Digital competence of a teacher involved in the implementation of a cross-border lesson for classrooms in Brazil and Chile

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the digital competence displayed by a primary school teacher who implemented an interdisciplinary cross-border lesson that was designed with the lesson study methodology and involved two countries: Brazil and Chile.

Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology was adopted via the case study method through which the case of a sixth-grade Chilean teacher participating in the study was documented. The data were collected through a lesson plan, a videotape of the implemented lesson and a questionnaire. A professional digital competence framework for teachers provided an analytical perspective via data analysis.

Findings
The results show that the teacher displayed digital competence in a synchronous collaborative learning environment in which she had time to reflect on the educational value of technology and appropriate teaching methods involving information and communication technologies. Certain elements of the studied case contributed to this performance, namely the cross-border context, the classroom setting and the collaborative Lesson Study methodology.

Practical implications
The lesson study methodology facilitated the teacher's performance in the “Pedagogy and didactics” digital competence by enabling her to participate in planning and implementing a lesson that allowed all those who collaborated, including teachers and researchers, to reflect on teaching in a digital learning environment.

Social implications
The cross-border context, which involved co-designing and implementing a lesson in two countries, allowed the teacher to display her “School in society” and “Ethics” competencies. This was achieved through connecting two classrooms with different languages and cultures digitally and synchronously, thereby providing students the opportunity to debate and participate in a global and local problem such as a country's responsibility for energy consumption.

Originality/value
Modern society requires the transformation of school practices, and new teaching approaches should include the provision of collaborative spaces that incorporate digital technologies. In this sense, this paper shows that cross-border lessons involving a synchronous learning environment offer a potential alternative, as digital teaching competence enables teachers to bring together different social and cultural groups virtually, thereby contributing to the reduction of social gaps and to the promotion of positive identity among less advantaged students.

Full text

Digital competence of a teacher
involved in the implementation of a
cross-border lesson for classrooms
in Brazil and Chile
Masami Isoda
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Soledad Estrella and Diana Zakaryan
Pontificia Universidad Cat
olica de Valpara

ıso, Valpara

ıso, Chile
Yuriko Baldin
Universidade Federal de S~
ao Carlos, S~
ao Carlos, Brazil
Raimundo Olfos
Pontificia Universidad Cat
olica de Valpara

ıso, Valpara

ıso, Chile, and
Roberto Araya
Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study was to examine the digital competence displayed by a primary school
teacher who implemented an interdisciplinary cross-border lesson that was designed with the lesson study
methodology and involved two countries: Brazil and Chile.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative methodology was adopted via the case study method
through which the case of a sixth-grade Chilean teacher participating in the study was documented. The data
were collected through a lesson plan, a videotape of the implemented lesson and a questionnaire. A professional
digital competence framework for teachers provided an analytical perspective via data analysis.
Findings –The results show that the teacher displayed digital competence in a synchronous collaborative
learning environment in which she had time to reflect on the educational value of technology and appropriate
teaching methods involving information and communication technologies. Certain elements of the studied case
contributed to this performance, namely the cross-border context, the classroom setting and the collaborative
Lesson Study methodology.
Practical implications –The lesson study methodology facilitated the teacher’s performance in the
“Pedagogy and didactics”digital competence by enabling her to participate in planning and implementing a
lesson that allowed all those who collaborated, including teachers and researchers, to reflect on teaching in a
digital learning environment.
Social implications –The cross-border context, which involved co-designing and implementing a lesson in
two countries, allowed the teacher to display her “School in society”and “Ethics”competencies. This was
achieved through connecting two classrooms with different languages and cultures digitally and
synchronously, thereby providing students the opportunity to debate and participate in a global and local
problem such as a country’s responsibility for energy consumption.
Originality/value –Modern society requires the transformation of school practices, and new teaching
approaches should include the provision of collaborative spaces that incorporate digital technologies. In this
sense, this paper shows that cross-border lessons involving a synchronous learning environment offer a
potential alternative, as digital teaching competence enables teachers to bring together different social and
Digital
competence of
teachers
The authors are thankful to the support from ANID Fondecyt 1200346; FONDEF ID20i10070; JSPS
KAKENHI Grant Number JP19K21743, JP26245082; VRIEA 039.439/2020 and ANID/ PIA/ Basal Funds
for Centers of Excellence FB0003.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2046-8253.htm
Received 10 June 2021
Revised 7 August 2021
Accepted 7 August 2021
International Journal for Lesson &
Learning Studies
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2046-8253
DOI 10.1108/IJLLS-05-2021-0045

