Chapter 2 TPACK and TIP

TPACK

  

The acronym TPAK stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.  TPACK tries to identify the kind of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration into their instruction while addressing the nature of teacher knowledge of content and pedagogy, the process of teaching.  TPACK is the basis of effective teaching with technology.  It requires an understanding of how to represent concepts with technology and techniques to implement the technology constructively in order to teach content.  TPACK encompasses an understanding of what makes a concept difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help address some of the problems students encounter.  It also requires an assessment of a student’s prior knowledge and an understanding of how technology can be used to build upon this existing knowledge. 

 

As new forms of technology continue to appear in the classroom, the components of TPACK become more significant than ever. Effective technology integration requires a balanced integration between all three components of knowledge. Without a solid background in content knowledge a teacher can feel overwhelmed when asked to present lessons to advanced students.  An expert may not be able to impart their information to others unless they have knowledge of pedagogy.  The presence of modern technology is of little help to a teacher unfamiliar with how to best apply it in an academic setting.  A teacher capable of balancing the three areas represents a form of expertise different from an expert in an academic discipline, a technology expert or another experienced educator.

 

The Tip Model

The six phases in the Technology Integration Planning Model outlines a set of steps that help ensure technology use will be meaningful, efficient and successful in meeting academic needs.

Phase 1:  What is my technological pedagogical content knowledge? Teachers need to be aware of where they lie within the TPACK model in order to set learning goals for themselves and make thoughtful decisions for technology integration.

Phase 2: What academic problem am I addressing?  Why should I use a technology-based method?  Teachers should identify the technology based methods that may offer a solution to an academic problem such as needing to practice basic facts in a more motivating way.

Phase 3:  How will I know students have learned?  Teachers decide what skills or affective outcomes theywant students to achieve through technology-integrated lessons and design assessments in order to judge how well the activity was carried out and how effectively the content was mastered.  For example, after working with the rounding activity on AplusMath.com the students can round three digit numbers to the tens place with 80% accuracy.  When graphing on the computer vs. on paper the teacher will observe better on-task behavior in at least 75% of the students.

Phase 4: What teaching strategies and activities will work best?  The teacher creates a design for instructional integration deciding on instructional strategies while considering the content they wish to cover, the needs of the students and the classroom environment.  Students may work in cooperative groups creating a product or they may be working with a CAI program to practice specific skills that will be assessed in a traditional manner.

Phase 5: Are essential conditions in place to support technology integration?  What equipment and software will I need?   How can I plan ahead to ensure that the equipment will work?  The teacher must have access to adequate hardware, software, and technical support in order to successfully integrate technology.  The teacher must be familiar with the hardware and the software in order to use it efficiently.

Phase 6:  What worked well? What could be improved?  Were the objectives achieved?  All lessons need to be reviewed and analyzed.  The teacher should determine what can be changed in order to make a lesson better the next time. 

The TIP model is very important in today’s classroom. I believe that Phase 1, “What is my technological pedagogical content knowledge?” is of particular significance.  With constant changes in curriculum and technology a teacher’s position within the TPAK Model is very fluid.  While proficient with SMART board technology, the teacher may have no knowledge of how to use newly acquired iPods.  In addition, while a teacher may have an understanding of the technology available to them, they may lack the ability to successfully integrate the technology into their teaching style.

I have learned to implement constructivist techniques in math and science lessons through a series of  professional development sessions and lesson studies that include the observation of master teachers in their classrooms.  I have not had the opportunity to observe the use of technology in constructivist activities  in a second or third grade classroom setting. Until this year I have generally been limited to using CAI programs in the computer lab.  Therefore, I have applied  technology in my classroom following mostly objectivist theories.  TPACK would indicate that I lack pedagogical knowledge for implementing technology in constructivist activities.  Using Phase 1 of TIP tells me that I need to find master teachers in elementary classrooms that are using technology in constructivist activities in order to meet this learning goal.

References:

Koehler, M.  ( 2011, May13) TPACK - Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Just another Dr. Matthew Koehler site  Retreived from   http://www.tpck.org/

Roblyer, M. D. & Doering, A. H.(2010).  Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.  Boston, MA:  Pearson Education, Inc.

TPACK Model. Educare Co-operative Limited. http://www.educare.sg/events/images/TPACK_diagram.jpg