Teaching with the TPACK

            “Teaching is not simply a process of picking up a few instructional techniques and applying them, it is in fact a complex multifaceted process that emerges over time and requires the transformation of content knowledge in ways that make it intellectually accessible to students” (Mishra & Koehler, 2009).  Being an educator therefore, not only requires flexibility, creativity, and a dedication to the craft of teaching, but also requires an interweaving of many kinds of specialized knowledge, including the knowledge of student thinking and learning, knowledge of subject matter and increasingly today the knowledge of technology.

            In 1989, Lee Shulman, who was at the times a Professor at the University of Michigan, identified this specialized form of knowledge as the pedagogical content knowledge or PCK. It is this pedagogical content knowledge that Shulman suggests, “sets teachers apart from all other professions” because it requires the “development a complex set of skills necessary to deliver information effectively within different content areas” (Mishra & Koehler, 2009).

            Today, rapid changes in technology and its role in the classroom has added yet another kind of knowledge to the mix. As a direct result of technologies impact on education, the construct of Shulman’s original, pedagogical content knowledge has evolved further to become the framework for teacher knowledge known today as the technological pedagogical content knowledge, or TPACK.  The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), describes “how teachers understanding of educational technologies and PCK interact with one another to produce effective teaching with technology” (Koehler & Mishra, 2009). In addition the TPACK also, “attempts to capture some of the essential qualities of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching” (Mishra & Koehler, 2013, April). What sets the TPACK apart from Shulman’s original PCK is that in addition to content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical knowledge (PK), today’s educators must also possess technological knowledge (TK). “True technology integration therefore, is understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three key components as they play out in specific learning contexts” (Mishra & Koehler, 2013, April). (See Diagram of TPACK model).   

             In addition, teachers who wish to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms using the TPACK must also develop a sensitivity towards the “dynamic, transactional, relationship between all three knowledge components” (Mishra & Koehler, 2013, April). In doing so allows them to see that “there is no single technological solution that applies for every learning activity, content area, or every view of teaching” but rather, opens their eyes to a wide assortment of learning possibilities (Mishra & Koehler, 2013, April).  

            As teachers have begun to recognize and acknowledge the complexity of specialized knowledge required for effective technology integration, researchers have supported their efforts by develop key methods that will further the development of the TPACK in schools. Two of the most popular methods used to implement TPACK in the classroom today are Learning Technology by Design and Activity Types.  

            The Learning Technology by Design, method, mostly used at the collegiate level is implemented by allowing students to work collaboratively in groups or teams to design “authentic technology artifacts such as web pages, blogs, wikis, movies, etc, that will act as solutions to current  ill-structured instructional problems,” (Koehler, Mishra, et al., 2013). Using this method educators serve as facilitators or guides on the side, overseeing the learning development of students understanding through the use of technology.

            The other and more popular method used by teachers to support the TPACK is "Activity types". Activity types are “domain driven learning activities that students do everyday in their classrooms” (Koehler, Mishra, et al., 2013) Using this method teachers begin by first selecting the learning goals they hope students will achieve, followed by the selection of activity types that will employ to meet these specific goals, and concludes the process by finally selecting specific technologies based on the choice of activity types.  What makes this method most conducive for learning is that it allows teachers of all abilities the flexibility to seamlessly integrate technology into any grade level, and with any content area.  More importantly the use of the Activity types method supports the development of the TPACK because the process begins with teachers "incorporating relatively familiar technologies" into classroom activities they are already comfortable using with students, which over time allows them "the ability to gradually progress to to using tools that are more advanced" (Koehler, Mishra, et al., 2013).  

      Examples of this method are clearly illustrated in Judi Harris and Mark Holfer's, 2009,  Instructional Planning Activity Types as Vehicles for Curriculum-Based TPACK Development, which provides readers with a plethora of Activity types and possible technologies that can be used to support these activity types use in the classroom. The examples provided clearly reveal that even the most routine of classroom activities like answering questions, writing reports, and designing models can be dramatically transformed and enriched through the use of web-based applications and tools .  

         Therefore, Teaching with the TPACK therefore is very similar to the actions of a composer, writing a complex symphony, as it's provides a framework from which to organize and manage the complex  nature of teaching and complexities associated with ever changing technology based instruments. More importantly teaching with the TPACK allows educators a framework from to build and achieve meaningful and authentic learning activities that efficiently integrate the use use of technology into their classrooms, instead of creating activities that are centered around the technology tools themselves.

References

Harris J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for curriculum- based TPACK development. In C.D. Maddux, (Ed.). Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 99-108). Chesapeake, V.A: Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (Site). Retrieved December 1, 2014 from: http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/file/view/HarrisHofer-TPACKActivityTypes.pdf

Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge?         Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved  December 4, 2014 from: http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v9i1general1.pdf

Koehler, M.J., Mishra, P. Akcaoglu, M. & Rosenberg, J.M. (2013). The technological pedagogical content knowledge framework for teachers and teacher educators. Retrieved December 1, 2014 from: http://cemca.org.in/ckfinder/userfiles/files/ICT%20teacher%20education%20Module%201%20Final_May%2020.pdf

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Using the TPACK framework: you can have your hot tools and teach with them, too. Learning & Leading  with Technology, 36(7), 14-18. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ839143.pdf

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2013, April). Introducing TPACK, technological pedagogical           content knowledge. Retrieved December 4, 2014 from: http://www.nbexcellence.org/cms_files/resources/Mishra-TPACK-Handout.pdf