cultural groups virtually, thereby contributing to the reduction of social gaps and to the promotion of positive
identity among less advantaged students.
Keywords Digital competence, Lesson study, Primary education, Cross-border, Statistical literacy
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The incorporation of digital technologies in education during recent years has been driven by
growing technological connectivity, opening the door to engagement in learning activities
through the use of the internet, thereby allowing communication and online participation.
This technology enables participants in such activities to have shared experiences in real
time, regardless of their location (e.g. Bower et al., 2015). Given the emergence of this field, the
objective of this article is to report the results of a study examining the aspects of digital
competence displayed by a teacher through the design and implementation of a cross-border
lesson within the Lesson Study framework, a synchronous combined teaching mode
developed in parallel in Brazil and Chile. Specifically, the following questions arise: What
aspects of teacher digital competence can be identified in the performance of a teacher who
implements a cross-border lesson? What elements could support a teacher in gaining digital
teaching competence?
Few empirical studies have examined pedagogical designs and learning in virtual
synchronous scenarios in primary education. Some studies have produced evidence on the
degree of effectiveness of the adopted approaches, delivering recommendations to help
educators determine what does or does not work in teaching as they innovate by
incorporating technology into the classroom (Zhao et al., 2002).
Modern society requires the transformation of school practices, and new teaching
approaches should include the provision of collaborative spaces that incorporate digital
technologies; these spaces function as open, interactive and motivating venues that promote
the development of competencies. One of the new approaches that have emerged is
collaborative work, in which teams of teachers work together to positively influence
classroom practice and learning by meeting to plan a lesson, which involves addressing the
complexity of the lesson topic and refining the lesson content (Estrella et al., 2018).
Social interaction is key in the process of learning. In this sense, synchronous learning in a
digital environment occurs if a group of students or teachers is involved in learning at the
same time; for example, a lesson is transmitted live while students simultaneously participate
in a discussion—the participants collaborate and learn in real time (Dillenbourg et al., 2002).
Bower et al. (2015) define combined synchronous learning as learning and teaching practices
in which remote students participate in face-to-face classes through enriched synchronous
media technologies.
Background
This section describes the theoretical concepts used in the present study, such as the lesson
study methodology, cross-border lessons and digital competence. Subsequently, a framework
of teacher digital competence is presented and discussed in light of research on information
and communication technologies (ICTs) in teacher training.
Cross-border lesson based on the lesson study methodology
Lesson study is an effective teacher professional development strategy. Essentially, this
strategy consists of the collaborative design of a lesson, the implementation of the lesson, and
the subsequent analysis and improvement of the lesson. Lesson study involves a cyclical
process of continuous improvement of a lesson plan and addresses some problematic aspects
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of teaching one or several disciplines. Lesson study has an impact on improving the teaching
abilities of the teachers who practise it in addition to positively impacting student learning,
teacher professionalisation, and quality of instruction (e.g. Estrella et al., 2020;Isoda and
Olfos, 2010;Larssen et al., 2018). Traditionally, Lesson study is an activity developed by
teachers within one or several schools who seek to build and share good practices; this
approach implies that teachers reflect on practice and dialogue with their peers as well as
institute a collaborative work dynamic with colleagues from other areas.
In this study, the term “cross-border”is used in the same sense as that in Knight (2006),
where it represented cross-border education, which involves the movement of people,
knowledge, programmes and curricula across national jurisdictional or regional boundaries.
Although cross-border education is usually associated with higher education, it can also be
an innovative approach to cooperative projects in developing countries (OECD, 2006).
Thus, a cross-border lesson developed through lesson study involves the use of tools such
as ICTs, the internet, social networks and video transmission to design, test and implement a
collective improvement cycle for a lesson and simultaneously connect two or more cross-
border classrooms. Furthermore, a cross-border lesson can have a significant impact on
students, offering benefits not only in terms of learning basic concepts and competencies but
also in terms of motivation and commitment to cultural identity (Eddy and Araya, 2016;Isoda
et al., 2018;King and Bigelow, 2018).
A cross-border lesson interrelates students, teachers, support staff, technologies,
materials, and digital resources. Henceforth, the term “digital technology”represents
products or services that are used in the communication, transmission, dissemination,
compilation, organisation, production, storage, administration, and protection of information
and digital content (Redecker et al., 2017). Meanwhile, digital learning resources represent
content that is not developed primarily for use in classrooms but can facilitate learning if the
teacher integrates it into his/her teaching in a pedagogical and appropriate manner (Kelentri
c
et al., 2017). Following these authors, digital teaching material represents a combination of
digital tools, services and content specifically created for educational purposes for use in
school subjects, including those developed by teachers.
Digital competence of the teacher
Among 21st-century skills, digital competence is a universal competence and is among those
that must be acquired by all citizens to ensure their active participation in society and the
global economy (Saavedra and Opfer, 2012). In a broad sense, digital competence can be
defined as the safe, critical, and creative use of ICTs to achieve objectives related to work,
employment, learning, leisure, inclusion and/or participation in society (Ferrari, 2012).
Instefjord and Munthe (2016) categorise digital competence in teaching into three areas of
knowledge: technological competence, pedagogical compatibility and social awareness. The
professional and pedagogical use of ICTs by teachers differs from the use of ICTs in other
professions because proficiency in the use of ICTs by teachers in a professional context
implies good pedagogical-didactic judgement and an awareness of the implications of ICT
use for student learning (Røkenes and Krumsvik, 2016).
To project and support changes in education in digital environments, a common reference
framework is required to support the professional competencies of teachers. One such
framework is the Common Digital Competence Framework for Teachers by INTEF (2017),
which proposes 21 competencies adapted from two European digital competence frameworks
(digital competence framework for citizens and digital competence framework for educators).
Kelentri
cet al. (2017) propose a professional digital competence framework for teachers who
support the evaluation and monitoring of the digital competence of teachers through their
professional actions involving digital technology, digital teaching materials and digital learning
Digital
competence of
teachers

