The authors of this article have collaborated as part of a steering group for Norwegian state-funded research and development project designed to enhance the professional digital competence (PDC) of both teacher educators, practising, and student teachers. In this article, we give voice to students’ experiences of their PDC development during teacher education (TE). We investigate their ideas on how TE might be developed to prepare them better for professional careers in a digital context. The participants are studying at a Norwegian university where, from 2018 to 2021, PDC has become a major area of focus as part of the aforementioned project. The data consist of four group interviews with 17 students from different campuses. We find that student teachers employ a broad range of digital technologies during TE. They experience a diversity of digital didactical practices and engage in thematic discussions concerning digitalization. They also utilise many technologies and apply the digital knowledge they have acquired in their personal lives. While some of them request more technical support during TE, most want to see TE engaging them in more critical discussions about the educational opportunities and challenges that digitalization offers. We discuss some of the dilemmas that TE must address to respond to these findings. In particular, we elaborate on how students’ digital experiences can be used as a resource when preparing for their professional roles as teachers.

In this study, we explore the perceived affordances of simulation-based learning (SBL) among online student teachers in Norway. We investigated how simulations mediate professional learning when coupled with educator-led debriefings and peer-led focus groups. Using an exploratory qualitative design, we examined 21 pre-service teachers’ perspectives on their experiences of this SBL intervention. We analysed peer-led focus group data, as well as written reflection logs. Our findings reveal that despite experienced technical challenges, the overall intervention afforded work-life relevant practice, prompting collaborative reflection. In addition to expert feedback, the peer-led focus group discussions are found to be a key component of the SBL design, as these enabled collaborative reflection over a shared practice teaching experience. The findings imply that SBL can be used to bridge the theory-practice gap, a recurring challenge in the field. Consequently, SBL has transformative potential in teacher education.

In Norway, as in many other countries worldwide, student teachers often report a lack of coherence between their practice experiences and the teacher training provided on campus. For example, student teachers request more practice-relevant campus training on themes like parent–teacher conferences. Employers worldwide expect universities to prepare graduates to innovate practices. This empirical article addresses these challenges by engaging student teachers in simulation-based practice designs (SPDs), which include a class brief, group sessions with simulated parent–teacher conferences, and a debrief. The students are encouraged to act with agency and approach the simulated situations critically. Overall, this study shows that students are highly engaged and task-oriented across SPDs. The survey data (n = 39) show that students perceive the simulation experiences as relevant preparation for their future practice. Audio recordings (215 min) and field notes indicate that they are triggered to critically reflect on and generate ideas for addressing challenges in the simulated situations. There are instances of linking theory with practice, and even some “thinking outside the box”. SPDs provide valuable opportunities to professionalize the teacher role but could benefit from more support and time to bridge the gap between theory and practice and encourage more innovative thinking.