Source: Image of light, Public Domain, http://tinyurl.com/p4pfjr7; Image of screens, Public Domain, http://pixabay.com/en/tablet-screen-monitor-phone-pc-313002/ ; Image for creativity, Public Domain, http://pixabay.com/en/creativity-man-silhouette-clock-70192/; Skype logo, Public Domain, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skype-icon.png; Image of Google, Public Domain, http://pixabay.com/en/google-search-engine-76522/ ; Image of TPACK, Creative Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tpack.jpg
Welcome to a tutorial on TPACK. In today's tutorial, we will discuss how are technology, content, and pedagogy connected. How learning will learning TPACK help you as a teacher use technology more effectively in your classroom. And how will your students be positively affected by TPACK.
Let's start with a review of Shulman's model of pedagogical content knowledge. Remember, Shulman talked about two different areas-- Pedagogical Knowledge, or PK, which is how students learn and how we teach. What are the best practices for our students-- those strategies and methods for teaching our students? An example of this is using activities that involve contextualization. A best practice for teaching is helping our students connect their own lives to the material we are trying to teach.
The other side of this model is the Content Knowledge, or CK. And this is what we are teaching and our knowledge of that content-- a deep understanding of what it is that we are teaching our students. For example, a physics teacher would need a deep knowledge of physics and physics content.
Right in the middle of PK and CK is PCK, Pedagogical Content Knowledge. This is how to teach what we are teaching to our specific students. For example, if a group of students we knew benefited from cooperative grouping, we might use a collaborative workspace for the content area that we are working in for students to collaborate and work together-- maybe edit and revise together.
Let's take a moment to reflect on this idea. Has technology changed teaching? Can you think of ways that technology has changed the way we teach? What about the way students learn? Have advances in technology changed the content that we teach? Technology has changed teaching in many different ways, including collaboration, information gathering, remote learning opportunities, as well as teacher preparation opportunities. How does technology change Shulman's model?
Remember, Shulman had this idea of PK and CK, but you can see here there's another circle added, which is technological knowledge. This is the understanding of the wide range of tools available-- both standard tools as well as advanced technology tools. For example, we might use Google Docs to record and edit information, where before, we had students record information and edit information with pen and paper.
Building on Shulman's model, when we add in the component of technology, it creates further overlaps in this model, including TPK or Technological Pedagogical Knowledge. This is the understanding and application of technological tools, as well as intentionally selecting the tools that are appropriate for your class and your group of students based on pedagogy. An example would be using a class blog to collaborate and share ideas.
We also have the overlapping area of TCK, or Technological Content Knowledge. This is the understanding of relationships between content and tools and the ability to modify and manipulate with these different technological tools. For example, we might use a virtual manipulative tool in a math class. Or we might use the internet to do research in a specific content area-- so taking the content area and adding in the appropriate technological tools.
In the middle of all of this we have Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. And this is the sweet spot. This is where we want to strive to be as teachers. We want to have the ability to connect pedagogy, content, and technology all together and intertwine it in our teaching. An example of being in that sweet spot with TPACK would be using cooperative grouping to have students research using the internet for a persuasive essay. In groups, students might create a podcast or a blog and then publish the podcast or blog and receive feedback on that. So not only are we applying content knowledge of doing some research on the internet for knowledge of pollution, but we are also taking some grouping strategies and some technology strategies and adding it all together.
So let's reflect on these ideas. Can you think of technology tools that you can integrate into your teaching comfortably? Are there tools that you currently use that you could bring into your teaching for your students? What would the challenges of technology integration be for you, personally? Are you comfortable with technology, or could you use some practice with technological tools? Who can you collaborate with for ideas and resources?
Let's talk about what we learned today. In this tutorial, we discussed the following questions-- how our technology, content, and pedagogy connected? How will learning TPACK help you as a teacher use technology more effectively in your classroom? And how will your students be positively affected by TPACK? Remember, TPACK is that sweet spot of teaching where we integrate technology, content, and pedagogy, or best practices, into our teaching to create the best learning environment we can for our students.
Thanks for joining me today in this tutorial. I hope you're able to use these ideas about TPACK and start to incorporate technology more in your own classroom. As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the additional resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you will find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill set.
Partnering for Success: A 21st Century Model for Teacher Preparation
This white paper focuses on on partnering for success for 21st century learning and the application of TPACK to prepare new teachers in various educational models. It also examines case studies and provides concrete examples and suggestions.
https://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/partnering-for-success.pdf
TPACK Goes to Sixth Grade
This is a great article detailing the implementation of TPACK in a 6th grade classroom. Refer to the findings section to determine possible implications for your classroom planning and instruction regarding the integration of technology, pedagogy, and content.
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ960153.pdf
Using TPACK to Guide a 1-1 iPad Pilot
This article outlines how the implementation of a 1-1 initiative is being rolled out using the TPACK framework at Alexandria Country Day School in Virginia. The article focuses on the following critical areas and provides examples of each in action: Collaboration, Enduring Understandings, Deeper Learning, and Lessons Learned.
http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/07/29/tpack-and-ipads.aspx