Module 9: TPACK and me



As a beginning teacher who is experienced and comfortable with technology, the concept of TPACK seems a bit of a no-brainer; meaning I can’t really imagine planning my lessons any other way.  I suspect that I have good TK, satisfactory CK (Excellent in some areas but will surely need a brushing up in others!) and developing PK, which would place me where the red star is below.  The goal is to increase my PK to get to the yellow star.



In the workplace, after setting the goal or target, standard practice for any new project or plan always starts with an assessment of the available resources and, in my eyes, this framework provides a similar approach to teaching.  Identify the goals of your project (ie the lesson or project you want to deliver – and the curriculum outcomes), assess what resources you have first (your TPACK), then identify and address any gaps in order to give your project the greatest chance of success.  Wish it was as easy as it sounds!

In addition, I’d like to add that I feel privileged to be entering the profession of teaching at a time when the integration of technology is widely accepted, and not having to be changing my whole way of knowing and being in the workplace in order to integrate technology.  If one was an experienced teacher, to be in a position where the children know more than you, and they know that they do, would be very daunting.  Previously, as a parent, I have had no patience for what I have seen as inflexible teachers  but now, as a potential teacher, I am looking with new eyes and feel a lot more empathy for those who have taught a certain way for a long time and are now being dragged into this new ‘media ecology’ (Mishra, 2008).

It has been said that successful technology integration depends on the predisposition and willingness of the teacher (Soujah, 2014), however with a plethora of available choices and the myriad other pressures of teaching, even the most willing of  teachers can be “overwhelmed by the avalanche of developments… in marketing literature and teaching journals. The consequences of making bad decisions are costly in terms of money, time and teacher confidence” (Mukherjee, 2013). TPACK provides a structure to enable teachers to “visualize the complex relationships between the different domains of their knowledge” (Kilbane and Milman, 2014, p. 51) and to deliver pedagogically sound, engaging, student-centred lessons using technology.

References: 

Kilbane, C. R., & Milman, N. B. (2014). Teaching models: Designing instruction for 21st century learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Mishra, P. & Koehler, M., (18/2/14). SITE 2008 Keynote Address. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXLdqO0fY3w 

Mukherjee, M. M. (2013). Technological tools for science classrooms: choosing and using for productive and sustainable teaching and learning experiences (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Queensland). Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/66862/1/s41236307_phd_thesisfinal.pdf

Soujah, S. (2014). Technology Integration in Schools Is We Overinvested and Underprepared? International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 4(5), 444-447. Retrieved from http://www.ijiet.org/papers/447-EI3001.pdf

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 2, 2018 at 1:24 PM


    Hi Mel. I am with you in that the concept of TPACK is a no-brainer if you are serious about integrating ICT successfully. I do hold one concern (always the pessimist);
    My wife and I were only just talking about the cross-curriculum priority of ICT integration, and it got us talking about how given the rapid pace at which technology evolves - how the heck are teaches expected to keep up? We have not reached any significant conclusion on this, apart from continued ICT P.D (on top of all the other quotas of P.D. we have to manage i.e 10's, STEM etc.). What are your thoughts?


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    Replies
    1. Melinda BartonMay 2, 2018 at 11:48 PM

      hey James.

      You know, keeping up with changes in ICT doesn't greatly concern me...i'm more concerned with kids climbing on desks, or throwing things or Snap Chatting all through my classes...or talking over me - my concerns are endless!!

      . Although there is a plethora of stuff out there, if you are using it regularly, I think you sort of just absorb it. In my current job, i haven't really done any formal training on any of the IT systems yet I am pretty competent with all of them. I think if we stick to making sure that anything we are using is 'pedagogically sound', then it doesn't matter if we are using the latest and greatest shiny new thing...I personally don't think it's about keeping up, it's about making the most of what you have - remember what Punya Mishra said in that early module ? That we should challenge technocentrism and "repurpose existing tools", and that "creativity is the only solution"!
      Because, I think you'd work yourself into a decline if you tried to keep up with every gadget that came along. I'm having all sorts of trouble with this portfolio of resources assessment because I keep getting sidetracked by something else and something else and then an hour has gone and all I've done is marvel at all the resources out there...!!
      My thoughts for what they are worth...
      cheers
      Mel

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    2. GirlBearMay 5, 2018 at 6:18 PM

      Hi Mel, I have to agree with you that one would fail at trying to keep up with all the new shiny things. Having had a brief look at Gonski 2.0 I agree with the overall recommendations pointing towards an emphasis on critical thinking. Teaching kids how to become continuous learners, the reports number 2 being to equip every child to be a creative, connected and engaged learner in a rapidly changing world (Through Growth to Achievement, 2018, p5).
      From my own personal experience I find that once you have the basics of how technology works you can pretty much drive anything. And if all else fails google some instructions! lol

      Reference:
      Department of Education and Training. (2018) Through Growth to Achievement Report of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian School. Retrieved from: https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/20180430-Through-Growth-to-Achievement_Text.pdf

      Delete
    3. Melinda BartonMay 9, 2018 at 7:02 PM

      hi Bear
      Yes, exactly my point. Once you have a certain level of literacy with technology, there shouldn't be many things you can't work out. I suppose though that we should be careful making sweeping statements like this because I know for a fact that there are people out there who simply cannot work any of it out...But, if you were one of those, you would do what my good friend Mishra said and 'repurpose existing tools' ie use something you do understand. I also think that to engage the students in working with you to work it out would be a terrific constructivist activity.
      cheers
      Mel

      Delete
    4. therealandypyeMay 22, 2018 at 3:38 PM

      Hi All,

      I don't mind the TPACK framework, but as James mentioned, Technology expands at such a rate that perhaps is unsustainable to be a focus for teachers. The TPACK framework intersects the three elements. Save to re draw it, what would happen if there was a circle of technology inside the three elements? It would still be a TPACK model but there would be a (comparatively small) technological element in all three, rather than all three needing to meet in order for technology to be (overly) relevant

      Delete
  2. Jess PikeMay 2, 2018 at 2:43 PM

    Hi Mel,

    I like your inclusion of a TPACK diagram and I feel the same in terms of content knowledge (confident in some areas- biology- more than others- chemistry), and have a deficit in my pedagogical knowledge, due to lack of teaching experience in my case.
    I agree there will be many challenges for teachers in terms of what technological choices to make, especially due to the nature of ICT being rapidly changing, opaque and protean (many different uses) (Koehler and Mishra, 2009).

    Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/volume-9/issue-1-09/general/what-is-technological-pedagogicalcontent-knowledge

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