Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska passed away a couple of days ago. I first heard of her on an NPR show a few years back (and had included a couple of her poems on the blog – see here and here). If you have never read her work, I entreat you to do so. She is an absolutely brilliant poet, simple, straightforward, yet deep, with a wonderful touch of whimsy and humor. Here are a couple of her poems:
Readers of this blog know that I am always looking for examples of good / bad design (actually I am usually not looking for bad design – it just sort of comes and slaps me on the side of the head!). I thought I might share one with you today, that I found in my hotel room in Barcelona. First off here is what it looks like.
Rather cool don’t you think? Well, as always, there is more… Read the rest of this entry »
Recently I had been invited to the Birmingham School District to speak to the administrators, teachers and broader community about their recent initiatives on 21st Century Learning. I had a wonderful visit – which I was reminded of by this article (On the Front Lines of the Future) in the Highlander, the Seaholm High School’s Student Voice. This is an extremely well written and honest article about the vision, implementation and challenges faced by schools seek to change how they do business. It incorporates thoughts from teachers and students both pro- and con and is really worth a read.
My visit and presentation is mentioned somewhere along the way (towards the middle of the article). Most of what I shared with the audience built on the work done by Kristen Kereluik and myself on reviewing 21st Century Learning skills and providing a synthesis of the same. This work had been originally presented at last year’s SITE conference (in a paper titled What 21st Century Learning? A review and a synthesis) and can be found here.
Thanks to David Reed-Nordwall, Director of 21st Century Teaching and Learning for Birmingham Public Schools, for inviting me for this event.
Richard Olsen over in his blog has an extended posting titled The TPACK Framework is fundamentally flawed. It is a long and thoughtful post and I recommend everyone to read it.
I have posted a short response to his posting (it is under moderation but should show up in a while). In the mean-time I am posting my response here – for the record.
Richard,
Thank you for your extended and thoughtful post on the TPACK framework. There is a lot here to respond to but I will be brief…
I think you would be surprised to learn just how much I agree with what you are saying. In fact in our original TCRecord piece we write something along the lines of “Clearly, separating the three components (content, pedagogy, and technology) in our model is an analytic act and one that is difficult to tease out in practice.” As I see it you are arguing that it is impossible (or even wrong) to tease these out. I would disagree.
In my experience the TPACK framework allows different people to see different things. To content area teachers, it allows them to see the value of technologies in representing and engaging with content; to teacher trainers it allows them to think about the significance of content and technology; and to techie types, it shows that there is more to teaching than the tool – it has to do with pedagogy and content.
Every once in a while I meet someone like yourself – someone for whom the TPACK is intuitive – so that breaking things up into pieces just seems wrong. And for the most part I agree – again as we said in our article: “Viewing any of these components in isolation from the others represents a real disservice to good teaching.”
But these ideas are not intuitive to most people – and this is where I think the TPACK framework comes in useful – as a scaffolding to help people develop in their thinking about curriculum, content, technology and pedagogy.
I agree that is IS wrong is to essentialize the components of the TPACK framework (which I see a lot of people doing – but that is their doing not inherent in how we wrote/conceptualized it). The goal really should be to think about this sweet spot at the center – where these pieces come together. Now whether you call that good pedagogy for content learning – or good pedagogy with technology for content learning is at some level immaterial (I think).
I don’t know if you have had a chance to read the handbook chapter that Matt and I had written. You can find it here
I think this has a better description of the technology issue that you raised – that I (being lazy) don’t have the time to get into.And finally, there is a famous saying among academics that goes, I don’t care if you disagree with me, just make sure to cite me and spell my name correctly.
I bring that up because you got the first part (citing) but got my name wrong… it is Mishra not Misha
That’s all for now. Take care
~ punya
Every Christmas-break our family creates a stop-motion video new year’s greeting card. We have been doing this for 4 years or so and it is an incredibly fun way to spend time together. It has become a “signature” thing we do as a family. Anyway this year was no exception – though it took us much longer than before to come up with a good idea – and then to execute it was another challenge. Anyway, here it is (on Vimeo).
A very wonderful holidays and a very happy new year to all of you,
from Shreya, Soham, Smita & Punya
Just a few comments on the making of these videos. First, all our new-year videos are stop-motion videos. That’s how we made the first one and it has stuck. Second, all these videos are somewhat typographical in nature – playing with words and their representation. Third, these videos rarely feature us either individually or as a family. A hand or a still-frame may show up once in a while but for the most part our videos are made with inanimate objects.
This year I tried to change all three of these, suggesting that we make a live action video, with us as actors – and have some kind of a puzzle that was not related to words. After spending days thinking about this, working with various ideas, this whole line of thought was vetoed down by both Soham and Shreya. It was interesting to me that over time we had not only become a family that makes videos but a family that makes stop motion videos! How cool an identity is that! Of course, this meant that we then had to start over from scratch to come up with something that fit what we had done in the past.
Speaking of videos made in the past, you can see them by following the links below:
I have been haunted the past week or so with the scandal enveloping Penn State. Much as been written about it already – and I really have nothing fundamentally new to offer to this discussion. What I did want to share was a parallel that struck me recently about these terrible events and a lovely yet horrifying short story I had read a long time ago.
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (Variations on a theme by William James) is a haunting short story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a short, sparse story, almost a parable, with almost no distinct characters.
It is about a beautiful city called Omelas, a city of happy people unburdened by any pain or sorrow. But this happiness is the result of a faustian bargain—a bargain where the happiness of all is dependent on having one child bear all the pain and sorrow of the entire city. This child lives in a dark, basement room, neglected and in constant pain. The story says that many people, though initially shocked, learn to accept this and seek to lead fruitful lives in Omelas. However, the story concludes that, there are always a few, who walk away, from the city, never to return. The story asks the question of whether it is, “right for the happiness of many to be built on pain and sorrow for one.”
I know that my synopsis does not do justice to the story. Do read it for yourself right here. Yes, right now. I can wait.
OK. Welcome back. Now wasn’t that a great story. I truly think it is one of the greatest stories ever written (at lease one of the greatest I have ever read).
So now coming back to the sorry state of affairs at Penn State. It seems to me that the Happy Valley in some sense struck a bargain similar to the one in the story. The entire football and university staff who knew or suspected what was going on chose to turn a blind eye to what was going on. The graduate assistant who stumbled upon the scene in the showers chose to let the child suffer to protect the good name of the program. The suffering of one child was worth it in exchange for maintaining the reputation of the football team or the University. The students who rioted after the firing of Joe Paterno were willing to make the same choice as well.
This is truly sad. I just hope that in the days and weeks to come, more and more people will have the courage to walk away from the Omelas.
I was recently at the Iowa Technology & Education Connection (ITEC) conference in Des Moines IA. I had a wonderful time meeting old friends and making some new ones. I was also asked to be part of a video that would be shared with ITEC members and other online sources. I received an email today letting me know that this video is now available on the ITEC website (and for embedding).
This was one of the most pleasant and professional interviews I have ever been involved in and I like how the final video has turned out. I think it is a pretty good introduction to not just the TPACK framework and our conceptualization of its development but also to our recent work on 21st century learning, creativity and trans-disciplinary learning. Enjoy.
Over the past year I have been involved in an exciting new initiative – a partnership between the College of Education at Michigan State University and the newly set up Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India. (A previous post about our ongoing work can be found here). The International Studies and Programs at MSU recently released a video about this work, featuring yours truly. You can see it here…
There is also an article in their magazine – but that’s not online at this time.
Much has been written about Steve Jobs in the past few weeks since his passing but the best piece I have come across is the eulogy by his sister Mona Simpson. Mona Simpson is an author and professor of writing and delivered this eulogy on Oct. 16 at his memorial service at the Memorial Church of Stanford University. It must be read in it entirety (NYTimes: A sister’s eulogy for Steve Jobs) but the thing that stands out in this eulogy was just how Jobs was truly a person who understood the here-now-ness and enchantment of every moment. The feeling of wonder that is at the heart of creativity, of living life to its fullest.
Read the entire article for your self… (as one of my friends said, it is a “lump-in-throat kinda moving”) but what I want to highlight is how it ends. Mona describes his last battle against ugliness, his final battle with cancer and says:
But with that will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.
Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.
… Steve’s final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.
Oh Wow! What a way to live. What a way to go.
TPACK Newsletter, Issue #11:October 2011
Welcome to the eleventh edition of the (approximately quarterly) TPACK Newsletter! TPACK work is continuing worldwide, and is appearing in an increasing diversity of publication, conference, and professional development venues. This document contains recent updates to that work that we hope will be interesting and useful to you, our subscribers.
If you are not sure what TPACK is, please surf over to http://www.tpack.org/ to find out more.
Gratuitous Quote About Technology
Is it a fact – or have I dreamt it – that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?—Nathaniel Hawthorne
In This Issue
-1. Gratuitous Quote About Technology
0. In This Issue (You are here.)
1. TPACK Newsletter Update
2. Recent TPACK Publications
3. Recent TPACK Presentations
4. Recent TPACK-Related Dissertations
5. Recent TPACK-Related Professional Development
6. Other TPACK Updates
7. TPACK Work in Progress
8. TPACK Newsletter Suggested Citation
9. Learning and Doing More with TPACK –. Un-numbered miscellaneous stuff at the end
1. TPACK Newsletter Update
The TPACK newsletter currently has 1191 subscribers! This represents an 8% increase during the last five months and a 68% increase since the March SITE 2010 conference.
2. Recent TPACK Publications
Below are recent TPACK publications that we know about: 43 articles and 10 chapters(!). If you know of others that were published within the past several months, please let us know (tpack.news.editors@wm.edu).
Articles
Abbitt, J. T. (2011). An investigation of the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs about technology integration and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) among preservice teachers. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 27(4), 134–143.
Abstract: This exploratory study investigated the relationship between measures of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and the self-efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers about technology integration. Within a single-group, pretest–posttest design, a correlational analysis identified several knowledge domains in the TPACK model that the researcher found to have a significant and positive correlation with self-efficacy beliefs about technology integration. A multiple regression analysis of pretest and posttest data indicated a change over time in the predictive relationship between the measures of knowledge in TPACK domains and self-efficacy beliefs. Findings from the study illustrate the changing nature of the complex relationship between knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs and highlight the potential areas of knowledge in TPACK domains that influence preservice teachers‘ beliefs about technology integration.?
Abbitt, J. (2011). Measuring technological pedagogical content knowledge in preservice teacher education: A review of current methods and instruments. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(4), 281–300.
Abstract: Many research efforts are underway that focus on developing the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2007; Mishra & Koehler, 2006) as a lens through which to observe the role of technology in teacher knowledge. This review of literature examines the development of the TPACK framework with a particular focus on assessing TPACK in the context of preservice teacher preparation programs. In an effort to highlight the emerging instruments and methods currently available for use with this specific group, this study provides an overview of instruments and methods as well as a discussion of the challenges, purposes, and potential uses of these tools for TPACK-based evaluation of preservice teacher preparation experiences.?
Adcock, L. & Bolick, C. (2011). Web 2.0 Tools and the evolving pedagogy of teacher education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 11(2), 223-236. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/35970
Abstract: Teacher educators are constantly revisiting and revising their teacher education programs. Historically, research, educational policy, and accreditation requirements have been the impetus for renewal in teacher education. For the past 20 years, technology innovation has played an increasingly significant role in rethinking teacher education. This paper discusses recent changes in a social studies teacher education program and the role Web 2.0 tools played in helping to rethink pedagogy.?
An, H., Wildera, W. & Limb, K. (2011). Preparing elementary pre-service teachers from a non-traditional student population to teach with technology. Computers in the Schools, 28(2), 170-193. doi: 10.1080/07380569.2011.577888
Abstract: This article documents the development of a two-stage curriculum intended to improve elementary teacher candidates‘ understanding of technology integration. Most students in the program came from low-income districts and lacked technology experience. The first stage of the curriculum consisted of a prerequisite basic technology skills course offered by the Computer Science Department. This was then followed by an online educational technology course offered by the College of Education. The objectives of the authors in this article are twofold. The first is to describe the rationale, procedures, and design of a two-stage curriculum, as a pedagogical model for teaching elementary teacher candidates to teach with technology, with the goal of preparing a new generation of teachers who are capable and comfortable applying a broad range of advanced technologies to meet the learning needs of their students. The second objective is to share the authors’ findings from the evaluation, which employed mixed methodologies, after the students completed the online educational technology course. The results showed that an online educational technology course contributed to the candidates‘ development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and improved their attitudes and beliefs on their technology integration practices.?
Archambault, L. (2011). The practitioner’s perspective on teacher education: Preparing for the K-12 online classroom. Journal of Technology & Teacher Education, 19(1), 73-91.
Abstract: Little is known about the population of educators who teach online, especially with relationship to preparation from their teacher education programs. This article discusses the results of a national survey of K-12 online teachers from across the nation to ascertain how prepared they felt they were with regard to three key areas: technology, pedagogy, and content, including combinations of these domains, as described by the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Overall, K-12 online teachers indicated that they felt the most prepared in the areas of pedagogy, content, and pedagogical content. They felt least prepared in the areas of technology, including technological pedagogical knowledge, technological content knowledge, and technological pedagogical content knowledge. Implications for the field of teacher education are discussed, including the need to more fully integrate technology within the coursework and field experiences of teacher candidates, and the need to create courses, or specific modules within existing courses, to address topics of importance to virtual teaching.?
Bos, B. (2011). Professional development for elementary teachers using TPACK. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 11(2). Retrieved from
http://www.citejournal.org/vol11/iss2/mathematics/article1.cfm
Abstract: Teacher preparation for the 21st century deserves a front-end approach to addressing the use of technology in the learning environment. To study the effect of instructing with technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK), teachers were asked to apply pedagogical, mathematical, and cognitive fidelity to technology used in an instructional unit they were designing. Initial results indicated that teachers were conflicted by a conceptual approach to technology use. Through clarifying and defining pedagogy, mathematics, and cognitive fidelity within the TPACK framework, teachers became more aware of the misuse of instructional technology, what attributes of technology lead to conceptual development, and integration of meaningful technology into instructional units. TPACK, with fidelity carefully defined, creates a research-based model by adding the qualifying features needed to maximize the potential of technology in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to look at the knowledge structures of TPACK and examine them in designing instruction units.?
