media-related educational competencies of preservice teachers is important for the context of this dissertation because it functions as a link between the dimensions of modeling and advancing competencies: on the one hand, measurement instruments can validate and operationalize underlying models, which means concretizing and defining what a competency aspect comprises by observable and measurable behavior. On the other hand, measuring competencies is important in terms of evaluating practices of advancement, because it allows for grounded conclusions, e.g., on the success and outcomes of such practices. This evaluative perspective will be stressed below. However, competency measuring is a complex and challenging task. The following part of this dissertation will give an overview of this context, apply the findings to the models analyzed in Part I and then introduce and discuss an example of a measurement with Paper 1, “Media Pedagogy in U.S. and German Teacher Education,” concluded by further considerations

Paper 2: The Integration of Media-Related Studies and Competencies into US and German Initial Teacher Education: A Cross-National Analysis of Contemporary Practices and Trends

Viele lehrerbildende Institutionen haben die Notwendigkeit erkannt, medienbezogene Studieninhalte in ihre Curricula einzubinden. Dennoch existieren keine verbindlichen Regularien für diese Prozesse. Deshalb variieren Form und Umfang der entsprechenden Aktivitäten stark, nicht nur zwischen Ländern, sondern auch innerhalb von Ländern mit dezentralen Strukturen in Bildungskontexten, so wie Deutschland und die USA. Der folgende Artikel wird die Ergebnisse von 11 Interviews mit deutschen und US-Amerikanischen Expertinnen und Experten vorstellen, in denen aktuelle Praktiken und Trends bei der Integration von medienbezogenen Studien und Kompetenzen ins Lehramtsstudium untersucht wurden. Die gesammelten Daten fokussieren Modelle medienbezogener pädagogischer Kompetenz, Möglichkeiten und Arten der Integration medienbezogener Studieninhalte in Lehramtscurricula, die Ergebnisse dieser Bemühungen und Stakeholder, die diese Prozesse beeinflussen. Die international vergleichende Perspektive wird dazu beitragen, die Ergebnisse zu kontextualisieren und Schlussfolgerungen zum aktuellen Stand zu ziehen.Many institutions of initial teacher education have realized the necessity to integrate media-related studies into their curricula. However, there are no binding regulations for these processes. As a result, the shape and extent of respective activities varies considerably, not only between different countries, but also within countries with decentralized educational structures such as Germany and the USA. The following paper will present the results of 11 interviews with experts from Germany and the USA which explored current practices and trends in the integration of media-related studies and competencies into initial teacher education. The data collected focus on models of media-related educational competencies, on possibilities and varieties of integrating media-related studies into teacher education curricula, on the outcomes of such efforts and on stakeholders who influence these processes. The cross-national comparative perspective will help contextualize the findings and draw conclusions on the status quo

Pedagogical Media Competencies of Preservice Teachers in Germany and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice

Teachers need knowledge and skills to make effective use of the growing variety of media and technology texts and tools available for use in elementary and secondary education. For this reason, pedagogical media competencies are highly relevant for teachers’ professional development. The theory of media pedagogical competencies is first defined and then located in the context of the relevant scholarly literature from both Germany and the United States. We conducted a comparative analysis of German and U.S. pedagogical media competency models and report data on a survey of teacher education programs in Germany and the United States to identify the proportion of programs of study that include courses in media didactics, media and school reform, and media education. We consider the implications of the missing connections between the theoretical framework of pedagogical media competencies and the current practice of media pedagogical teacher training, revealing implications for further work needed to improve the integration of media in various school-related contexts

Media Pedagogy in German and U.S. Teacher Education

Various research works and practitioners conclude that media pedagogy should be integrated in teacher education in order to enable future teachers to use media for their lessons effectively and successfully. However, this realization is not necessarily reflected in actual university curricula, as preservice teachers at some places can still finish their studies without ever dealing with media pedagogical issues. To understand, assess and eventually improve the status of media pedagogical teacher education, comprehensive research is required. Against this background, the following article seeks to present a theory-based and empirical overview of the status quo of preservice teachers’ pedagogical media competencies focusing Germany and the USA exemplarily. To form a basis, different models of pedagogical media competencies from both countries will be introduced and the extent to which these competencies have become part of teacher education programs and related studies will be summarised. Afterwards, method and selected results of a study will be described where the skills in question were measured with students from both countries, based on a comprehensive model of pedagogical media competencies that connects German and international research in this field. The international comparative perspective will help broaden the viewpoint and understand differences, but also similarities. These data serve to identify different ways of integrating media pedagogy into teacher training and draw conclusions on the consequences these processes entail for preservice teachers and their pedagogical media competencies