resources. Among other advantages, this framework provides guidelines to improve the quality
of training and the continuous and systematic professional development of teachers. Table 1
summarises the seven areas of competence in the framework, all of which are equallyimportant
because, together, they reflect the profile of a professional and digitally competent teacher.
Given the speed of technological changes and the dynamism and complexity of digital
teaching competence, this competence will always be influenced by developments in society.
In this sense, Kelentri
cet al. (2017) highlight that the proposed framework periodically
requires updates in accordance with the influence of digital developments on the teaching
profession and the educational system.
Materials and methods
A qualitative methodology was adopted via the case study method (Yin, 2009), through which
the case of a Chilean teacher participating in the study was documented. Below, we present
Competence The competent professor is capable of
1. Topics and basic skills Facilitating student learning in and between subjects based on the interaction
among academic content, competence objectives, digital technology, digital
teaching materials, and digital learning resources
2. School in society Contributing to students’understanding of how digital scenarios can provide
opportunities to participate in democratic and cultural processes; contributing
to strengthening the international dimensions of the school’s mission, taking
advantage of the opportunities offered by digital scenarios for learning and
interaction in a multicultural and globalised society
3. Ethics Promoting ethical reflection in a professional community and participating in
positive interaction and a critical, constructive and exchange-oriented culture
in digital environments
4. Pedagogy and didactics Planning, implementing and reflecting on teaching in a digital environment
alone and in collaboration with others based on orientation, research and
experience founded in knowledge documents; encouraging the desire of
individual students to learn, become motivated and trust their own ability to
learn, create, interact and share in a digital environment
5. Leadership of learning
processes
Directing and organising teaching in a digital environment characterised by
frequent transitions and adaptive and parallel learning activities at different
levels; developing good relations in a digital environment to create a
constructive and inclusive learning environment that encourages interaction,
commitment and motivation to learn; contributing to students’participation in
innovation processes and thinking in a new way through the use of technology,
teaching materials and digital learning resources; adapting the teaching role to
different activities and alternating among the roles of tutor, guide, participant
and intermediary in a digital environment
6. Interaction and
communication
Critically discussing technology, teaching materials and digital learning
resources in a professional community with the intention of developing
subjects and teaching and the culture of the school; promoting the
communication and interaction skills of students; participating in digital
scenarios and using professional networks to support teachers’own learning
and development and to share knowledge with colleagues
7. Change and development Transferring existing competencies to new digital environments, technologies
and situations; contributing to the development of locally oriented documents
associated with teaching in a digital environment; independently developing
one’s own professional digital competence and contributing to the
development of students, schools, colleagues and teaching professions in line
with digital changes in society
Source(s): From Kelentri
cet al. (2017)
Table 1.
Description of the
seven competencies in
the professional digital
competence framework
for teachers
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the context of the research and its development and the processes of data collection and
analysis.
Context
In the lesson study cross-border context, the same lesson plan (see Appendix) for primary
education grade 6 (students from 11 to 12 years of age) was used in Chile and Brazil. The plan
was designed by two teacher lesson study groups (LSGs), one in Chile and the other in Brazil,
that involved the participation of future teachers, professors, and researchers. Led by local
researchers, both groups worked synchronously and diachronically on the design of the same
lesson plan for schools in their respective countries. In the two months spent preparing the
lesson plan, the LSGs agreed on the teaching materials (the central problem, the digital
graphs constructed), the digital learning resources (data collection from the World Bank
digital database) and the use of digital technology in an active learning environment
involving debate and negotiation.
The objective of the cross-border lesson was that students would compare and debate the
renewable energy possibilities in their country and would progress in their critical reading
and interpretation of graphs and their development of inferences about the generation and
consumption of energy. In the previous lesson, the students read double-bar graphs and
understood certain concepts related to renewable and non-renewable energies. In Chile, the
LSG members were a practising teacher, three mathematics didactic researchers and two
teachers in initial training. In Brazil, the group consisted of two didactic researchers and four
teachers.
Both LSGs coordinated the actions of the participants related to the design and
implementation of the cross-border lesson (see Table 2).
Implementation
In each country, the participants agreed to a reasonable schedule so that the two classes could
communicate during school hours and could be connected synchronously. Thus, both schools
were chosen based on schedule availability and proximity to the LSG of the teachers
responsible for implementing the planned lesson. In both countries, the lesson was
implemented in a sixth-grade class in a public school (25 students with high socioeconomic
status in Brazil and 25 students with low socioeconomic status in Chile).
Coordinated actions of the cross-
border teams
Creation of the cross-border
lesson plan
Digital dimension of the cross-
border lesson plan
Teams co-design plan focused on a
topic and content (e.g. energy
sustainability)
Revision of the cross-border
lesson plan
Combination of technologies,
materials, and digital resources in
the lesson
Cross-border teams contribute
improvements to the plan and
develop their logistics
Agreement on the proposed
improvements by cross-border
teams
Coordination of teacher support to
link both classrooms (remote/face-
to-face)
Cross-border teams evaluate, based
on the pilot implementation, the
local use of technology, materials
and digital resources
Local pilot implementation of
cross-border lesson plan and
review by local teams
Local testing and implementation
of communication technologies in
the cross-border lesson plan
Teams agree on improvements and
organise themselves according to a
common time zone and language
Simultaneous implementation of
the cross-border lesson in both
classrooms (extended classroom)
Support for the use of audio-visual
materials for oral and visual
communication in the extended
classroom
Table 2.
Coordinated actions of
the teaching teams that
created a cross-border
lesson plan and its
digital dimension
Digital
competence of
teachers