Bower, M., Hedberg, J. G., & Kuswara, A.(2010). A framework for Web 2.0 learning design. Educational Media International, 47(3), 177-198.
Abstract: This paper describes an approach to conceptualising and performing Web 2.0-enabled learning design. Based on the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge model of educational practice, the approach conceptualises Web 2.0 learning design by relating Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Learning, Teaching and Assessing, and different types of constructive and negotiated pedagogies to a range of contemporary Web 2.0-based learning technologies. The learning design process can then be based upon the extent to which different Web 2.0 technologies support the content, pedagogical, modality and synchronicity requirements of the learning tasks. The model is resilient to the emergence of new Web 2.0 tools, as it views technology as only a mediator of pedagogy and content with attributes to fulfill the needs of the learning episode. A range of possible use cases, categorisations and examples are offered to illustrate the learning design concepts and processes, in order to promote more savvy and expedient application of Web 2.0 technologies in learning and teaching contexts.
Bowers, J. & Stephens, B. (2011).Using technology to explore mathematical relationships: A framework for orienting mathematics courses for prospective teachers. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 14(4), 285-304.
Abstract: The technological revolution that has finally permeated K-12 education has direct implications for modern teacher educators whose ‘Hippocratic oath’ is to best prepare future teachers for twenty-first-century classrooms. The goal of this article is to suggest that the heart of sound technological implementation is to encourage students to use whatever tools are available to explain the mathematical relations that underlie what they observe on the screen. We suggest ways in which Mishra and Koehler’s construct of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge may be customized to provide a framework for guiding prospective teachers’ efforts to develop and assess lesson plans that use technology in novel and effective ways. Data are presented in the form of two contrasting case studies to illustrate the differing degrees to which prospective mathematics teachers leveraged technology to teach themselves and their future students to explain the mathematics behind various topics.?
Chuang, H-H, & Ho, C-J. (2011). An investigation of early childhood teachers‘ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in Taiwan. Journal of Kirsehir Education Faculty, 12(2), 99-117. Retrieved from http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=abstract&id=782294&recNo=6&toc=1&uiLanguage=en
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of early childhood teachers in Taiwan. Quantitative Data was collected from a sample of 335 in-service early childhood teachers in Taiwan. The instrument was translated and adapted from Schmidt et al. (2009) TPACK survey instrument with added items to fit the early educational context in Taiwan. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and MANOVA. Findings from the study were summarized as follows: (a) The development of early childhood teachers? pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) were the best among the seven knowledge sub domains in TPACK.(b)The number of years of teaching experience was significantly positively correlated with early childhood teachers? pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Besides, early childhood teachers with over ten years of teaching experience had better self-assessed pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) than those teachers with less than ten years of teaching experience. (c) A significant positive correlation was found between pedagogical knowledge (PK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and age; however, a significant negative correlation existed with technology knowledge (TK) and age. Older early childhood teachers? self-assessed pedagogical knowledge (PK) was better than younger teachers while the young early childhood teachers had a better self-assessed technology knowledge (TK) (d) Early childhood teachers with a frequency of using information technology above 20 hours a week had better self-assessed technology knowledge (TK) and technological content knowledge (TCK) than those with a frequency under 5 hours a week Recommendations were also provided based on the findings from this study.?
Demir, S. (2011). Two inseparable facets of technology integration programs: Technology and theoretical framework. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 7(2), 75-88. Retrieved from http://www.ejmste.com/v7n2/EURASIA_v7n2_Demir.pdf
Abstract: This paper considers the process of program development aiming at technology integration for teachers. For this consideration, the paper focused on an integration program which was recently developed as part of a larger project. The participants of this program were 45 in-service teachers. The program continued for four weeks and the conduct of the program was video-recorded. Along with the video-records, the content of the program and the tools employed to document participants‘ development were analyzed. The analyses were performed on the basis of four components of integration program: objectives, content, teaching-learning situations and assessment. During the analyses, theoretical framework on which the program was based and the technology employed during the program was also evaluated. Based on this evaluation, this paper argues that in the process of both design and conduct of integration programs the technology employed during the program implementation as well as the theoretical framework which informs the use of technology during the program implementation need to be considered carefully. The paper provides evidence that technology and theoretical framework are two inseparable facets of both design and conduct of integration programs and a true understanding of the benefits of these programs could only be achieved through the consideration of these two along with the four components of any integration program.?
de Olviera, J. M. (2010). Pre-service teacher education enriched by technology-supported learning environments: A learning technology by design approach. Journal of Literacy & Technology, 11(1/2), 89-109.
Abstract: Many teacher educators are now concerned about how to scaffold student teachers in the development of the literacy demands of the digital age. The present paper presents a descriptive account of a learning technology by design approach to teacher education, which basically addresses this problem. It draws on a technological pedagogical content knowledge framework to conceptualize what it means learning to teach in the digital age and presents an educational experience, the subject New Technologies Applied to Education, taught in a pre-service teacher education program. The results of this subject approach show that the students’ semiotic production is an evidence that when learners are motivated, their capacity to learn is not limited by teachers’ capacity to teach. It is suggested pre-service teacher education should prepare future teachers not only to consume, but also to produce and distribute semiotic resources, taking a more active and critical role in their learning process.
Ehrke, J. (2011). The efficacy of mobile computing platforms: A case study(Abilene Christian University Connected Mobile Learning Fellows 2011 Research Reports). Retrieved from http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/Research/index.html
Abstract: Over the next decade, it is anticipated that mobile learning technologies will significantly impact the future of the graphing calculator platform. The impact of integrated devices (devices which blend productivity, social media, and computing) on educational design in mathematics remains largely unexplored. In this study, we analyze the results of a fall 2010 focused comparison of two sections of a first-year, general education mathematics course. Student performance data and student perceptions of usability are compared across two platforms: the SpaceTime™ mobile computing app and the Texas Instruments™ TI-8x series of graphing calculators. Pedagogical implications of the case study results are viewed and discussed as an integration of action-research within the TPACK framework.?
George, M. A. (2011). Preparing teachers to teach adolescent literature in the 21st century. Theory Into Practice, 50(3), 182-189.
Abstract: Written primarily for other English teacher educators, this article explores one university professor’s attempt to reflect on, review, and revise the content, pedagogy, and assessments utilized to teach a graduate course in adolescent literature to preservice and in-service teachers. The new and improved course is designed to simultaneously build content, pedagogical, curricular, and technological pedagogical content knowledge in English teachers.
Graham, C. R. (2011). Theoretical considerations for understanding technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Computers & Education, 57(3), 1953-1960.
Abstract: The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is increasing in use by educational technology researchers around the world who are interested in issues related to technology integration. Much that is good can be found in the TPACK framework; however considerable theoretical work needs to be done if TPACK research is to cohere and constructively strengthen the field of educational technology. This paper uses criteria for theory building as a lens for examining the TPACK framework. Specific weaknesses are identified, which in turn suggest areas needing theoretical development. This paper calls for researchers to increase emphasis on using research findings to constructively build common definitions and understandings of the TPACK constructs and the boundaries between them.
Haciomeroglu, E. S., Bu, L., Schoen, R. C., & Hohenwarter, M. (2011). Prospective teachers’ experiences in developing lessons with dynamic mathematics software. International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 18(2), 71-82.
Abstract: This study sought to examine the development of prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge as they worked individually and in small groups to develop and present lessons with dynamic mathematics software. In a three-semester long study, data were collected from 68 prospective secondary mathematics teachers enrolled in methods courses through their written reflections, lesson plans, and classroom observations. Our results suggest that the prospective teachers’ perspectives on teaching and learning mathematics with technology were enriched as a result of their participation in course activities. We discuss pedagogical implications for these results in a final section.?
Hammond, T. C. & Manfra, M. M. (2009). Technology integration. Social Studies Research & Practice, 4(3), 139-150.
Abstract: Social studies educators have displayed an interest in student-created multimedia, including digital documentaries. The research community has responded with a small but growing body of studies, but the literature to date has not explored students’ perspectives on these assignments. This study combined classroom observations, document analysis, and student interviews to examine students’ views of technology, the curriculum, and their final products. The findings reveal that students come to technology-based, content-driven assignments with prior conceptions of both the technology and the content. These expectations shape student actions and transform the assignment, in some cases surpassing curricular expectations. Evidence from students’ products, classroom observations, and interview data, however, also suggest that student agency was limited by the classroom reality of mimetic learning. The results of this study have various implications for teacher educators and educational researchers interested in leveraging technology to improve learning. They must acknowledge the dynamic nature of classroom interaction and the impact student choices have on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Technology integration occurs in the operational curriculum, often in unpredictable ways. Based on our study we know that student preconceptions and desires impact the learning goals. By better under-standing the role of student agency, teachers can plan for instruction that uses digital history to effectively teach content.?
Hardy, M. D. (2010). Facilitating growth in preservice mathematics teachers’ TPCK. National Teacher Education Journal, 3(2), 121-138.
Abstract: The X-Tech Project was intended to enhance preservice secondary mathematics teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge as well as their perceptions of that knowledge. Findings indicated not only that the Project attained that goal but that practically-oriented methods that meet many of the participants’ technology related needs are productive avenues for facilitating such learning. Use of a variety of resources to explore problems relevant to the level at which participants will teach, planning technology-infused lessons, and critiquing technological resources appear to be particularly beneficial.?
Jaipal, K., & Figg, C. (2010). Unpacking the “Total PACKage”: Emergent TPACK characteristics from a study of preservice teachers teaching with technology. Journal of Technology & Teacher Education, 18(3), 415-441.
Abstract: Four preservice teachers participated in a school-based collaborative initiative where they were supported by two university faculty members, a school board technology consultant and a master’s student to integrate technology into teaching practice. Preservice teachers planned and taught technology-enhanced lessons during a seven-week practice-teaching block at two K-8 schools. This article proposes a framework that outlines particular characteristics for supporting preservice teachers’ effective integration of technology into classroom practice. The characteristics emerged from a cross-case analysis of data sources from the four participants. Data sources included pre and post focus group interviews, individual interviews, planning and support sessions, lesson plans, and observations of preservice teachers’ classroom practice. A framework is proposed that expands understandings of the current Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Koehler & Mishra, 2008) for classroom practice.?
Khan, S. (2011). New pedagogies on teaching science with computer simulations. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(3), 215-232. doi: 10.1007/s10956-010-9247-2
Abstract: Teaching science with computer simulations is a complex undertaking. This case study examines how an experienced science teacher taught chemistry using computer simulations and the impact of his teaching on his students. Classroom observations over 3 semesters, teacher interviews, and student surveys were collected. The data was analyzed for (1) patterns in teacher-student-computer interactions, and (2) the outcome of these interactions on student learning. Using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) as a theoretical framework, analysis of the data indicates that computer simulations were employed in a unique instructional cycle across 11 topics in the science curriculum and that several teacher-developed heuristics were important to guiding the pedagogical approach. The teacher followed a pattern of ?generate-evaluate-modify? (GEM) to teach chemistry, and simulation technology (T) was integrated in every stage of GEM (or T-GEM). Analysis of the student survey suggested that engagement with T-GEM enhanced conceptual understanding of chemistry. The author postulates the affordances of computer simulations and suggests T-GEM and its heuristics as an effective and viable pedagogy for teaching science with technology.?
Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P., Bouck, E. C., DeSchryver, M., Kereluik, K., Shin, T. S., & Wolf, L. G. (2011). Deep-play: Developing TPACK for 21st century teachers. International Journal of Learning Technology, 6(2), 146-163. doi: 10.1504/IJLT.2011.042646 Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/koehler.et.al.ijlt2011.pdf
Abstract: A key complication facing teachers who seek to integrate technology in their teaching is the fact that most technologies are not designed for educational purposes. Making a tool an educational technology requires creative input from the teacher to re-design, or maybe even subvert the original intentions of the designer. The learning technology by design (LT/D) framework has been proposed as being an effective instructional technique to develop deeper understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge. In this paper we expand our description of the LT/D technique to develop what we call a deep-play model for teacher professional development. The deep-play model integrates: a) pedagogy for key 21st century learning skills; b) content that cuts across disciplines with trans-disciplinary cognitive tools; c) technology by the creative repurposing of tools for pedagogical purposes.
Kukkonen, J., Kärkkäinen, S., Valtonen, T., & Keinonen, T. (2011). Blogging to support inquiry-based learning and reflection in teacher students’ science education. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 31,73-84.
Abstract: This study aims to clarify primary school teacher students’ experiences about the use of blogs in the context of a science course which includes collaborative inquiry-based approaches and a field trip. Teacher students were asked to design and conduct a small inquiry and report the phases of the process in a blog and then write their ideas about inquiry-based teaching and learning in it. The inquiry process was loosely scaffolded by linking the blogs together. The students were also asked to fill in a questionnaire of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), in order to acquire insight into their views on the scaffolding needed for their own inquiry process, as well as the role of scaffolding in the inquiry method in primary school. The findings showed that after discussing them with each other, teacher students were able to formulate personally meaningful problems for their investigation. Teacher students investigated multidisciplinary elements and learned about different phases of the inquiry and the blogs enabled them to follow the process of others. Teacher students’ information retrieval and processing skills developed throughout the inquiry and aided them in other teacher education courses, also giving them a firm foundation and confidence in accessing and applying information as life-long learners.
Li, H. (2010). Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) for Educators. International Journal of Continuing Education & Lifelong Learning, 2(2), 119-120.
Abstract: The article reviews the book “Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) for Educators,” edited by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Committee on Innovation and Technology.
