The professionalisation of teachers for the effective integration of digital competences in the classroom has become a central objective of teacher training across Europe (Fütterer et al., 2023; Runge et al., 2024). Yet a critical gap remains between how teachers acquire and transfer new skills (Fernández-Batanero et al., 2021). Research highlights the value of continuous assessment to ensure training quality and sustainable application (Guskey, 2002), but many programmes still rely on immediate satisfaction measures that offer little visibility into long-term application. This disparity reinforces a longstanding disparity between training inputs and meaningful pedagogical impact.
In line with the OpenEduDay mission to encourage open educational culture, this workshop presents an approach that broadens the scope of traditional evaluation and emphasises open, multi-steps and comprehensive evaluation of teacher training and teaching. The workshop introduces the Digital Competence Training Assessment Model (DCTAM), based on Guskey's (2002) multilevel evaluation framework, which integrates trainee characteristics, learning conditions, behavioural change, organisational conditions and sustainability indicators. By broadening the scope of evaluation, the DCTAM promotes a comprehensive understanding of how digital competence evolves in different contexts and over time, strengthening the transfer of digital competencies in the field.
Further on, the workshop presents the Digital Training Companion (DTC), an innovative open-source web-based application designed to plan, assess and monitor teacher training (2023). The DTC incorporates learner characteristics, motivational profiles and contextual variables into structured assessment cycles before, during and after training, fostering responsiveness in assessment. Its design promotes evaluation processes that enhance transparency among stakeholders and support the sustained application of digital competences in the classroom. Thus, the DTC provides richer, more nuanced insights into learning processes and outcomes.
A core feature of the DTC is its multi-level communication ecosystem, which links decision makers, trainers, teachers and students through learning data. This interconnected structure encourages coherence across training phases, supports formative and collaborative assessment practices, and strengthens self-regulation and reflective capacities. By facilitating data exchange between different stakeholders and levels, the DTC promotes shared responsibility for professional development and instructional enhancement.
The workshop is based on two use cases: a pilot study in real-world teacher education settings (2024–2025) and a teacher's professional network cascade training experience (2025–2026). Both cases examined whether the DTC enhances the quality of professional development by strengthening teachers' digital competence, motivation and classroom application. Findings suggest that the DTC contributes to significant improvements in teachers' assessment skills and their confidence in applying process-oriented, formative evaluation practices. These developments support more sustainable digital teaching and foster environments in which students experience increased motivation and competence development.
The workshop methodology integrates conceptual grounding and tool demonstration. After an introduction to the workshop context and participants (5’), the session outlines the theoretical foundations of continuous assessment in professional development and presents the DCTAM in detail, illustrating how it is operationalised within the DTC and presenting findings from the two case studies (15’). A live demonstration of the DTC will follow, allowing participants to act as feedback providers and observe how the tool supports progress monitoring, data visualisation and documentation connecting training processes with student learning outcomes (15’). The workshop concludes with a discussion of broader implications for curriculum design, data-informed decision making and the alignment of policy and practice (10’).
The workshop demonstrates how learner- and context-focused, evidence-informed and technology-supported practices can enhance the quality and sustainability of digital competence development. Participants will gain practical insights into how the DTC can strengthen their evaluation practices and contribute to more transparent, adaptable and meaningful assessment ecosystems.
It will last 45 min and will be offered in bring your own device mode. Interested participants are recommended to create a trainer account on the platform in advance https://digitaltrainingcompanion.ch and register their participation here https://shorturl.at/Evx7A .