The teachers who implemented the programme were primary school teachers who had
received continuous training. The Chilean teacher, Laura, had eight years of experience and
had completed refresher courses in mathematics and in the lesson study methodology.
Classroom scenario for the cross-border lesson
To optimise the synchronous learning experience in the extended classroom scenario, the
LSGs considered traditional devices (blackboard, tables and chairs, worksheets) and digital
devices (screens, projectors, video cameras connected to online communication software,
microphones, computers, WiFi). Each classroom had a projector and screen, computer with
Internet connection and telecommunication software (see Figures 1 and 2).
The teachers agreed that both classes would be divided into 5 groups of 5 students each.
As planned, the teacher and students in each country greeted one another using synchronous
technologies; thus, in the Chilean classroom, the 25 students were present in person, and the
remote participants were visible on the screen (see Figure 1). The Brazil LSG supported
translation from Portuguese to Spanish through a bilingual teacher who taught Spanish
classes at the same school. After cordial greetings were exchanged between the classes and
the students were informed that they would learn about the same problem, the lesson was
begun according to the common plan. The real-time image of the remote classroom was
almost always projected, often with the sound turned off, and the visual was alternated with
graphs as digital material as determined by the local teacher.
In each classroom, and as outlined in the lesson plan, the teacher explained the objective
and the central problem with the support of a digital presentation on renewable energies in
the local language. Each teacher distributed the worksheets and repeated the problem,
ensuring that it was understood. The students worked in groups, and the teachers monitored
the progress of each group. Laura chose representatives from some groups to present their
arguments in the classroom and in the extended classroom; that is, the classroom in Chile
connected synchronously with the remote classroom in Brazil (the Brazilian teacher
proceeded similarly).
In accordance with the lesson plan, each teacher led her lesson both in person and
remotely. The students chosen as representatives shared their arguments with their class
using a microphone and visual inputs based on the data evidence, which were graphed in
pencil-and-paper format and the analysis of the graphs performed by their groups.
Subsequently, the representatives shared their arguments with the extended classroom,
beginning with Brazil. The students in each class listened attentively to the arguments
presented by the representatives of each country (translated simultaneously in the case of
Chile), and the teachers identified differences in interpretation and promoted a shared
Screen for real-me projecon of the Chilean classroom Screen for real-me projecon of the Brazilan classroom
Class teacher Class teacher
Portuguese-Spanish translator/teacher
Blackboard with enlarged graphs Blackboard with enlarged graphs
25 6 -grade students
5-student groups
25 6 -grade students
5-student groups
Scenario in the Brazilian classroom
Scenario in the Chilean classroom
th th
Figure 1.
Classroom scenario in
both countries
IJLLS