McGrath, J., Karabas, G., & Willis. J. (2011). From TPACK concept to TPACK practice: An analysis of the suitability and usefulness of the concept as a guide in the real world of teacher development. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 1-23. Retrieved from http://www.sicet.org/journals/ijttl/issue1101/1_Willis.pdf
Abstract: This paper describes the TPACK model and how it was used to guide the design and development of a school district‘s teacher development program that was funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Education. The usefulness of the TPACK model as a framework for teacher development projects was evaluated using interviews of teachers who participated in a project. The results indicate that TPACK is a very powerful and appropriate model when used as a framework for such projects. Even critiques and recommendations made by teachers were often expressions of TPACK basic principles or assumptions that highlighted where the project could have better met TPACK ideals. However, TPACK does not appear to be a model that can be used as a single source of conceptual guidelines. The interview data highlighted important, even crucial, aspects of a project that are not directly addressed by the TPACK model. Chief among these were logistical issues, the need to consider principles of adult learning and diffusion models when designing development projects, and the crucial importance of building and supporting social/professional networks.
Mouza, C. (2011). Promoting urban teachers‘ understanding of technology, content, and pedagogy in the context of case development. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 44(1), 1–29.
Abstract: This study investigated the potential of a professional development program centered on case development to help urban teachers: (a) integrate technology with content and pedagogy and (b) cultivate habits of reflection required to learn from practice. Qualitative analysis revealed that case development helped teachers develop an understanding of the nuanced relationships among technology, content, and pedagogy and engage in the type of reflection that enables learning from practice. Nevertheless, variability existed in the ways that teachers applied new knowledge to practice. Factors that influenced teachers‘ learning and practice included beliefs about students, prescribed curricula, and lack of resources.”
Niess, M. L. (2011). Investigating TPACK: Knowledge growth in teaching with technology. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 44(3), 299-317.
Abstract: Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) presents a dynamic framework for describing teachers’ knowledge required for designing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and instruction with technology. TPACK strategic thinking includes knowing when, where, and how to use domain-specific knowledge and strategies for guiding students’ learning with appropriate information and communication technologies. Multiple visual and verbal descriptions reflect evolving recognitions of teacher educators and educational researchers as they have struggled to respond to the challenges in describing and developing teachers’ TPACK. This extensive reflection maps the historical acceptance of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with the emerging views of and challenges with TPACK. A review of empirical progress in the investigation of TPACK serves to illuminate potential insights, values, and challenges for directing future educational implementations designed to identify a teacher’s learning trajectory in the development of a more robust and mature TPACK for supporting them in teaching with current and emerging technologies.”
Oster-Levinz, A., & Klieger, A. (2010). Online tasks as a tool to promote teachers‘ expertise within the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 354-358. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.024 Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042810000649
Abstract: In the Information Communication Technology (ICT) era, teachers will have to wisely use the online environment in order to realize a new pedagogy. We developed a digital indicator for examining the extent to which technological knowledge is integrated with pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This indicator is used to examine online tasks developed by teachers in different subjects over time. It enables quantitative measurement of the integration of technological knowledge with content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and thus affords a measure for the extent of integration. The digital indicator can be used to plan online tasks as well as for the teachers to test their own professional development in integrating technology in teaching. Use of the digital indicator can be implemented when training student teachers as well as in in-service training for teachers. Fifty-three online tasks developed by 14 high school teachers in different subjects were evaluated between 2001 and 2007. Evaluation of the online tasks was performed quantitatively using the digital evaluation instrument after it was validated and its reliability was examined. We examined the change and progress which took place in the integration of technological knowledge with pedagogical content knowledge over time as well as the contribution of guidance to the teachers‘ professional development for integration of technology in teaching. The findings indicate that the effect of time, which is expressed by the acquisition of experience, contributes to the integration of the technological knowledge with the teachers‘ pedagogical content knowledge. The findings also indicate that guidance plays a significant role in the implementation of the integration of technological knowledge with the teachers‘ pedagogical content knowledge. We recommend that correct integration of TPACK should be emphasized when planning professional development for teachers in the field of online tasks. We also recommend the development of models for teachers‘ professional development for integration of technology in teaching, with reference to the teachers‘ professional knowledge, i.e. their pedagogical content knowledge. The best ways for integrating the technological knowledge must be examined, such that the focus will not be on learning technological tools, but rather on the integration of pedagogy in technology. It is necessary to start from the field of knowledge and the teaching methods appropriate for this particular field of knowledge, and there to integrate technology. Optimal integration will lead to a change in teaching, to relevance for the students and to meaningful learning.
Özgün-Koca, S. A., Meagher, M., Edwards, M. T. (2011). A teacher’s journey with a new generation handheld: Decisions, struggles, and accomplishments. School Science and Mathematics, 111(5), 209-224. doi: 10.1111/j.1949-8594.2011.00080.x
Abstract: In this technology-oriented age, teachers face daily decisions regarding the use of advanced digital technologies—graphing calculators, dynamic geometry software, blogs, wikis, podcasts and the like—to enhance student mathematical understanding in their classrooms. In this case study, the authors use the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model in conjunction with a five-stage developmental model, which can be used to describe growth in TPACK to describe the initial attempts of a teacher, Jane, to develop TPACK as she learns and attempts to integrate an advanced teaching technology into her classroom, namely the TI-Nspire graphing calculator. The study tracks her struggles to reconcile some traditional beliefs about how students learn with her desire to be responsive to what she perceives as affordances of advanced digital technologies. Main data collection methods were journal writing, observations, document analysis, and interviews. Using the five-stage developmental model, we saw that this experience helped Jane to move among different stages. This study showed that the TPACK model with the five-stage developmental model can be a beneficial tool for researchers to study teachers’ professional growth and is also a valuable tool for teachers to reflect on their own growth.?
Özmantar, M. F., Akkoç, H., Bingölbali, E., Demir, S., & Ergene, B. (2010). Pre-service mathematics teachers’ use of multiple representations in technology-rich environments. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 6(1), 19-36.
Abstract: In this paper, we examine the development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ use of multiple representations during teaching in technology-rich environments. The pre-service teachers took part in a preparation program aimed at integration of technology into teaching mathematics. The program was designed on the basis of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework; and the mathematical content chosen for the program was the concept of derivative. The pre-service teachers’ development was scrutinized in terms of their knowledge of representations, of connections established among the representations, and of the aspects of derivative emphasized by these connections. On the basis of our analyses we argue that any attempt to prepare pre-service teachers for effective use of technology in teaching mathematics needs to explicitly focus on the functions of multiple representations in tandem with the mathematical content under consideration. We discuss the educational implications of the study in designing and conducting of the preparation programs related to the successful integration of technology in teaching mathematics.?
Pamuk, S. (2011), Understanding preservice teachers’ technology use through TPACK framework. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00447.x
Abstract: This study discusses preservice teachers’ achievement barriers to technology integration, using principles of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) as an evaluative framework. Technology-capable participants each freely chose a content area to comprise project. Data analysis based on interactions among core components of TPACK revealed that participants struggled with developing new knowledge. Lack of pedagogical experience limited development of appropriate technology integration approaches. Creating new knowledge bases based on different teaching components can be difficult for preservice teachers because it requires a deep understanding of core knowledge and interpretation of the teaching context and its dynamics. Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is an important factor in overall technology integration; teachers must make it a priority to acquire PCK before integrating technology. In preservice teacher education, PCK development must be supported with actual teaching experience. We believe that the results of the study may provide valuable insight with respect to proper focus on technology integration and recognizing limitations and challenges within TPACK principles to both those who teach technology integration and those who design TPACK-based activities.?
Polly, D. (2011). Developing students’ higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) through technology-rich tasks. Educational Technology, 51(4), 20-26.
Abstract: Technology has been shown to positively influence student learning when students explore technology-rich tasks that simultaneously require them to use higher- order thinking skills (HOTS), such as analyzing or evaluating information or creating new representations of knowledge. Educational technology researchers have posited that in order for teachers to effectively integrate technology, teachers need a set of knowledge components referred to as Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK). This article examines the overlap between technology-rich tasks that develop HOTS and TPACK in the context of formal school settings. Implications for research and practice related to implementing technology-rich tasks and developing teachers’ TPACK are also discussed.?
Polly, D. (2011). Developing teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) through mathematics professional development. International Journal for Technology in Mathematics Education, 18(2), 83-96.
Abstract: In recent years, educational technologists have advanced the construct Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to describe teachers’ knowledge related to effectively integrating technology. In this paper, I use the TPACK framework to examine elementary school teachers’ experience in a year-long professional development program, where participants used technology to explore mathematical tasks and were charged with integrating technology-rich tasks in their own classrooms. Participants were observed repeatedly during the school year when they reported their intent to use pedagogies from the professional development. While both participants integrated technology in their classroom, and displayed evidence of TPACK, their enacted pedagogies did not completely align to the pedagogies emphasized during professional development. Implications and suggestions for supporting and researching teachers’ development of TPACK are also shared.
Polly, D. (2011). Examining how the enactment of TPACK varies across grade levels in mathematics. Journal of Computers in Mathematics & Science Teaching, 30(1), 37-59.
Abstract: Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) has been advanced as a construct to describe teachers’ understandings related to effectively teaching with technology. This study examined the development of TPACK of two teachers during their mathematics teaching after participating in a learner-centered professional development (LCPD) project designed to support technology integration. Inductive analyses of classroom observations and interviews indicate that both teachers were able to enact aspects of TPACK in their classroom. However, teachers’ use of technology only developed students’ higher-order thinking skills and conceptual understanding in limited ways. Implications for future professional development projects and the TPACK model are also discussed.?
Sahin, I. (2011). Development of survey of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK). Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 10(1), 97-105.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to develop a survey of technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). The survey consists of seven subscales forming the TPACK model: 1) technology knowledge (TK), 2) pedagogy knowledge (PK), 3) content knowledge (CK), 4) technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), 5) technological content knowledge (TCK), 6) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and 7) TPACK. This study is conducted in five phases: 1) item pool, 2) validity and reliability, 3) discriminant validity, 4) test-retest reliability, and 5) translation of the TPACK survey. To examine language equivalence, both Turkish and English versions of the TPACK survey are administered to preservice teachers studying English language education. It is determined the questionnaire meets the language equivalence. Results demonstrate the TPACK survey is a valid and reliable measure.?
Salinas, C., Bellows, M. E. & Liaw, H. L. (2011). Preservice social studies teachers‘ historical thinking and digitized primary sources: What they use and why. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 11(2), 184-204. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/36223
Abstract: In this qualitative case study the authors explored secondary social studies preservice teachers‘ abilities to discern the digitized primary resources available to them for historical thinking instruction. The emerging analysis highlights the development of these young teachers‘ knowledge and understandings of digitized resources as they relate to historical thinking via a pragmatic meter and their pedagogical content knowledge. Using the teacher cognition scholarship of Shulman (2004), the study suggests that the preservice teachers‘ enumerated knowledge sources are vital in tracing teachers’ decisions.?
Schul, J. E. (2010). The mergence of CHAT with TPCK: A new framework for researching the integration of desktop documentary making in history teaching and learning. THEN: Technology, Humanities, Education & Narrative, 7,9-25.
Abstract: The description of the integration of desktop documentary making into a history classroom requires a research model or heuristic capable of capturing students’ interactions with various mediating agents, including their history teacher. This article claims that a mergence of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) with Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) provides a model sufficiently dynamic to describe how students making documentaries draw upon their teacher’s instruction, the software’s history making operations, and other resources while engaged in the compositional process.?
Schul, J. E. (2010). Necessity is the mother of invention: An experienced history teacher’s integration of desktop documentary making. International Journal of Technology in Teaching & Learning, 6(1), 14-32.
Abstract: Desktop documentary making elicits a new and unique way of doing history, and an examination into its integration into classroom instruction is warranted. This qualitative study explored one experienced teacher’s integration of desktop documentary making into a secondary history classroom. In addition to examining the teacher’s instructional practices, the compositional practices of five of this teacher’s students were investigated in order to illuminate the teacher’s integration of desktop documentary making as it related to history teaching and learning. Data were collected and coded to summarize the emergent themes. The findings reveal that the teacher’s integration of desktop documentary making complimented and enhanced inquiry-based practices already present in his classroom.?
Swan, K. & Hofer, M. (2011). In search of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Teachers’ initial foray into podcasting in economics. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 44(1), 75-98.
Abstract: In this paper, we report on work with eight practicing ninth grade social studies teachers to determine how they chose to integrate podcasting to help their students build on their economic literacy, which includes building both economic concepts and skills. The study is rooted in an interpretivist research paradigm, using the Council for Economic Education’s National Voluntary Content Standards in Economics (1997) and Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) theory of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to frame data generation, analysis, and the reporting of results. We found that teachers demonstrated strong technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) but a lack of technological content knowledge (TCK) in the design and implementation of the podcasting projects. We argue that the lack of teachers’ content-based rationale for podcasting is a function of the universal nature of some digital tools, such as podcasting, in contrast to more specialized tools, such as computer simulations.?
Toth, E. E. (2009). Virtual inquiry in the science classroom: What is the role of Technological Pedagogial Content Knowledge? International Journal of Information & Communication Technology Education, 5(4), 78-87. doi: 10.4018/jicte.2009041008
Abstract: The article presents a study conducted to assist teachers in their development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for classroom inquiry in the college introductory biology classrooms or high school biology, as relevant to the selection and use of technological tools. The study examines previous research including inquiry learning that is defined as the coordination of designing experiments and asking questions, the characteristics of educational software tools that support learning effectively and the pedagogical content knowledge. The results show that when it comes to supporting inquiry learning, all software tools are not created equal, thus previous research studies report contradictory findings of effectiveness.?
