Learning by designing: App development, perceived digital competence, and pedagogical authorship in English teacher education

Abstract This study explores app development as an instructional medium for fostering perceived digital competence and pedagogical authorship in English teacher education, contributing to research on technology-enhanced preparation that moves teachers from using digital tools towards creating them. Participants developed simple instructional apps through low-threshold coding activities in iterative group design cycles across two groups – undergraduates in-person ( n = 18) and graduates online ( n = 16) – sharing a 15-week curriculum. Pre–post surveys indicated significant gains in digital confidence and perceived instructional benefit among undergraduates, while graduates showed clearer movement in perceived instructional benefit, with engagement and motivation remaining stable across both groups. Lexical cluster analysis of reflection essays identified four orientations – emotional growth, pedagogical insight, design conceptualization, and scaffolding reliance – pointing towards emerging pedagogical authorship rather than uniform competence gains. As digital creation becomes as common as digital consumption for today’s learners, modest coding literacy, framed as an instructional medium, offers a workable path towards digital agency and pedagogical authorship in English teacher education.