understanding within each classroom. The lesson closed with the question, “Have we been
responsible [with energy consumption]?”and a student from each country saying goodbye;
after the classes were dismissed, digital communication was disconnected.
Data collection
During the investigation, data were collected from various sources, including the lesson plan
documented by the LSGs, the video recordings of the implementation of the plan in a
synchronous learning environment and the questionnaires administered to the participating
teachers and researchers. In each classroom, camera operators supported the projection and
synchronous communication between the two countries and the audio-visual recording of the
lesson (see Figure 2); the approximate duration of each lesson was 50 min. The questionnaire
consisted of 18 questions, 14 closed questions with a four-point Likert scale and four open
questions, and the questionnaire was answered via email after the implementation.
Didactic aspects of the cross-border lesson problem
Set within the 6th-grade curriculum of each primary school, the problem addressed in the
lesson plan was designed to promote outcomes associated with statistical literacy and
mathematical literacy, which were assessed based on the students’ability to read and
interpret data representations and debate and communicate their conclusions. Specifically,
the lesson addressed the problem of energy efficiency around the world and the comparison
of real statistical data from different cultures and economies through the reading and
interpretation of graphs.
The designed problem focused on active learning related to a current problem, which did
not have only one answer, and the lesson encouraged the interpretative reading of graphs
through the comparison of three bar graphs (see Figure 3) and the negotiation of a stance on
the question of whether the country had been responsible with regard to energy consumption.
Analysis and results
The analysis of the collected data was performed based on the transcriptions of the video
recordings (V), the lesson plan (P) and the questionnaire (Q). Data analysis was performed by
Figure 2.
Classroom scenario
with digital devices
Digital
competence of
teachers

Fossil fuel use of two countries during the
years 1990 and 2013 (in percentages)
Energy consumpon of two countries
during the years 1990 and 2013
(equivalent to million tonnes of oil)
Per capita energy consumpon of two countries
during the years 1990 and 2013
(equivalent to million tonnes of oil)
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
51% 58%
72% 69%
Chile
Brazil
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
140
294
Brazil Chile Brazil Chile
14
39
5.0
0.0
0.7
1.4
2.3
0.8
Group work:
2) Share your answer with the group.
3) Decide on a group answer.
Individual work:
1) Look at the plotted data: Have we been responsible? Justify your answer
with the information obtained from the data graphs.
1990 2013 1990 2013 1990 2013
‘Responsible energy consumption’: Have we been responsible?
Figure 3.
Worksheet for Chilean
students (Baldin
et al., 2018)
IJLLS

three researchers, two of whom participated in the LSG in Chile and one of whom participated
in the LSG in Brazil. The units of analysis, defined as information that provided evidence
regarding Laura’s digital competence, were identified. Data from the three sources of
information were coded in terms of the digital competencies in Kelentri
cet al. (2017) (see
Table 1).
The results of the research highlight the complex role of the teacher from the perspective
of the cross-border lesson plan. The teacher had to monitor her groups of students to mediate
and evaluate the progress of the lesson and support flexible access to learning in the
classroom so that her actions would contribute to creating a sense of community through the
presence of both classrooms in her classroom. This complexity resulted in the integration of
different professional competencies of the teacher, including digital competence, the object of
the study.
Based on the data analysis, Table 3 summarises the evidence regarding Laura’s digital
competence in each of the different competence areas of the reference framework.
As shown in Table 3, Laura exhibited notable performance in the seven competence areas.
Within this framework, technological selections were made, and a collaborative methodology
was used to provide a challenging intercultural learning experience in a digital environment.
Discussion and conclusions
As a teacher, Laura exhibited performance of digital competence that reflected all areas of the
reference framework. Certain elements of the studied case contributed to this performance,
namely the cross-border context; the classroom setting; the collaborative lesson study
methodology; the interdisciplinarity of the lesson plan that was created, improved, and
implemented; and the classroom support for the teacher regarding the digital technology that
was used.
The cross-border context, which involved co-designing and implementing a lesson in two
countries, allowed the teacher to display her “School in society”and “Ethics”competencies.
This was achieved through connecting two classrooms with different languages and cultures
digitally and synchronously, thereby providing students with the opportunity to debate and
participate in a global and local problem such as a country’s responsibility for energy
consumption. The lesson, planned in advance, allowed the teacher to stimulate discussion
and manage the use of audio-visual technology to integrate her own students with the
Brazilian teacher and her students through oral and visual communication.
The cross-border classroom scenario, which was designed collaboratively, allowed the
teacher to show her “Leadership of learning processes”and “Interaction and Communication”
competencies. With the support of digital communication technologies, she was able to
balance her attention between the students in both classrooms by synchronising oral and
visual communication. The virtual learning environment—as a social space—emerged
through the synchronous communication and interactions enabled by digital audio-visual
technology and the use of digital materials and resources. This approach allowed the
students not only to be active but also to be actors, that is, participants who contributed to the
social and information space constructed collaboratively. In this cross-border lesson
experience, the students experienced a new form of teaching in which the planned lesson was
delivered simultaneously to class groups in two countries that were then tasked with
communicating and debating.
The lesson study methodology facilitated the teacher’s performance in the “Pedagogy and
didactics”digital competence by enabling her to participate in planning and implementing a
lesson that allowed all those who collaborated, including teachers and researchers, to reflect
on teaching in a digital learning environment. Pedagogical aspects such as scheduled time
and the evaluation of synchronous learning, as well as didactic aspects, were addressed in the
Digital
competence of
teachers