Valtonena, T., Pontinena, S., Kukkonena, J., Dillona, P., Väisänena, P., & & Hacklina, S. (2011). Confronting the technological pedagogical knowledge of Finnish net generation student teachers. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 20(1), 3-18. doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2010.534867
Abstract: The research reported here is concerned with a critical examination of some of the assumptions concerning the ‘Net Generation’ capabilities of 74 first-year student teachers in a Finnish university. There are assumptions that: (i) Net Generation students are adept at learning through discovery and thinking in a hypertext-like manner (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001); and (ii) when they enter the teaching profession, members of this generation will be able to transfer these characteristics into their teaching practices (Prensky, 2001). The research is formulated around an extended framework for student teachers’ technological pedagogical knowledge. The students designed learning modules incorporating the use of information and communication technology (ICT). The learning modules were subjected to document and artefact analysis incorporating concept-driven coding. Supplementary data were collected through a questionnaire concerned with the students’ adoption of new technologies. The findings suggest that assumptions about Net Generation student teachers’ abilities to adopt and adapt ICT in their teaching are highly questionable and that greater attention should be given to the development of their technological pedagogical knowledge.?
Vidoni, K.; Lady, S. Assay., L., & Ewing-Taylor, J. (2010). Nevada Pathway Project: Preparing 21st century principals. Principal Leadership, 11(3), 64-67.
Abstract: The article focuses on features and benefits of the Pathway to Nevada’s Future Pathway project. The project has two goals namely to change classroom experiences through the use of technology and to create professional development resources for administrators and teachers. The project reportedly utilizes a framework technology integration based on the convergence of technological, pedagogical and content knowledge of teachers.?
Voogt, J. M., Alayyar, G. M., & Fisser, P. (2011). ICT integration through design teams in science teacher preparation. International Journal of Learning Technology, 6(2), 125-145.
Abstract: In this study, the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is used to prepare students in the science teacher preparation program at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait. Students worked in small design teams and were coached by technology, pedagogy, and content experts, to find a technological solution for a pedagogical problem that a teacher normally faces. In design teams, students blended content, pedagogy, and information and communication technology (ICT) to design a learning environment enhanced with ICT. Data was collected on students’ attitudes towards ICT and teamwork, their ICT skills, and their perception of their TPACK development. Pre-service teachers’ need for support and the criteria for that support were assessed. The findings indicated that students gained higher results in TPACK and ICT skills, and had a positive attitude toward ICT and toward working in design teams.?
Wilson, E., & Wright, V. (2010). Images over Time: The intersection of Social Studies through technology, content, and pedagogy. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 10(2), 220-233.
Abstract: In this study, the authors examined the intersections between technology, pedagogy, and content through two social studies teachers’ development from preservice to in-service teaching. Qualitative data were collected during their teacher education programs, student teaching experiences, and 5 years into their in-service teaching. Teacher narratives illustrate the connections between technology, pedagogy, and content in these teachers’ social studies classrooms. The researchers note the complexity of technology integration and recommend that teacher educators support and promote opportunities for continuing education and professional development in teachers’ growth of technological pedagogical content knowledge.?
Zhan, Y., & Ren, Y. (in press). An empirical study on improving mathematics preservice reachers‘ TPACK. Journal of China Educational Technology.May be retrievable from http://www.oriprobe.com/journals/zgdhjy.html
Abstract: (translated): In 2006, Mishra and Koehler proposed the concept of TPACK which is a new framework of teacher knowledge for teaching by technology effectively. Basing on the researches aboard, this paper is about an empirical study of TPACK in China. The research addressed the question of ?what kind of course is helpful in improving preservice teachers‘ TPACK?? while choosing preservice teachers who were studying mathematics teaching in a university in Shanghai as the research sample. The course we designed applied a ?Learning by Design? and self-questioning strategies. A TPACK scale for mathematics teachers was developed by referring to the scales of Schmidt and Archambault. The pre-post scales data shows participants‘ TPACK improved after taking the course.
Chapters
Bell, L., Juersivich, N., Hammond, T. C., & Bell, R. L. (2012). The TPACK of dynamic representations. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 103-135). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch005
Abstract: Effective teachers across K-12 content areas often use visual representations to promote conceptual understanding, but these static representations remain insufficient for conveying adequate information to novice learners about motion and dynamic processes. The advent of dynamic representations has created new possibilities for more fully supporting visualization. This chapter discusses the findings from a broad range of studies over the past decade examining the use of dynamic representations in the classroom, focusing especially on the content areas of science, mathematics, and social studies, with the purpose of facilitating the development of teacher technological pedagogical content knowledge. The chapter describes the research regarding the affordances for learning with dynamic representations, as well as the constraints—characteristics of both the technology and learners that can become barriers to learning—followed by a summary of literature-based recommendations for effective teaching with dynamic representations and implications for teaching and teacher education across subject areas.?
Hammond, T. C., Alexander, R. C., & Bodzin, A. M. (2012). Assessment in authentic environments: Designing instruments and reporting results from classroom-based TPACK research. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 32-57). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch003
Abstract: The TPACK framework provides researchers with a robust framework for conducting research on technology integration in authentic environments, i.e., intact classrooms engaged in standards-aligned instruction. Researchers who wish to identify the value added by a promising technology-supported instructional strategy will need to assess student learning outcomes in these environments; unfortunately, collecting valid and reliable data on student learning in classroom research is extremely difficult. To date, few studies using TPACK in K-12 classrooms have included student learning outcomes in their research questions, and researchers are therefore left without models to guide their development, implementation, and analysis of assessments. This chapter draws upon the literature and our own research and assessment experiences in technology-integrated, standards-aligned classroom instruction to give examples and advice to researchers as they develop, analyze, and write up their observations of student learning outcomes. In particular, we focus on standard items, specifically multiple choice items, as an accepted (if limited) method for assessing student understanding. We seek to fill an existing gap in the literature between assessment advice for educational psychologists (who typically work outside of classroom settings) and advice given to teachers (who have lower thresholds for issues such as validity and reliability). Classroom researchers will benefit from this advice to develop, validate, and apply their own objective assessments. We focus on the content areas of science and social studies, but this advice can be applied to others as well.?
Hu, C. (2012). Creating an environment for pre-service teachers to develop Technical Pedagogical and Content Knowledge. In T. Le & Q. Le (Eds.), Technologies for Enhancing Pedagogy, Engagement and Empowerment in Education: Creating Learning-Friendly Environments(pp. 115-128). doi: 10.4018/978-1-61350-074-3.ch010
Abstract: This chapter reports a teacher education program in applying the framework of TPACK to the design of its ICT curriculum: the design principles employed, its implementation and a formative evaluation. A survey adapted from Schmidt et al. (2009) was administered at the beginning and completion of the course. The post-course survey showed an increase in pre-service teachers‘ self-reported ratings in all three types of knowledge, namely technological knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. Although a majority (53.1%) of the pre-service teachers favored the approach of learning technology through engaging in design projects, many suggested that more structured instruction would benefit their learning.?
Johnston, C. J. & Moyer-Packenham, P. S. (2012). A model for examining the criteria used by pre-service elementary teachers in their evaluation of technology for mathematics teaching. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 200-227). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch009
Abstract: Multiple existing frameworks address aspects of teachers‘ knowledge for teaching mathematics with technology. This study proposes the integration of several frameworks, including TPACK (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), MKT (Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008), and technology evaluation criteria (Battey, Kafai, & Franke, 2005) into a new comprehensive model for interpreting teachers‘ knowledge of the use of technology for teaching mathematics: the T-MATH (Teachers‘ Mathematics and Technology Holistic) Framework The study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to examine 144 pre-service elementary teachers‘ evaluations of technology for future mathematics teaching. The proposed model and its application to this group of pre-service teachers suggest that there are multiple dimensions to understanding teachers‘ knowledge of uses of technology for mathematics teaching, and that teachers‘ self-identified evaluation criteria reveal the dimension in which their knowledge resides. Understanding teachers‘ progressions through these dimensions may provide insights into the types of experiences that support teacher development of the knowledge necessary to teach mathematics using appropriate technologies.?
Koehler, M. J., Shin, T. S., & Mishra, P. (2012). How do we measure TPACK? Let me count the ways. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 16-31). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch002
Abstract: In this chapter we reviewed a wide range of approaches to measure Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). We identified recent empirical studies that utilized TPACK assessments and determined whether they should be included in our analysis using a set of criteria. We then conducted a study-level analysis focusing on empirical studies that met our initial search criteria. In addition, we conducted a measurement-level analysis focusing on individual measures. Based on our measurement-level analysis, we categorized a total of 141 instruments into five types (i.e., self-report measures, open-end questionnaires, performance assessments, interviews, and observations) and investigated how each measure addressed the issues of validity and reliability. We concluded our review by discussing limitations and implications of our study.?
Lee, J. K., & Manfra, M. M. (2012). TPACK vernaculars in Social Studies research. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 158-175). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch007
Abstract: To address the myriad effects that emerge from using technology in social studies, we introduce in this chapter the concept of vernaculars to represent local conditions and tendencies, which arise from using technology in social studies. The chapter includes three examples of TPACK vernaculars in social studies. The first explores a theoretical TPACK vernacular where Web 2.0 technologies support social studies and democratic life. The second example is focused on a three-part heuristic for seeking information about digital historical resources from the Library of Congress. Example three presents personalized vernacular TPACK developed by teachers planning to use an online gaming website called Whyville. Research and theorizing on vernacular forms of TPACK in social studies can aid teachers as they reflect on their own experiences teaching with technology.?
Lyublinskaya, I. & Tournaki, N. (2012). The effects of teacher content authoring on TPACK and on atudent achievement in algebra: Research on instruction with the TI-Nspire™ handheld. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 295-322). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch013
Abstract: A year-long PD program was provided to four NYC integrated algebra teachers. The PD comprised of teacher authoring of curriculum that incorporated TI-Nspire™1 technology. Teacher TPACK levels were measured through a TPACK Levels Rubric, created and validated by the authors. The rubric was used to assess the teachers‘ written artifacts (lesson plans and authored curriculum materials) and observed behaviors (PD presentations and classroom teaching through observations). Results indicated that, first teachers‘ TPACK scores for written artifacts paralleled those of PD presentations. Second, the classroom teaching was either at the same level or lower than written artifacts. Third, teachers did not improve with every lesson they developed; instead, their scores vacillated within the two or three lower TPACK levels. Finally, the students taught by the teachers with higher TPACK level had higher average score on the NYS Regents exam and higher passing rates.?
Miller, T. K. (2012). A theoretical framework for implementing technology for mathematics learning. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 251-270). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch011
Abstract: This chapter details a theoretical framework for effective implementation and study of technology when used in mathematics education. Based on phenomenography and the variation theory of learning, the framework considers the influence of the learning context, students‘ perceptions of the learning opportunity, and their approaches to using it upon measured educational outcomes. Elements of the TPACK framework and the CTFK model of teacher knowledge are also addressed. The process of meeting learning objectives is viewed as leading students to awareness of possible variation on different aspects, or dimensions, of an object of mathematical learning.?
Niess, M. L. (2012) Teacher knowledge for teaching with technology: A TPACK lens. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 1-15). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch001
Abstract: Technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) is a dynamic lens that describes teacher knowledge required for designing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and instruction with technology. TPACK strategic thinking incorporates knowing when, where, and how to use domain-specific knowledge and strategies for guiding students‘ learning with appropriate digital, information, and communication technologies. This chapter maps historical responses to the question of the knowledge that teachers need for teaching amid the emerging views of and challenges with TPACK. A review of empirical progress serves to illuminate potential insights, values, and challenges for directing future research designed to identify a teacher‘s learning trajectory in the development of a more robust and mature TPACK for teaching with current and emerging information and communication technologies.?
Piro, J. M. & Marksbury, N. (2012). Technologizing teaching: Using the WebQuest to enhance pre-service education. In R. N. Ronau, C. R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.), Educational technology, teacher knowledge, and classroom impact: A research handbook on frameworks and approaches(pp. 228-250). doi: 10.4018/978-1-60960-750-0.ch010
Abstract: With the continuing shift of instructional media to digital sources occurring in classrooms around the world, the role of technology instruction in the pre-service curriculum of K-12 teachers is acquiring increasing salience. However, barriers to its inclusion continue to exist. In this chapter we focus on a model of hybridity designed to embed technology instruction into pre-service education. This model is known as the WebQuest and involves the development of a technology-driven learning activity that scaffolds the building of skills in content, pedagogy, and technology integration in pre-service teachers. We discuss data from an exploratory project conducted within a class of graduate pre-service teachers experiencing instruction in creating a WebQuest, and offer some preliminary findings. We place these results within a larger perspective of the CFTK and TPACK frameworks and their application to issues germane to pre-service teacher education.?
3. Recent TPACK Presentations
Di Blas, N., Paolini, P. & Torrebruno, A. (2010). Digital storytelling at school: Does the TPCK model explain what‘s going on? In J. Sanchez & K. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2010 (pp. 2239-2248). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from
http://www.editlib.org/p/35880
Abstract: From year 2006, thousands of students (aged between 5 and 18 years) and hundreds of teachers have taken part in PoliCultura, an initiative by HOC-LAB of Politecnico di Milano calling Italian schools to create multimedia ?narratives?. A number of user studies show that relevant and substantial educational benefits are achieved thanks to this program. On the ground of the collected evidences, as well as of data from previous experiences with educational 3D-multiuser environments, this paper aims at raising a theoretical question: what is the role of the ?Technical Knowledge? of the teachers in a successful technology-based learning experience? Does the TPCK model provide an adequate explanation? From our experience, Technical Knowledge, in fact, seems to play a different role with respect to Content or Pedagogy Knowledge.?
