Supporting pre-service teachers in designing technology-infused lesson plans

The present study compared the effectiveness of two types of just-in-time support for lesson planning. Both types contained the same technological information but differed regarding pedagogical and content information. The first type presented this information separately (i.e., separate support); the second type presented this information in an integrated way (i.e., integrated support). In an experimental design pre-service biology teachers received either the integrated support (n = 26) or separate support (n = 27). They were instructed to create a technology-infused lesson plan and justify their design decisions. Results showed that pre-service teachers who used the integrated support had more integrated pedagogical and content-related justifications and higher quality lesson plans than the group who received separate support. Both groups had few technology-related justifications, and technology integration was of low quality. These findings confirm the alleged superiority of integrated support over separate support, and suggest that additional guidance is needed for pre-service teachers to fully integrate technological, pedagogical and content information during lesson planning.