Competence areas Digital Competence Evidence of Laura’s performance
Topics and basic skills Promoting student learning of science and
statistics content using synchronous
technologies and resources and digital teaching
materials
(P) She used digital technologies in the
construction of the learning scenario and
created graphs using digital resources such as
data obtained from the database
(V) She integrated digital technologies in the
construction of the learning scenario to create
the graphs and used digital materials (data
obtained from the World Bank database)
School in society Digitally connecting two classrooms with
different languages, separated by land borders,
allowing students the opportunity to debate in
digital settings and participate in cultural and
global processes
(P) She enabled students to be actors in a
cultural interaction through digital and
synchronous scenarios between Chile and
Brazil
(V) She managed interaction between the two
classes in the digital environment and promoted
debate and respectful listening to the ideas of
others with different languages, socioeconomic
levels and cultural identities
(Q) “The challenges were not only limited to
interpreting data but also to arguing and
communicating. In relation to the other
[students], they were patient, waited, respected
and listened to their classmates. Without a doubt,
much was learned from this experience”
Ethics Promoting ethical reflection in a community
regarding responsibility for energy
consumption and comparing—in the digital
environment—the students’own country with
other countries, thereby promoting positive
interaction and a critical and constructive
stance in an inclusive environment
(P) She contributed to the topic selection and
proposed problem, which considered the ethical
aspect of the consumption of renewable
energies
(P, V) She considered equal participation
between genders when selecting students to
represent each country when sharing their
arguments
(V) She insisted on reminding students of the
central question of the lesson regarding the
countries’responsibility for energy
consumption and encouraged debate based on
the data presented in the graphs
Pedagogy and
didactics
Planning and implementing a lesson that
allows all those who collaborated, teachers and
researchers to reflect on the interaction and
collaboration involved in teaching in a digital
environment. Open-ended problems tend to
promote motivation and confidence in one’s
learning in a digital environment
(P) She collaborated actively in planning,
improving and implementing the lesson
(Q) She reflected on the pedagogical experience
after implementing the cross-border lesson:
“I think it involved great preparation so that the
class itself could take part [research on renewable
energy]. The students did not have the prior
knowledge needed for the designed class; it was
very challenging, and they needed to have a set of
skills to successfully address the class problem”
(Q) She didactically reflected on teaching the
lesson after implementation: “It is not possible to
generate a return with all groups”
(continued )
Table 3.
Evidence of Laura’s
performance according
to the digital
competence framework
IJLLS