Galstaun, V., Kennedy-Clark, S. & Hu, C. (2011). The impact of TPACK on pre-service teacher confidence in embedding ICT into the curriculum areas. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 3439-3448). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from
http://www.editlib.org/p/38352
Abstract: This paper presents the preliminary findings of two case studies in which a TPACK framework was used to embed information and communication technologies (ICT) into curriculum areas. TPACK is a strategy that emphasises the interconnectivity between content, pedagogy and technology. The first case study involved a cohort of 216 postgraduate pre-service teachers in an ICT in education unit of study, and the second case study involved 18 undergraduate and postgraduate pre-service teachers majoring in science education. Data presented in this paper was collected from pre- and post-tests. The results of the pre- and post-test analysis indicate that there was a significant change in pre-service teachers‘ self-reported ability and confidence in selecting, evaluating and using ICT within a subject area. Overall, the preliminary analysis of data in these case studies supports the use of a TPACK framework to embed ICT within curriculum areas.?
Goldstein, O., Waldman, N., Tesler, B., Shonfeld, M., Forkush-Baruch, A., Mor, N., Zelkovich, Z., Heilweil, I., Kozminsky, L. & Zidan, W. (2011). Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) integration by teacher educators in Israeli colleges of education: The current state of affairs, 2008-2009. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 152-159). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from
http://www.editlib.org/p/37859
Abstract: This study examines the current state of ICT integration by faculty members in Israeli Colleges of Education using combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. Findings reflect significant progress in ICT implementation in teaching by faculty in comparison to the previous decade: what was perceived then as innovative—using Office tools, online resources and e-mail—is now routine practice. Most faculty members implement these basic ICT uses. However, only few use technology to bring about change in their teaching methods. Most important goals in the current situation are: (a) further expanding faculty involvement in ICT integration in teaching and (b) developing innovative pedagogical approaches best suited to respond to the demands of the Information Era.?
Hollingsworth, M. & Gunn, T. (2011). Learning in the 21st century: High school completion for FNMI students. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 1683-1688). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from
http://www.editlib.org/p/38088
Abstract: High school completion for Aboriginal Canadians is well below that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. Non-completion has deep consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Students who do not feel a sense of community and are not engaged in their school experience tend not to complete. Contemporary research suggests changes are necessary to address the needs of living in the 21st Century and to increase high school completion rates. These goals may be addressed through common strategies. Intended as a means of increasing student engagement and building a deeper sense of community in learning settings, the current research explores implementing TPACK planning, Web 2.0 technologies, and 21st Century Learning with Aboriginal student populations. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected in this two-year study. Initial anecdotal evidence suggests promising preliminary outcomes. As the study progresses, the data will help provide an understanding of the role of these strategies in leading to high school completion.?
Juniu, S. (2011). Educational Technology: Pedagogical tools in Physical Education. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 2200-2208). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from
http://www.editlib.org/p/38166
Abstract: Building on Shulman’s (1987) idea of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), teachers‘ subject and pedagogical knowledge requires an understanding of the relationship of these elements, rather than thinking of them in isolation. In order to teach in a given discipline, the teacher must have the knowledge on the subject, the understanding of the teaching strategies to represent this content, the knowledge of the learners‘ characteristics, and the knowledge of the educational context (i.e. gymnasium). In taking up this discussion, this presentation examines the TPACK framework as a way to prepare physical educators to integrate technology in the teaching and learning process and to understand how to represent subject matters with technology in pedagogically ways. The approach is to reflect on the pedagogical actions and on the subject matter when designing successful, technology integrated projects in physical education.?
Kafyulilo, A., Fisser, P., & Voogt, J. (2011, May). ICT use in science and mathematics teacher preparation: Developing pre-service teachers’ TPACK. Paper presented at the E-Learning Africa conference, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Presentation slides retrieved from
http://www.slideshare.net/Vangidunda/tpack-elearning-africa-2011
Abstract: None
Lai, T.l. & Lin, H.F. (2011). A case study of the differences between experienced and in-experienced math teachers’ TPACK. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (PP. 3051-3055). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/38294
Abstract: While using technology in the classroom has been advocated in the field for decades, teachers using technology in classrooms is not pervasive. Studies have found that for in-service teachers, merely providing short-term, one-shot technology training workshops may not be sufficient. Teachers need to learn how to use specific content-based technologies in the classroom. Based on Mishra and Koehler‘s Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, this study explored the difference between an experienced teacher and an inexperienced middle school math teacher‘s TPACK, and factors that influence high school math teachers‘ TPACK in general. Four experienced and inexperienced high school math teachers were interviewed for their knowledge and experiences of using technology teaching geometrics. Qualitative data analysis techniques were applied to analyze the differences between experienced and inexperienced math teachers‘ TPACK.
Lane, J. (2011). Preparing teachers of the future: A national initiative to integrate ICT in teacher education in Australia. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 451-456). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/37904
Abstract: This paper shares a journey of innovation and change to integrate ICT in Teacher Education Courses in a School of Teacher Education in Australia. It is linked to two initiatives, The Teaching Teachers for the Future Project (TTF), led by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) and Curriculum 2012, a university- based curriculum reform project. Thirty-seven Australian Universities are currently involved in the larger TTF project. It is anticipated this project will impact on 55,000 student teachers in Australia. The TTF project team includes the Australian Council of Deans of Education, the Australian Institute for Teachers and School Leaders, Education Services Australia and the Australian Council for Computers in Education. The new initiatives to integrate ICT and the main barriers to curriculum change are described. The paper has relevance for those wanting to improve Teacher Education, and renew teaching in Tertiary Institutions to include 21st Century Technologies.?
Liu, S.H. (2011). Differences between enrolled in an integrated course and did not in TPACK and technology integration for preservice teachers. In Proceedings of Global TIME 2011 (pp. 171-176). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/37074
Abstract: Technology integration is increasingly important for preservice teachers. However, preservice teachers still lack sufficient understanding due to isolated courses in teacher education programs. This study aims to explore the differences between preservice teachers who enrolled in an integrated course and those who did not in technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) and technology integration implementation during participating in school-based field practice. The integrated course, consisting of various teaching tasks about TPACK, was arranged as an elective course. One year afterward, 401 preservice teachers, including 159 preservice teachers who enrolled in the integrated course, were invited to fill out a validated questionnaire. The analytical results, by applying ANOVA and t-test statistical methods, indicate that the integrated course is effective for promoting preservice teachers‘ knowledge and implementation about technology integration, while teaching fields which they majored in as students do not differ.?
Liu, S. H. (2011). Modeling pre-service teachers‘ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and intentions for technology integration. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 3350-3355). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/38335
Abstract: The study, which combines TAM and TPACK, examines the direct and indirect effects of knowledge of technology integration on pre-service teachers‘ attitudes toward technology use (ATU) and intention to integrate technology (IIT) while teaching. Structural equation modeling was applied to model the relationships in a set of latent variables. In total, 470 pre-service teachers preparing for a school-based field practice were invited to fill out a validated questionnaire. Analytic results reveal that TPACK affects pre-service teachers‘ ATU, and IIT while teaching. Study findings also indicate that pre-service teachers can combine diverse knowledge obtained from teacher education courses to use technology positively and intentionally to optimize student learning. I recommend that an adequate fit between TPACK and technology integration can serve as a base model for future studies of the ability pre-service teachers to integrate technology and teaching for pre-service teachers.?
Maor, D. & Roberts, P. (2011). Does the TPACK framework help to design a more engaging learning environment? In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2011 (pp. 3498-3504). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/38360
Abstract: This paper describes an attempt to design an e-learning course within a framework that combines theoretical underpinnings with pedagogy and content knowledge. It focuses on how a university lecturer can facilitate learning that integrates pedagogical and technological knowledge. The Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework enables new ways of thinking about technology integration and emphasizes the intersection of these three domains: technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. Students‘ involvement in a blended learning course and their reflections were examined to provide a picture of the synergy or lack thereof in relation to this framework. This paper offers a look at the intersections of the TPACK domains to consider how the use of Web 2 technologies in teaching complement the other domains. It also describes how students assessed the combination of the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge domains in their learning experiences.
McCann, K. (2011). Increasing interactivity across the islands: A case study analysis of interactive whiteboards in the classroom. In S. Barton et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific 2011 (pp. 681-684). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/37246
Abstract: This study aspires to describe the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) and practices of current educators as they integrate interactive whiteboards (IWBs) across various educational settings. Participants in this study are educators who have taken part in a formal, IWB-centered professional development course. Through the lenses of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) and change theory, this research seeks to identify insights and implications for changes in instruction and learning, as well as strategies for longer-term professional development, instructional design and support for practitioners in the field. This paper hopes to serve as a prospectus, and thus, a springboard for a doctoral dissertation and research in an effort to further investigate these case-specific issues and characteristics.
Mumcu, F. K. ve Usluel, Y. K. (2010, April). Teknolojik pedagojik içerik bilgisi modeline göre B?T’in ö?renme-ö?retme sürecine entegrasyonuyla ilgili ölçek geli?tirme çal??mas? [A scale development study of integration of ICT into learning and teaching process according to TPACK]. Paper presented at the Tenth International Educational Technology Conference (IETC), ?stanbul, Turkey. Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/Papers/in/Scale_Development
Abstract: This study aims to develop a scale about integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into learning and teaching process under technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model. For this aim, a scale was developed by researchers and applied to 327 teachers from 21 primary schools in Ankara, capital of Turkey. In order to find out validity and reliability of the scale, confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach Alpha coefficient were used. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the TPACK scale consists of 15 items and four sections, and the scale is at an acceptable degree of goodness of fit. As a result of analysis according to TPACK model, 4 items were identified as technological knowledge; 4 items were identified as technological content knowledge; 4 items were identified as technological pedagogical knowledge; and 3 items were identified as technological pedagogical content knowledge. Cronbach‘s coefficient of reliability in the analysis was examined and found to be .96. On the basis of factor scores, Cronbach‘s coefficients are .86 for technological knowledge, .85 for technological content knowledge, .93 for technological pedagogical knowledge and .91 for technological pedagogical content knowledge.?
Oster-Levinz, A. & Klieger, A. (2011). Does developing online tasks draw teachers nearer to interrelated knowledge (TPACK)?. In S. Barton et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific 2011 (pp. 696-701). AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/37249
Abstract: Teachers have to wisely use the online environment in order to realize a new pedagogy. In this paper we will discuss the knowledge required of teachers when integrating technology in teaching – TPACK, and a digital indicator we developed for the evaluation of the teachers’ different types of knowledge: pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). We examined 53 online tasks developed by teachers over seven years, where some of the teachers received guidance and accompaniment in the development of the tasks. The findings refer to the professional development of the teachers which took place in these fields. We found that online tasks that teachers develop can comprise a measure for examining the extent of integration of technological knowledge with content knowledge and with pedagogical knowledge.?
Valanides, N. & Angeli, C. (2011, July). Thinking critically about technology from an educational perspective: Implications for developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Workshop presented at the 13th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI), Nicosia, Cyprus. Abstract retrieved from
http://issei2012.haifa.ac.il/Valanides.htm
Abstract: Many thinkers have, from antiquity to the present, expressed serious reservations about the role of technology in education and its possibly destructive effects on the cognitive capabilities of the individual. Others have responded to ongoing technological advances either with unreserved enthusiasm or with qualified endorsement. This workshop aims to explore possibilities of thinking about technology as a Janus-faced operation, i.e., as a human-made reality that can work in both enabling and disabling directions and whose role depends on the ability of human beings to harness technology to enabling rather than disabling learning purposes. The educational cultivation of critical thinking and teachers‘ competence to teach with technology, namely their technological pedagogical content knowledge will be discussed as such possibilities for thinking about the seamless integration of technology in teaching and learning. Within this framework, the workshop organizers welcome papers from a variety of educational perspectives. For instance, philosophical-educational contributions may cover the ground from ancient conceptions of criticality (e.g. Socratic examined life) to contemporary philosophical treatments of technology (e.g. Heidegger’s critique of technological thought and intervention). Pedagogical discussions of critical thinking and technological pedagogical content knowledge may supply the workshop with a more applied and classroom-oriented perspective on understanding technology. Science education contributions may map new developments in educational employment of scientific and technological outlooks on life and the world.
Ward, C. L. (2011, June). The development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in instructors using Quality Matters training & rubric.Paper presented at a Regional Conference of the Quality Matters Program, Columbus, Ohio. Abstract retrieved from http://www.qmprogram.org/files/Regional%20Conference%20downloadable%201.pdf
Abstract: The need for online offerings at colleges and universities requires a new skill set for the instructors asked to develop quality content in new learning environments. This study explores the impact that the QM training, rubric and peer collaboration model have in helping instructors construct new knowledge in the areas of TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge), a conceptual framework that describes the dynamic relationship needed between technology, pedagogy and content.
4. Recent TPACK-Related Dissertations
Baert, H. (2011). The integration of technology within physical education teacher education: Perceptions of the faculty (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (AAT 3459854).
Abstract: In 2008, the national Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) standards included a more integrated approach to teaching pre-service teachers about technology and stated that teacher candidates should be able to plan and implement technology infused learning experiences that meet lesson objectives. With the inclusion of the 2008 standards, PETE faculty have the task to create instruction that effectively integrates technology. This study investigated the preparedness for technology integration of 198 teacher educators within nationally recognized PETE programs. The study utilized survey research design to identify current technologies used, analyze current level of technology proficiency in relationship to the level of integration, identify factors that aid or hinder the technology infusion process and examine approaches PETE programs use to integrate technology within PETE programs. Roger`s Diffusion Theory (2003) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) were used as theoretical guides. Results indicated low proficiency and integration levels. On average, proficiency levels were that of basic use of technology and integration levels indicated that PETE professors were aware of the use of technology but often did not integrate it or teach it to the students. In addition, the level of proficiency predicted integration levels significantly. Computer technologies, pedometers and heart rate monitor were tools most often integrated within PETE programs. PETE teacher educators expressed concerns related to the abundance of technologies as well as the limited availability and accessibility of technologies both at the PETE level and within K-12 schools. The results and literature suggest PETE faculty can enhance technology integration by developing a clear vision of technology integration, creating a technology plan, constructing teaching technology labs, and encouraging faculty-practitioner collaboration. In light of the 2008 national PETE standards, the results suggest that both the national and regional associations as well as PETE administrators should explore various professional development models in the area of both using technology (improving proficiency levels) as well as teaching effective teaching strategies related to technology (enhancing integration levels). Crucially, strategies where technology can assist in the enhancement of the overall quality of PE, in both PETE and K-12 PE, should be the main focus.
