An exploratory study of pre-service teachers' perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge of digital games

This study investigated pre-service teachers’ perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge of digital games (TPACK-G), the correlation of TPACK-G constructs, and the relation of TPACK-G to personal factors and levels of motivation and self-efficacy. Participants were 96 pre-service teachers from a university in the northeastern United States. Data were collected using online surveys. Quantitative approaches were performed to analyze the data. Results indicated that game content knowledge (GCK) and game pedagogical knowledge (GPK) significantly predicted pre-service teachers’ game pedagogical content knowledge (GPCK), with GPK being the strongest predictor. Pre-service teachers with high levels of motivation or self-efficacy for digital game integration had significantly better TPACK-G than those with low levels. Personal factors, including gender and prior experiences with digital games, were found to be influential to pre-service teachers’ TPACK-G. This study adds to the understanding of the application of the TPACK model in the context of digital game use for pre-service teachers.