design of the plan through the teacher’s evaluation of how to improve her answers to the
students’questions in order to guide her own learning.
The interdisciplinarity proposed in the lesson plan could have facilitated the display of
aspects of the “Topics and basic skills”and “Change and development”competencies. The
interdisciplinary lesson in statistics and science, which involved the use of digital teaching
materials, presented challenges to the teacher, who simultaneously implemented the same
lesson for students who were from different countries, spoke different languages and had
different cultures.
In her professional performance, Laura displayed her digital skills, both those that arose
from the collaborative lesson study process through which the plan was created and those
that emerged during the implementation of the cross-border lesson. She highlighted her role
in coordinating the presentation and listening to the arguments of the students from both
Competence areas Digital Competence Evidence of Laura’s performance
The leadership of the
learning processes
Directing teaching in a digital environment
with frequent transitions between two
classrooms (changing between guide and
participant), with learning activities organised
in parallel, distributing attention between
remote and in-person students. The lesson led
students to participate in a scenario
characterised by innovation in their usual
lessons through the use of technology and
digital learning resources
(Q) She organised her teaching and reflected on
the parallel transitions in the cross-border
lesson: “The time rigidity did not allow me to
assist or accompany the groups as I would have
liked”
(Q) She reflected on the creation of a
constructive digital environment in which
learning is motivated: “I believe that learning
becomes more collective and generates new
conclusions based on the comments of other
classmates”
(V) Her participation and that of her class group
provided evidence of innovative teaching with
digital technologies. When interacting with the
Brazilian teacher, she commented, “For us, it has
also been a very positive experience; we are very
happy for having lived this experience; we had
never been in contact with students from other
countries, and ...we believe that our energy
consumption is an issue for debate and analysis”
Interaction and
communication
Planning the lesson and anticipating what
might happen in the implementation allows the
teacher to consider technology and improve
teaching materials and digital learning
resources in a Lesson Study community. The
lesson problem fosters students’
communication and interaction skills by
enabling them to participate in digital
educational scenarios
(P) She participated in the co-construction of a
lesson plan in a digital environment through a
professional network such as the LSG and
shared her professional learning with
colleagues in her school
(V) She motivated her students to debate; for
example, Chilean student E9, when interacting
and acting with his peer in Brazil remotely in the
virtual environment, pointed out the following
“Chiles consumption per capita (per person) is
larger than that of Brazil despite [Brazil] being
larger, which means that Chile is a wasteful
country”
Change and
development
Participating in a lesson study group that
unites two classrooms in a digital environment
allows the teacher to develop her professional
digital competence and contributes to the
development of her students and the school
(P and V) She transferred her LSG experience
and brought her digital competence into play in
an extended classroom as a new digital
environment, integrating technologies and
contributing to her students’and colleagues’
development
(Q) “I believe that the lesson plan was
implemented at 90%. Adjustments and
contributions derived from experience [previous
class without connection and another class] were
incorporated”
Note(s): (V 5video recording; P 5lesson plan; Q 5questionnaire) Table 3.
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countries, actions that favoured synchronous learning. In the LSG, the teacher was a member
of the team that co-designed the cross-border lesson plan and, in the process, improved the
plan, evaluated the relevance of digital materials and resources and discussed the logistics
related to the digital technology required to connect both classrooms. These processes gave
the teacher time to discuss, experience and reflect with others on the educational value of
ICTs in her subject. Additionally, when planning the lesson, she had the opportunity to
incorporate didactic forms of teaching with ICTs into her own practices. This finding is
consistent with the role of reflection in the development of digital teaching competence
documented by Røkenes and Krumsvik (2014).
Technical and administrative support is an essential factor in the integration ofeducational
technology in the classroom, as already documented by Inan and Lowther (2010).Asimilar
conclusion has been presented by Kong (2019) regarding the heavy workload for teachers in
digital environments and the need for more technical support to solve the difficulties in
integrating pedagogy with technology and technical problems in implementation.
Collaboration between teachers who use technology as a tool and teachers who teach
without technology is a potential approach to introducing technology to the classroom (Voogt
and McKenney, 2017). The digital competence displayed by the teacher in her management of
technologyintegration was possible due to the support provided by the teachers in the LSG: the
cross-border lesson planning required the selection and use of technologies that were
appropriate to the communication requirements, incorporating both technological and human
considerations in a classroom composed of both students and teachers.
The cross-border lesson planned by the teacher groups considered the complexity of
teachers’actions in a socio-constructivist learning environment and reflected the potential for
facilitating changes in teaching practices because teachers do not need to leave their school to
achieve these goals. This approach promotes a powerful synchronous learning ecosystem for
teacher professional development and for collaboration between schools within a region or
between schools in different countries. Dillenbourg et al. (2002) noted the challenge involved