Forssell, K. (2011). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Relationships to learning ecologies and social learning networks(Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University). Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/~forssell/dissertation/
Abstract: Improving learning experiences for all students is the ultimate goal of research in technology use in education. With more availability and better usability of technology in schools, the potential for teachers to use digital tools in schools is greater than ever. However a key factor determining whether new technologies are adopted is the extent to which teachers know how to use them to support students’ learning. The special knowledge of how technologies can support students’ learning of subject area content is known as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study explored the relationship of accomplished teachers’ TPACK confidence to their use of technology with students and to their teaching and learning contexts. In an online survey, 307 National Board Certified teachers provided information about the frequency and breadth of their computer use with students; their use of computers in their personal lives; the school, classroom, and personal resources available to them for learning; and the people in their learning networks supporting their learning to use new technologies for teaching. Although the representativeness of the sample was limited and the measures self-reported, they provided rich opportunities to discover relationships and suggest avenues for supporting teacher learning of new technologies. Analyses showed that these accomplished teachers’ confidence in their knowledge of how to use new technologies for teaching was different from their confidence in using technologies more generally. Further, TPACK confidence related to student use of computers in the classroom. No associations were found between TPACK confidence and age, gender, grade levels, subject areas, or student populations. However, confidence in teaching with technology did relate to measures of the teachers’ learning resources. More varied learning resources and more productive social learning networks were associated with higher TPACK confidence. Three key types of support provided by learning partners — learning together, posing challenges, and connecting the teacher to others to learn from — were significantly more common among high-TPACK teachers. Findings in this study point to ways we might further understand, and subsequently increase, teacher confidence in using new technologies to support student learning. Several questions are raised for future research: Do learning resources lead to confidence in knowledge, or does confidence lead to awareness of existing resources? To what extent can TPACK be measured without first assessing the teacher’s PCK? And how might we develop survey measures that reliably capture the complexity of technological pedagogical content knowledge? Understanding TPACK and the conditions under which it develops is an important field of research, as we strive to help teachers learn to use new technologies effectively to support powerful student learning.
Hervey, L. G. (2011). Between the notion and the act: Veteran teachers’ TPACK and practice in 1:1 settings (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (AAT 3463705). Available: http://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/ir/bitstream/1840.16/6799/1/etd.pdf
Abstract: The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is a nuanced lens to study teachers’ 21st century professional knowledge and practice (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Veteran teachers in 1:1 settings have not been the focus in TPACK research. In this mixed-methods study, veteran teachers were surveyed to determine their self-reported technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Qualitative data included teachers’ videotaped lessons, interview transcripts and field notes. Discussion highlights the need for a valid and reliable instrument to measure secondary teachers’ TPACK, the value of a priori coding to illuminate TPACK, and generational challenges veteran teachers face while practicing in 1:1 settings.?
Ivy, J. T. (2011). Secondary mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their integration of instructional technologies (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (AAT 3461290).
Abstract: This qualitative research study explored the beliefs and practices regarding integrations of instructional technologies by seven secondary mathematics teachers. The researcher conducted an initial interview, a classroom observation, and a follow-up interview with each participant. Participants also submitted sample lessons and completed a TPACK Development Model Self-Report Survey. The interviews and observations were analyzed using deductive analysis, using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Development Model to assess technology-related practices. Through responses to the TPACK Development Model Self-Report Survey, the participants revealed their perceptions of their practices and beliefs regarding technology integration. These perceptions were compared to the researcher’s analysis of interviews, observations, and lesson samples. The researcher found that the participants perceived themselves to have much higher TPACK levels than indicated by other data collected. There was also a noted lack of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) among participants with low TPACK, which indicated that their teaching practices limited technology integration. Pressures from standardized testing and interactions with colleagues were common factors noted to support technology integration. Pressures from standardized testing, however, tended to result in graphing calculator integration for computations and other rote uses. The researcher also noted that participants were largely unable to differentiate between instructional technologies and non-instructional technologies. Participants erroneously reported presentation tools, such as LCD projectors, as instructional technology. Most participants lacked a vision for integrating technology as a tool for learning mathematics. Instead, many participants felt that technology posed a threat to the learning process. One participant, however, was a notable exception to these statements. Individual cases and the emergent themes are discussed.?
Landry, G. A. (2010). Creating and validating an instrument to measure middle school mathematics teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee – Knoxville). Retrieved from http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/720
Abstract: Due to the pervasiveness of technology, the role and preparation of teachers as they strategically use technology for teaching mathematics needs to be examined. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is a framework for knowledge as teachers develop meaningful learning experiences for their students while integrating strategic use of technology (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The purpose of this study was to develop a survey for measuring mathematics teachers‘ Mathematical Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (M-TPACK). The survey measures the domains of mathematics content, pedagogy and technology. This mixed methods study first examined middle school mathematics teachers‘ TPACK through the use of an existing survey (Schmidt et al., 2009). Interviews were conducted to determine the availability and use of technology in middle school mathematics classrooms, and teachers‘ strategic use of available technology for mathematics instruction. Finally, a survey measuring M-TPACK was developed to specifically measure teachers‘ mathematical TPACK. Grandgenett (2008) asks for more concentration on helping teachers to imagine ?possibilities? for using various approaches and strategies for integrating technology in mathematics instruction. This study presents important findings and supports the need for mathematics teachers‘ professional development to reconceptualize the role of technology in mathematics instruction. By using the developed M-TPACK Survey, teacher educators and administers can use information about teachers‘ knowledge and beliefs concerning technology to enhance teacher education programs and plan professional development. The survey developed from this study can be used for stakeholders as they determine the needs of mathematics teachers, move the concept of TPACK beyond theory and toward practice, and move toward offering appropriate technology experiences to enhance strategic mathematics instruction.?
Riales, J. W. (2011). An examination of secondary mathematics teachers’ TPACK development through participation in a technology-based lesson study (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (AAT 3461312).
Abstract: This qualitative research study used a layered case study (Patton, 2002) to examine the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) of a group of inservice secondary mathematics teachers as they participated in a technology-based lesson study. Using the TPACK Development Model (Niess, 2009) as a lens, this dissertation examines interactions of the group members during lesson study meetings as well as individual case studies of four of the six participants. Data were gathered from initial surveys, initial and post-interviews, initial and post-classroom observations, writing prompts, and transcriptions of lesson study group meetings. Data were analyzed to determine the TPACK development levels for different themes of the model at different stages during the lesson study process. Thick descriptions are provided of actions and quotes from the participants that exemplified various TPACK development levels. Findings indicated that the design and purpose of technology-based lesson study provided participants opportunities to practice actions from the higher levels of the TPACK Development Model during the lesson study. Based on classroom observations, half of the participants demonstrated practices that indicated increases in TPACK development levels following the lesson study. Those participants with less experience with technology in their educational backgrounds demonstrated greater positive changes. Participant responses to interview questions and writing prompts indicated that experiencing learning with technology and observing students. thinking served to prompt changes in their own practices.
(The following dissertation came to our attention recently, even though it was defended five years ago. It is one of only two TPACK-related dissertations defended in 2006 that we have found; the two earliest TPACK-based dissertations, we believe.)
Rodriguez, J. C. (2006). Weaving technology in the design of learning experiences in world language teacher education: The development of a cognitive tool, an instructional device and an exploration (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (AAT 3243835).
Abstract: This dissertation constitutes a first step toward improving our understanding of how better and more sophisticated uses of technology in the context of world language teacher education (WLTE) can be achieved. This work includes (a) the design and development of a prototype of a cognitive tool intended to support the design of language learning experiences; (b) an article that advocates project-based learning (PBL) as a powerful instructional device to support sophisticated learning experiences in WLTE; and (c) the exploration of conceptual and interactual aspects of said cognitive tool. Chapter 2, “Project-based learning: A promising pathway to technology integration in world language teacher education” proposes a taxonomy of complex WLTE tasks. This article discusses how some of the possibilities that PBL offers can be operationalized in WLTE and argues that providing preservice language teachers experiences with and exposure to sophisticated pedagogical interventions, such as the ones supported by PBL, can improve the integration of technology into the design of language learning activities. As this article shows, PBL is suitable to take full advantage of the complexity of WLTE to immerse preservice teachers in rich design experiences that integrate technology. However, implementing PBL in WLTE poses many challenges. Technology tools that facilitate the conceptualization, creation and management of projects may help in the implementation of PBL in WLTE. Chapter 3, “Postcards from the Mind: Designing language learning experiences with technology,” is a design-based research study that explores a prototype of such tool. This research gives us some insights into the cognitive processes involved in the design of language learning experiences. The cognitive processes identified included (a) the activation of composite forms of knowledge, such as pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), which have been hypothesized to be a prerequisite for the effective integration of technology into learning experiences; (b) the iterative consideration of general pedagogical guidelines; and (c) the application of a mental model to the design of language learning experiences. Interactual and conceptual aspects of the tool that did or did not support the users’ cognitive processes are discussed. Findings from this study have implications for WLTE and interface design.?
5. Recent TPACK-Related Professional Development
Mark Fijor, a professional development provider in the Arlington Heights, Illinois school district, has created a rich and thoughtful set of blog posts that explain how his district is using TPACK-based ideas and practices district-wide in professional development efforts this year. In his first post, he explains:
…our district has done a phenomenal job of providing teachers and students with access to technology. In addition, our teachers are exposed to a wide variety of tools through in-services and conferences outside of the district. However, with this access and knowledge comes the idea of overexposure. Teachers are finding there are many different tools available for a task, and because of this, many are unsure of which is the best tool. Teachers are free to explore on their own and use a variety of tools, but this is limited to those who are truly interested about learning on their own and experimenting. When these tools are shared with staff, many of the teachers are left to wonder the tools apply to what they are doing in the classroom, or are overwhelmed by the amount of resources available.
It is from these dilemmas that I have developed a framework and a series of guidelines that address the idea of systemic technology integration. In meeting with teachers and administrators from various districts and experience levels, I believe that the following series of post will address many of the concerns and problems with technology integration in schools.?
ITEN, the Inter-American Teacher Education Network, sponsored a Webinar about TPACK on August 19, 2011. Dina Rosen, from Kean University, spoke about: “TPACK and Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use.” The purpose of the Webinar was:
“To introduce, illustrate and discuss two key frameworks for effective technology integration, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use (DATU). TPACK is a framework that describes the nature of knowledge required by teachers for Technology integration in their teaching. DATU is a framework for using technology with young learners, preschool through third grade.”
A recording of the Webinar is available online here
Candace Marcotte, a middle school English teacher, created a practical and detailed YouTube video called Grammar 2.0 to share (with other teachers) how she makes the learning of grammar interactive for her students.
Lara Ervin, a research assistant at Stanford University, used these slides to help her to teach a professional development workshop at San Jose State University in June 2011: Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge: Rethinking the Role of Technology in K-12 Classrooms
6. Other TPACK Updates
Tech & Learning magazine named our own Punya Mishra (Michigan State University) and Ann Thompson (Iowa State University) as two of the ?10 Most Influential People in Ed Tech for 2011? as selected by the publication‘s ?readers and advisors? in June. Read the article here. Congratulations to Ann and Punya!
The 4th edition of Meaningful Learning with Technology by Jane L. Howland, David Jonassen, Rose M. Marra (Allyn & Bacon, 2011) has added a discussion of TPACK to this popular preservice text, saying:
“Chapter 1 features a review and discussion of three alternative conceptions and standards for meaningful learning. The inclusion of the ISTE NETS, 21st Century Skills, and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge or TPACK (with an additional Learning Knowledge dimension proposed for the TPACK model) helps students gain understanding of major educational technology and learning standards.”
7. TPACK Work in Progress
Michael Sisley at the University of Camberra in Australia created this short video to encourage preservice teachers to respond to a TPACK survey being given to all teacher candidates studying at 39 universities in Australia this year. The video tells a bit about the new national TPACK-based technology integration effort, of which this research is a part. A more complete description of this ambitious national effort is reproduced from issue #10 of the newsletter below for your reference.
Teaching Teachers for the Future http://www.altc.edu.au/ttf/ (See TPACK link near the top of the page.)
“This substantial and innovative $7.8m national Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) project, financed by DEEWR through the ICT Innovation Fund (ICTIF) under the Digital Strategy for Teachers and School Leaders strategy, specifically targets systematic change in the Information and Communication Technology in Education (ICTE) proficiency of graduate teachers across Australia.
The project team is led by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), and includes the Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE), the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), Education Services Australia (ESA), the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE), and the 39 Australian higher education institutions with pre-service teacher education programs as partners.
The project focuses on enabling pre-service teachers to achieve and demonstrate (upon graduation) competence in the effective and innovative use of ICT in education to improve student learning. It aims to achieve this through the systematic embedding of an ICTE dimension in: (a) pre-service teacher education curriculum, pedagogies, assessment, professional experience; (b) university classroom and self-study resources; (c) the national program accreditation framework and the Graduate Teacher Standards, and, (d) national professional learning networks of ICT and curriculum methods experts within and across the Institutions.”
8. TPACK Newsletter Suggested Citation
Our thanks to Lisa Winebrenner, who wrote to suggest that we suggest a citation format for you ?academic types‘ who might want to cite something that appears in this humble virtual publication. Our reading of the most recent (6th edition) of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association suggests that the citation should look like this:
Harris, J. (Ed.). (2011, October 10). TPACK newsletter issue #11: October 2011 [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/research/tpck/newsletter-archive/8. Learning and Doing More with TPACK
Interested in learning more about TPACK or getting more involved in the TPACK community? Here are a few ideas:
Standard End-Matter
If you have questions, suggestions, or comments about the newsletter, please send those to tpack.news.editors@wm.edu. If you are subscribed to the tpack.news email list, and — even after reviewing this impressive publication — you prefer not to continue to receive the fruits of our labors, please send a blank email message to sympa@lists.wm.edu, with the following text in the subject line: unsubscribe tpack.news
- Judi
…for the SITE TPACK SIG leadership:
Candace Figg, Co-Chair, Brock University
Mark Hofer, Co-Chair, College of William & Mary
Judi Harris, Wing Chair, College of William & Mary
Mario Kelly, Futon, Hunter College
Matt Koehler, Chaise Lounge, Michigan State University
Punya Mishra, Recliner, Michigan State University
Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)
To all of us who value creativity and design the passing of Steve Jobs is the passing of an era. I know my world changed when I first saw the Macintosh. I was a freshly minted electrical engineer who was trying to get out of engineering because there was something there that didn’t feel right. I was trying to move into design and education and still keep that technology connection. And it was at this time of inchoate confusion that I saw the Mac. The elegance, the simplicity, the emphasis on design and aesthetics… it showed me a way and inspires me even today.
It is funny, the two courses are teach in the MAET program are CEP817 Learning Technology by Design and CEP818Creativity in Teaching and Learning. Design, Creativity and their relationship to Teaching and Learning – four words that more than anything else define who I am. And Steve Jobs has been a big part of all four.
Back in November 2010, I had been invited by the Bloomfield Hills School District to speak to their administrators and leadership about issues related to social media and what it means for schools and districts. You can find out more about this session here. As I said in my previous note, I built on a previous presenter, social media guru Shel Holtz, and led a series of brainstorming activities with the participants about specific things they could do (short- and long-term) to meet some of the challenges being put up by these new media. I think the sessions went well.
I found out yesterday, through the magic of Google Alerts, the Bloomfield Hills AV team has released a video of that afternoon’s events. Here it is. I think they did a pretty good job of capturing, in around 30 minutes, all that occurred over a couple of hours that day. Sadly Vimeo does not let me embed the video so I am just providing a link to it here. Enjoy.
The interest in the TPACK framework has led to a upsurge in ways of measuring TPACK development. Matt, Tae Shin and I recently published a survey paper on different ways of measuring TPACK, abstract and title given below.
I was particularly pleased with the title we came up with for the chapter. How often do you get a chance to reference one of your favorite poems in an academic article. [See here for the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that served as an inspiration for our title.] Incidentally, there is another inside joke buried somewhere in the chapter – but I will leave that for you to discover
Title: Koehler, M. J., Shin, T.S., & Mishra, P. (2011). How do we measure TPACK? Let me count the ways. In R. N. Ronau, C.R. Rakes, & M. L. Niess (Eds.). Educational Technology, Teacher Knowledge, and Classroom Impact: A Research Handbook on Frameworks and Approaches. Information Science Reference, Hershey PA.
Abstract: In this chapter we reviewed a wide range of approaches to measure Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). We identified recent empirical studies that utilized TPACK assessments and de- termined whether they should be included in our analysis using a set of criteria. We then conducted a study-level analysis focusing on empirical studies that met our initial search criteria. In addition, we conducted a measurement-level analysis focusing on individual measures. Based on our measurement- level analysis, we categorized a total of 141 instruments into five types (i.e., self-report measures, open-end questionnaires, performance assessments, interviews, and observations) and investigated how each measure addressed the issues of validity and reliability. We concluded our review by discussing limitations and implications of our study.
Incidentally, this handbook has a bunch of really interesting pieces – see here for more details about the book and the chapters.
I met Karin Forssell back in 2008 at the Las Vegas SITE conference when she was a doctoral student at Stanford University. She came and asked me if I was working with anybody at Stanford and I said, something along the lines of “not yet, but send me an email, that’s how collaborations start.” A couple of months later she did send me an email and, though we never did collaborate in the true sense of the word, we have kept in touch. So it gave me great pleasure to find out that Karin has finally submitted her dissertation.
Please take a moment to congratulate Dr. Karin Sigrid Forssell and wish her all the best for whatever path she chooses to follow. You can read the abstract below, or read the entire thing by following link but let me briefly point to two key results. First, her data showed that “TPACK confidence related to student use of computers in the classroom.” This is important since it indicates that teacher TPACK has an influence on what actually happens in the classroom. Now, this does not necessarily mean that there is higher student achievement (that was not the scope of the study) but it is an interesting finding none-the-less.
Second, and more significantly, Karin found that, “More varied learning resources and more productive social learning networks were associated with higher TPACK confidence. Three key types of support provided by learning partners — learning together, posing challenges, and connecting the teacher to others to learn from — were significantly more common among high-TPACK teachers.” Again a caveat is in order namely that it is not clear which direction the causal arrow points, i.e. do teachers with better networks develop better TPACK or vice versa but the existence of this connection is significant. My guess is that it some kind of a virtuous cycle where one strengthens the other and is in turn strengthened by it.
More details of her dissertation, title, link to PDF and abstract are given below:
Title: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Relationships to learning ecologies and social learning networks [PDF document]
Abstract: Improving learning experiences for all students is the ultimate goal of research in technology use in education. With more availability and better usability of technology in schools, the potential for teachers to use digital tools in schools is greater than ever. However a key factor determining whether new technologies are adopted is the extent to which teachers know how to use them to support students’ learning. The special knowledge of how technologies can support students’ learning of subject area content is known as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK).
This study explored the relationship of accomplished teachers’ TPACK confidence to their use of technology with students and to their teaching and learning contexts. In an online survey, 307 National Board Certified teachers provided information about the frequency and breadth of their computer use with students; their use of computers in their personal lives; the school, classroom, and personal resources available to them for learning; and the people in their learning networks supporting their learning to use new technologies for teaching. Although the representativeness of the sample was limited and the measures self-reported, they provided rich opportunities to discover relationships and suggest avenues for supporting teacher learning of new technologies.
Analyses showed that these accomplished teachers’ confidence in their knowledge of how to use new technologies for teaching was different from their confidence in using technologies more generally. Further, TPACK confidence related to student use of computers in the classroom. No associations were found between TPACK confidence and age, gender, grade levels, subject areas, or student populations. However, confidence in teaching with technology did relate to measures of the teachers’ learning resources. More varied learning resources and more productive social learning networks were associated with higher TPACK confidence. Three key types of support provided by learning partners — learning together, posing challenges, and connecting the teacher to others to learn from — were significantly more common among high-TPACK teachers.
Findings in this study point to ways we might further understand, and subsequently increase, teacher confidence in using new technologies to support student learning. Several questions are raised for future research: Do learning resources lead to confidence in knowledge, or does confidence lead to awareness of existing resources? To what extent can TPACK be measured without first assessing the teacher’s PCK? And how might we develop survey measures that reliably capture the complexity of technological pedagogical content knowledge? Understanding TPACK and the conditions under which it develops is an important field of research, as we strive to help teachers learn to use new technologies effectively to support powerful student learning.
Over the past few weeks I have been experimenting with using my iPad as a drawing/painting tool. The sketches below were created by tracing on an existing image – usually a photograph. So this is not “freehand” drawing per se – but given my limited talents that may not be such a bad idea.
What you need for this is a drawing/sketching App that allows you to draw in layers. You place your photo on one layer and draw on the layer above it. This way you don’t mess up the photograph and you can separate your sketch from the photo. Once you are done, all you do is delete the photograph-layer and there it is, a lovely (well that’s subjective) hand-drawn sketch.
As you can see I started with simple line-drawings, and over time have tried branching out a bit, through the use of shading and now, even color.
A typical sketch takes around 20 – 30 minutes (sometimes less) – and I have found it just a fantastic way to relax. Creative relaxation… what else can one wish for.
Enjoy
Sketching on the iPad, a set on Flickr.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
— John Donne
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
I am extremely proud of what we do as a part of our Master’s in Ed Tech (MAET) program. It is a unique program and over the years we have worked hard to make it a multi-faceted and unique experience for your students. Over the next few weeks I (with some help from doctoral student Laura Terry) will be posting examples of the excellent work our students do in this program. (See here for the first post about representing educational tensions with photography.)
The design of our program is very carefully thought through—driven both by powerful theoretical ideas grounded in the pragmatics of teaching and learning. Just this week I found out that a paper we had written about the kinds of activities we do in the MAET program just got published. If you are interested in teacher education and teacher professional development or specifically in the MAET program please check out:
Koehler, M.J., Mishra, P., Bouck, E. C., DeSchryver, M., Kereluik, K., Shin, T.S., Wolf, L.G. (2011). Deep-Play: Developing TPACK for 21st Century Teachers. International Journal of Learning Technology, Vol. 6, No. 2. 146-163.
Abstract: A key complication facing teachers who seek to integrate technology in their teaching is the fact that most technologies are not designed for educational purposes. Making a tool an educational technology requires creative input from the teacher to re-design, or maybe even subvert the original intentions of the designer. The learning technology by design (LT/D) framework has been proposed as being an effective instructional technique to develop deeper understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge. In this paper we expand our description of the LT/D technique to develop what we call a deep-play model for teacher professional development. The deep-play model integrates: (a) pedagogy for key 21st century learning skills; (b) content that cuts across disciplines with trans-disciplinary cognitive tools; (c) technology by the creative repurposing of tools for pedagogical purposes.
Please let me know if you would like a copy of the paper.
Education is always about leadership and leadership has always been about tensions—navigating through them and seeking to find the right balance between them. Leaders often feel a tug from individuals with conflicting interests or needs, with ideas that often tug in different directions. Often these tensions are conceptual and abstract. Have you ever wondered how could you represent these tensions in a visual way? What would that look like? We, in the MAET program, set out to find a way to illustrate these conflicting viewpoints.
During the summer MAET courses, students in East Lansing, Michigan and Rouen, France completed a leadership tensions photography activity. Using the cognitive tools of patterning (recognizing, identifying and creating patterns) and embodied thinking (kinesthetic thinking or empathizing), students considered the tensions between seemingly contradictory ideas in education. Following a small group discussion, the class used patterning to identify common themes and issues, creating a list of tensions that exist in educational leadership. Each individual then chose one of those tensions and took photographs that visually depicted the tension, using a digital camera and editing software (often freely available software like Pixlr) to combine two or more images into one. Through the utilization of embodied thinking, students adopted a concept of educational tensions and rendered a physical/kinesthetic illustration of it, using movement, balance, and the body.
Students illustrated a multitude of tensions that leaders in today’s educational world face, including online versus traditional learning, tradition versus innovation, competition versus collaboration, and support versus resistance. Below are a few examples of student work.
This was an incredibly engaging project, that integrated the key ideas (leadership tensions) that were to be covered, with technology (digital cameras and image editing tools) and the key cognitive tools (of patterning and embodied thinking) in an open-ended and fun way. This is what we call TPACK in action!
If you are interested in exploring more examples of this project, please visit the following links.
The Hindu god Ganesh (the elephant-headed one) is celebrated across India, and the world, around this time of the year. The Hindu community in Lansing is no exception. A couple of days ago I was asked to take pictures of a music program at the local temple.
It was a great evening full of friends, food and devotional music. I am not a very religious person but there is something about devotional music (irrespective of which religion it may be) that always touches a chord with me.
Anyway, here are the pictures I took the other day. I particularly loved capturing the moon over the temple. Enjoy.
Ganapati Festival BTL 2011, a set on Flickr.
Steve Jobs retired as CEO of Apple this past week. The Wall Street Journal marked this event by creatingSteve Job’s Best Quotes compendium. There are all worth reading – but a couple stood out for their connection to this course.
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something… It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. [Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]
A large part of my creativity course, CEP818, (announcement here) has this idea of creativity as “connections” at its core. One of the goals of the course is to provide a set of trans-disciplinary tools that can help increase the possibility of making such connections.
And finally, here’s my personal favorite quote from Jobs that speaks to the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of the work we do (be it design or teaching).
When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through. [Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]
The following note just went out to all the students signed up for CEP818, Creativity in Teaching and Learning (Fall semester 2011).
We hope you have had a great summer are ready to get back to school! We (Punya Mishra & Kristen Kereluik) will be your instructors for CEP818. You can find out more about us by visiting our websites. This note is to welcome you to the class and offer some specifics about what you will need to do before class starts. Please read this note carefully since it contains important information on things that need to be done before the class starts.
As you may know, CEP818 is a fully online class; there are no plans to meet face-to-face, unless that includes our digitized photos beamed over the Web. We will begin the class on Wednesday, August 31. Please note that the class will NOT be conducted through ANGEL. We will send you an email (to your MSU address) with the more details closer to the start of the semester. For now, we provide a little bit about the class followed by some information about what you need to do to prepare for it.
Creativity is of increasing importance to educators, both for their professional success and that of their students, particularly given the complex, rapidly changing world we live in. The emergence of the knowledge economy (and the knowledge worker) means that tasks are rarely “given” or structured. We are now expected to operate in a complex and chaotic ecology where our very survival and personal identity is tied up in improvising knowledgeable answers to largely unanticipated problems. It has been argued that the solution to these concerns is an increased emphasis on creativity.
So, how is it that you can start to think more creatively for yourselves, apply those methods to your teaching, and pass on some to your students? Well, it is really, really easy (well maybe not really, really easy, but it is often not as hard as we make it out to be). It can also be a lot of fun.
A critical part of becoming creative is being able to play—particularly with ideas or concepts – and feel comfortable in doing so. The activities in this course will seek to develop such an approach through, what we call, “thinking tools.” In an interactive series of modules we will explore these tools and their relationship to creativity. Each of the issues/topics will also be illustrated with multiple examples from the world of education, psychology, and business, interspersed with games and puzzles connected to the ideas being discussed.