in converting teaching to a collective performance; thus, a teacher collaboration network and
joint work can increase the exploration of alternatives and accelerate the transformation of
teaching practices in the classroom (Eddy and Araya, 2016).
Among the possible limitations of this approach are the need to provide human and
technical resources to support the educational practices involved and the need to provide
challenging and cognitively demanding problems (e.g. Estrella et al., 2020). More research on
these aspects is required within a sequence of lessons (Larssen et al., 2018), and more studies
are needed on the impact of the cross-border learning ecosystem on teachers’professional
development and students’learning (Isoda et al., 2018).
Regarding education in virtual environments, our findings indicate that mutual benefits
include the sharing of ideas on e-learning implementation (Kong, 2019) and the creation (and
not only the exchange) of lesson plans between teachers. On the other hand, the cross-border
lesson enabled an inclusive virtual learning environment because the two schools were
socially dissimilar, as the Brazilian students were of high socioeconomic status, while the
Chilean students were of low socioeconomic status. Cross-border lessons involving a
synchronous learning environment offer a potential alternative, as digital teaching
competence enables teachers to bring together different social and cultural groups
virtually, thereby contributing to the reduction of social gaps and to the promotion of
positive identity among less-advantaged students.
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Appendix
Cross-border lesson plan
Disciplinary objective: Analyse and extract information from double-bar graphs.
Cross-sectional objective: Debate and communicate conclusions.
Learni ng activi ty Teaching intervention
Introduction:
Formation of groups (5 students per group).
Online presen tation of the cr oss-border classes throu gh the
Internet.
Previous class recap (energy consumption and renewable energy,
reading of percentage and per capita data—double-bar graphs).
Lesson objective: Analyse data presented in d ouble-bar graph s to
extract information to communicate to others.
Teacher organises the class.
‘In today’s class, we will discuss information
extracted from the data presented in bar graphs
with the Brazilian students. First, we will analyse
among ourselves, and then we will analyse with
the Brazilian students.’
Selects a male student locally and a female
student in Brazi l to present for their classes
(school, city and country).
Question to the class: ‘What did we study in the
previous class ?’
Presentation of the problem:
Situation: An online newspaper obtained data from the websites
of the ministries of energy of the countries on energy consumption
associated with economic development and environmental
policies.
The newspaper published thr ee graphs with data on the energy
consumption of the two countries and raised the following
question:
‘Responsible energy consumption’: Have we been responsible?
Introduces the situation.
Displays a poster with the three graphs on the
board. Pr ojects e ach graph for better visualisation
and asks the students to recognise and verbalise its
components : What do the colours in dicate?
(years). Bar heigh t? (energy consumption). What
do the titles tell us? What does 294 mean? (294
was consumed by Brazil in 2013). What countri es
are shown? What colour represents the year 2 013?
What does per capita mean ? (consumption by one
person). What does percentage of energy
consumption mean? (certain fossil fuel
consumption per hundred units). What do I re ad
to know what information the graphs deliver? (the
titles).
Fixes a poster with the questions on the
blackboard.
Gives each studen t the individu al worksheet with
the three data graphs for analysis.
Central activity of the lesson:
Individual exploration of the graphs followed by commenting on
the graphs with peers and discussion in each group (with the
worksheet).
Ask the students to wr ite the answers to the
central acti vity in their notebooks an d read them
indivi duall y and commen t on them wi th their
classmates. Groups have 10 to 15 minutes to
respond.
While the students work, the teacher provides
support to ensure that all students focus on the
data, the dat a behaviour, th e measurement scales
and mean ing of each bar.
Questions to support the student groups:
Which bars corr espond to Chile? Whi ch bars
correspond to the year 2013? What data can you
compare in this graph?
What does the scale (vertical axis) of this graph
indicate?
Can you determine with these data whether we
were responsible? Why?
Acvity 1:
1) Look at the plotted data: H ave we been responsi ble? Justify
your answer with the information obtained from the data
graphs.
2) Share your answer with the group.
3) Decide on a gr oup answer.
Digital
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Each student shares his/her answers with the group, and then the
group develops a single response through group debate on the
individual stances:
a) The students pay attention to the stance of each of the
group member s and justify their an swers based on the
data.
b) Based on the justifications raised for each question, the
students discuss the stance that best represents the group.
Two groups per coun try share the an alysis and extr action of
inform ation fr om the doubl e-bar d ata graph s with the ir classes ,
and a thi rd group from ea ch countr y share s them onl ine with both
classes (Brazi l and Chil e), with Brazil pr esentin g first.
The teacher identifies the groups that reach
consensus (whether there is responsible
consumption in Chile, in Brazil, or in both
countries) and decides which groups will presen t
their concl usions to the plenar y.
Synthesis of ideas (i n each country)
In the plenary, synthesis is sought to ensure that the answers to
the central question ar e based on the anal ysis of the dat a graphs
and the arguments presented by the students in both countries.
Promotes the synthesis of arguments and records
students’ cen tral ideas on the boar d.
Possible strategies:
Focus attention on just one of the data graphs
and dra w conclusions from there.
Draw a conclu sion for ea ch data graph .
Include 2 or 3 conclusion s.
Corresponding author
Soledad Estrella can be contacted at: soledad.estrella@pucv.cl
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