Here are some things we would like you to do to prepare for 818:
Finally, the most important thing you can do to prepare for 818 is to come to the course website on the first day of class with an open mind and a willingness to play.
We look forward to working together this fall. Drop us an email (punya@msu.edu or kereluik@msu.edu) if you have any questions or concerns. Please remember to put CEP818 in the subject line.
Take care
Punya Mishra and Kristen Kereluik
Jim Garrison and A. G. Rud have a wonderful article on TCRecord on Reverence in Classroom Teaching. Though, reverence may be “too exalted a word to associate with the practical and often mundane activities of teaching,” it appears to me that ignoring these deeper impulses impoverishes us as individuals and as a society. Framing teaching as being just about imparting skills, and knowledge, aimed at achieving instrumental goals (jobs, career and the like) misses something crucial. As they write:
… although teaching students involves imparting knowledge, it is also a calling with other dimensions beyond the cognitive … It is about the formation of minds, the molding of destinies, the creation of an enduring desire in students not only to know, but also to care for others, appreciate beauty, and much more. In some sense of the word, teaching is a spiritual, although not necessarily religious, activity. When done well, it cultivates human intimacy and allows teachers to find creative self-expression in classroom community.
The authors define reverence as follows:
Reverence is comprehension of human limitation, imperfection, and our appropriate place in the cosmos as a consequence of the humility that arises from feelings of awe, wonder and admiration before something or someone that meets at least one of the following conditions: (1) Something or someone that cannot be changed or controlled by human means; something we are powerless to alter. (2) Something or someone we cannot create. (3) Something we cannot completely understand. (4) Something or someone transcendent; something supernatural.
Though I have not used the word “reverence” in my own writing / thinking I have often said the same thing about the role of the aesthetic in teaching in learning and the need for us to develop a language that allows us to include these dimensions of the human experience in our work. I have some reservations about the word “reverence” – mainly because of the religious connotations which can sometimes lead conversations into directions one may not necessarily want to go. (Though, I must add, that Garrison and Rud, take pains to write that “teaching is a spiritual, although not necessarily religious, activity.”)
Some examples from my previous writing on this blog that allude to similar ideas are provided below.
I want to end with something I wrote about the movie 2001 A Space Odessey:
2001 is a movie of big ideas: about what it means to be human, what is our relationship to technology, about our place in the cosmos, and our inability to answer some of these questions. 2001, thus, is a profound, deep and thoughtful attempt to use the medium of film to explore these ideas. And the style Kubrick chooses is intensely visual, deliberately paced, with minimal dialog. The first section of the movie has no dialog because there are no thoughts to express and no words to express them with. This is mirrored in the third and final section which has no dialogs because thoughts have far outstripped the ability of words to convey meaning. The section in between, set somewhere in the near future (as the 1960?s would imagine 2001 to be) has words, but even here it is amazing just how few, and ineffectual they are. Humans for the most part seem remote and disconnected from each other and, strangely enough, the most engaging character is the computer HAL!.
As is clear, 2001 is a ambitious movie (some would even say too ambitious). But it does do one thing right – it asks the right questions and tries to come up with an answer. And it does so in an ambiguous manner, allowing for multiple interpretations and readings. And that is its strength. It seeks, through the medium of film, to penetrate a “fundamental disparity between the way we perceive the world, including our own experience in it, and the way things actually are” (Dalai Lama quoted by Eberhart). That this is an effort doomed to failure is neither here nor there. In fact, the last line of dialog in the film speaks to this very possibility of failure: “Its origins and purpose [are] still a total mystery.” In the movie this dialog is about a black monolith – but works as aptly for the universe we live in.
In fact, as I think about it, 2001 is a deeply reverent movie. The question I have is whether we have created similar spaces for reverence in our classrooms? Have we even considered it? Or have we killed the idea with our focus on No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top?
This morning I was at the doctor’s office and picked up a dated (February, 2011) New Yorker magazine and discovered a great essay by Adam Gopnik: The Information: How the Internet gets inside us. I am not sure how I missed this the first time around but Gopnik does a great job of writing about technology and its influences, under the guise of reviewing a series of recent books about the topic. He is sometimes funny (see his take down of Clay Shirky) and often insightful. I do recommend reading the entire article but here are a couple of quotes, just to give you a sense of his voice. This is how he starts his essay, reminding us just how magical these new technologies are. I am reminded of Clarke’s Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
When the first Harry Potter book appeared, in 1997, it was just a year before the universal search engine Google was launched. And so Hermione Granger, that charming grind, still goes to the Hogwarts library and spends hours and hours working her way through the stacks, finding out what a basilisk is or how to make a love potion. The idea that a wizard in training might have, instead, a magic pad where she could inscribe a name and in half a second have an avalanche of news stories, scholarly articles, books, and images (including images she shouldn’t be looking at) was a Quidditch broom too far. Now, having been stuck with the library shtick, she has to go on working the stacks in the Harry Potter movies, while the kids who have since come of age nudge their parents. “Why is she doing that?” they whisper. “Why doesn’t she just Google it?
This is how Gopnik describes Clay Shirky:
… the author of “Cognitive Surplus” and many articles and blog posts proclaiming the coming of the digital millennium—is the breeziest and seemingly most self-confident. “Seemingly,” because there is an element of overdone provocation in his stuff (So people aren’t reading Tolstoy? Well, Tolstoy sucks) that suggests something a little nervous going on underneath.
I think this attitude (Tolstoy sucks) is something that has bothered me greatly. Do we have to demean Tolstoy in order to prove the superiority of our new toys? I recently, during a trip to France, re-read (after 30 years or so) Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It took me a while to get used to the rhythms of the language, but once I did, it was a wonderful experience, and brought home to me the beauty of a delicately crafted complex sentence, something I think we may have lost to a certain extent today. Again, just to make it clear, I am not making a Nicholas Carr, “technology is making us shallow” argument here, not the least because I read the book mostly on my iPad / iPhone and I doubt I would have read it otherwise.
Incidentally, Gopnik is as critical of the nay-sayers of today’s technologies. Writers like like Nicholas Carr, William Powers and Sherry Turkle receive their fair share of scorn (though I am not including any more quotes here).
Finally I would like to end with Gopnik’s commentary on how we often see new technologies as both the greatest and the worst things to have happened to us (at least till the next technology comes along).
… at any given moment, our most complicated machine will be taken as a model of human intelligence, and whatever media kids favor will be identified as the cause of our stupidity. When there were automatic looms, the mind was like an automatic loom; and, since young people in the loom period liked novels, it was the cheap novel that was degrading our minds. When there were telephone exchanges, the mind was like a telephone exchange, and, in the same period, since the nickelodeon reigned, moving pictures were making us dumb. When mainframe computers arrived and television was what kids liked, the mind was like a mainframe and television was the engine of our idiocy. Some machine is always showing us Mind; some entertainment derived from the machine is always showing us Non-Mind.
Read the entire essay: The Information: How the Internet gets inside us.
I was a guest on WDET’s Craig Fahle Show yesterday. The topic was the the recently passed Missouri law that bans teachers from interacting with students on Facebook in order to protect students from sexual assault. I find this a singularly silly waste of time by the legislators of the State of Missouri and I tried to make this point, in different ways, during the interview. You can listen to the segment and let me know if I was successful or not. You can listen to the segment here.
This was my first interview on a radio show… so let me know how I did and what your take is on this issue.
I have, for a long time, been interested in the Droste effect – a “specific kind of recursive picture… [in which] an image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on” [from Wikipedia]
The effect gets its name from “the image on the tins and boxes of Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands, which displayed a nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate” which in turn repeats the same image (just in small size) and so on… for ever. In fact when I visited the Netherlands a couple of years ago, I made it a point to pick up a box of Droste cocoa power – just so that I could have a box of my own! This is what the box looks like:
Over the years I have tried to play with this but my attempts have been crude at best – more a function of my limited knowledge of Photoshop than anything else. All this changed last Friday, when I found out about the Droste App for the iPhone/iPad. I bought a copy and spent the weekend playing with it. It has been great fun and below are some images I created. Enjoy.
Matt Koehler just created a webpage that tracks the citations of our original TCRecord article, as reported by Google Scholar, in real time. The reference is as follows:
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A new framework for teacher knowledge.Teachers College Record 108 (6), 1017-1054.
You will note that in this paper we call the framework TPCK (not TPACK). That came much later. At this time Google Scholar indicates that there are over 550 citations to this article. Additionally, curve gives no signs of flattening off. It is a cool piece of php programming and makes us feel good too!
I am including a screen shot of chart below, but for the continually updated page you will need to go to Matt’s website.
I am in Paris as a part of EduSummIT: Building a Global Community of Policy-Makers, Educators, and Researchers to Move Education into the Digital Age. EduSummIT is organized by UNESCO (along with other partners) and brings together over 120 scholars, policy makers from over 40 countries. I am part of a Thematic Focus Group emphasizing 21st century learning. I will be posting more information here over the next few days but for now, I thought it may be good to include a couple of my related publications here.
Mishra, P., & Kereluik, K. (2011). What 21st Century Learning? A review and a synthesis. Paper presented at SITE2011, Nashville TN.
Abstract: The discussion of 21st century skills has become increasingly prevalent in educational discourse and several organizations have developed 21st century frameworks. This papers seeks to compare prominent 21st century frameworks to both provide clarity on what it actually means to teach and learn in the 21st century and to find common themes across frameworks.
Mishra, P., Koehler, M.J., & Henriksen, D. (2011). The Seven Trans-Disciplinary Habits of Mind: Extending the TPACK Framework Towards 21 st Century learning. Educational Technology, 51(2) 22-28.
Abstract: In this article we examine the need for fostering transformative learning, emphasizing the roles that trans-disciplinary thinking and recent technologies can play in creating the transformative teaching and learning of the 21st century. We introduce the Technological, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework as a starting point for discussing the special kinds of knowledge, skills, and understanding that teachers require in order to become effective classroom mediators of transformative learning experiences. Within this framework, we propose seven cognitive tools needed for success in the new millennium, and describe examples of how teachers can repurpose digital technologies to use these cognitive tools. We explore the implications for research and practice.
I have been in Singapore the past few days at the invitation of Mike Thiruman and his team at Educare. Educare is a co-operative of the Singapore Teachers’ Union and sees itself as serving “teachers and schools so as to enhance the quality of teaching.” I had two sessions with them on June 1 and 2 on Harnessing ICT towards transformative teaching and learning in the 21st Century. The first day was a presentation and the next day I presented a full day workshop to 35+ educators.
The sessions went really well and I have included below (for the record) the slides from both my presentations as well as some photographs I took both at the event and after. I would like to take a moment to thank Mike and his team (including Dr. Aksir Kumar and Richard Singh among others) for both inviting me to Singapore and hosting me for the past couple of days.
I also got to catch up with a couple of friends when I was here. One of them, Alfred Low, is someone I had never met, though we have known each other for a few years now. Alfred had contacted me a while back regarding his interest in TPACK and we have stayed connected by email and Facebook for a while. It was great to finally meet up with him. Here are the two of us catching up over a couple of beers.
I also met up with Aurobindo Ghosh a faculty member at Singapore Management University. Aurobindo (and his wife) were also at Urbana-Champaign when I was there as a graduate student. We met up again after 13 years… a lot of water has passed below the bridge in the meanwhile (my son was just two years old when I left UIUC). What was great how easily we picked up pretty much from where we had left off, 13 years ago!
Finally, a slideshow of photographs I took during my few days here.
I just found out that I made “The Big 10: The Most Influential People in EdTech for 2011.” This list is created by the Tech & Learning journal—a magazine for Ed Tech leaders. This news came as a total surprise to me since I did not know that I was even in the running for something like this. The June issue, which has this as a cover story, will be out in a few days though you can access it on the web (link below). Here’s the cover, and that’s me on the first row (second from the left).
The other nine people are really some of the biggest names in the business. They inclue, Doug Levin, Karen Cator, Greg Festa, Ann Thompson, David Warlick, John Kao, Salman Khan, Jonathan Ive and the Apple design team, and the Google for Educators developer team! Even as I type these names, I wonder if there has been a mistake in including me in this list. How did this list come to be? This is how the note from the editor describes the selection process:
Who has the biggest influence over your career? Your first instinct is most likely to point to a boss or a colleague, or maybe even your students. But there are other people out there, far removed from your everyday business in classrooms and administration offices, who are creating new devices, crafting policy, and pursuing far-out ideas that will ultimately have a huge effect on how you do your job.
These are the understated yet significant men and women picked for this year’s most-influential list (“The Big 10,” page 33) in a survey of readers and advisors plus a dash of editorial privilege. We believe that these men and women will profoundly change the way we think about learning in school, how we use technology to effect that change, and how we incorporate policies that make that change nationwide.
It is indeed a great honor to make this Big 10 list, and I am humbled and grateful to the editors and people who proposed my name and voted for me. I hope I will be able to live up to this recognition.
To top it all they got a professional illustrator to create pretty cool cartoons of each of the people on the list. I think mine came out pretty good
You can find the magazine online (PDF version) here.
TPACK is huge in Australia (for instance see this note TPACK underpins Aussie Teacher Ed Restructuring). I am hopeful that one of these days this interest will translate into a trip down-under… It would be great to travel around the continent, giving talks, meeting some cool educators, and maybe even get to see some cricket! How cool would that be.
Now, due to this interest, my TPACK-related Google Alert often provides links to work being done down-under. Recently I was treated to two video mashups based on the SITE2008 Keynote that Matt Koehler and I presented at Las Vegas.
These videos were created by Mike Sisley, at The University of Canberra, as a part of a special focus on TPACK for English, literacy and History. Mike is a TPACK advocate and seeks to create resources for the teachers of the content areas and created these mashups for this purpose. The first has an autotuned version of my voice (!!!) and the second has an original song called the Shulman Shuffle.
For some reason the embed codes don’t seem to work, so you will have to navigate over to Vimeo to watch them. Check out
What fun!
