TPACK - a framework for technology integration

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by punya mishra on November 25, 2009 at 11:34am

Jeannette, thanks for your posting here. In some way we are all new to TPACK, particularly given how fast technology and contexts for learning are evolving. This discussion, on the other hand, hasn't really moved much in the past few months, which is not surprising, given how busy people are. That said, there are many resources that you can followup. The TPACK wiki (www.tpack.org) is one, as my blog (http://punya.educ.msu.edu/ ) and the TPACK newsletter. You can find older issues and sign up for future ones - details are on my website (follow the above link and click on TPACK newsletters on the left column for details).

Have a great Thanksgiving!
~ punya

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Permalink Reply by Milan Sherman on March 17, 2009 at 8:29pm

Dan, I think that one of the issues that you're addressing is how pedagogical theory is developed, and not necessarily the TPACK framework in particular. The shortcoming of the development of theory in a vacuum, or experimental research studies conducted in laboratory settings, is that they are often too far removed from real classrooms to have anything relevant to say about practice (or even theory, some would argue). This weakness of traditional educational research has given rise to a relatively new research methodology in education which is gaining credibility called design research. The idea is to create something that works in practice based on some hypotheses and an iterative design, just as good teachers already do. The research part of it is based on paying careful attention to which elements of the design seem to contribute to most to learning, and why. Thus, theories are tested and refined in classrooms.

Punya and Matt K. have developed the TPACK framework using design research, and it seems to me that this research methodology is a sensible way to advance it. I do not in any way want to contradict what Punya says below about the TPACK framework - it is a useful starting point for design research as well. It just seemed to me that part of the issue you bring up, and a valid one, is an issue with abstract pedagogical theory in general. I simply wanted to point out that the TPACK framework has actually been developed in context and not disconnected from practice.

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Permalink Reply by Adora Fisher on March 17, 2009 at 3:14pm

I have just begun to research TPACK. Thank you Punya and Matt, your papers, website, wikipedia etc. are informative and easily navigated and understood. I think that if presented in the right context, TPACK is easily received. Teachers choose what tools to use to deliver content all of the time and in what ways to deliver it. When a teacher writes lesson plans, they consider the layout of the room, they consider the time frame of the lesson, they consider what tools they will need for their delivery and what tools the students will need. Often teachers even allow students to choose their own tools, ex. crayons, markers, paints etc. The difference is that we are using different tools. The concept is the same. What tools are best to deliver the curriculum, what strategies are best and fit with the tools and how will students demonstrate understanding and mastery.

Am I missing something, or are we making this more complicated than it needs to be.

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Permalink Reply by punya mishra on March 17, 2009 at 6:49pm

Adora, I think you placed it just right. And to give credit to the point Dan has been making, the tools we have now are more sophisticated than crayons, markers, paints etc.

On a slightly different note, it is always fun for me to see how different groups critique the TPACK framework. Dan for instance, finds a lack of emphasis on the transformative possibilities of Technology (the lack of Twitter in TPACK). Other audiences, say traditional educational psychologists, take us to task for giving Technology too much prominence. For them it is all about the Pedagogy (or instructional design)! Technology is in essence a pipe (or a dump-truck) and Content is irrelevant.

Content experts, on the other hand, are concerned by the fact that we are emphasizing P and (or) T over Content, or giving it equal value. In their frame, disciplinary knowledge is all there is - the rest is just methods for getting information from one location (my head, a textbook) to another (students head).

Teacher educators get the PCK part - they are somewhat suspicious of these new technologies, it all seems too new and untested.

Interactions with these different perspectives leaves me with a deeper understanding of how our professions or training frame our worldviews as well as a richer conceptualization of the framework as well.

Very interesting.

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Permalink Reply by Adora Fisher on March 18, 2009 at 12:14pm

One of the struggles we face in K12 education is to help teachers see the need for integration of curriculum delivery. In the classroom our students face content categorically. They are taught Math, Language Arts, Social Studies etc. as separate areas of knowledge. Outside of the classroom, in the real world, content is integrated and one subject area impacts the other. It is time for the "experts" to begin to help change this pedagogy, so that we can begin to see that change in the classroom for our students.

Technology is changing the way our students interface with the world around them, this is the reality, this needs to be reflected in the classroom so that PCK in the classroom aligns with what happens in the real world.

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Permalink Reply by Zhan Yi on May 20, 2010 at 7:38am

I just finish a paper about literature review of TPACK. Although it do provide some inspiration to the technology integration, my interperation is TPACK is not a framwork, model for the way how to deisgn technology integration. It is about the knowledge teachers must acquire when doing TI, but not the actually progress teachers do in TI..
My question is : How can TPACK "transfor" from the knowledge teacher needed to the progress of TI. I am reviewing some framework for TI (like LoTi, NTeQ) now, hoping to find some point of junction.

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Permalink Reply by Adrienne van As on October 28, 2010 at 7:33am

Good afternoon!

I am starting with my PhD on the use of multimedia instruction to enhance learning in multigrade education in the Western Cape of South Africa following a design-based research approach. Multigrade education is where one teacher teachers two or more grade simultaneously. Although multimedia isn't a new thing, the effective use of technology in the classroom still have along way top go, especially because of the lack of efficient teachers training. There are a lot of other reasons as well! Training the teachers in these multigrade classes is vital and I want to use this framework to do so. I also want to use it as a guide for the design and development of the product and for the needs analysis in the beginning. Am I missing something? I am still learning!

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Permalink Reply by norbert kiprop boruett on November 9, 2010 at 11:13pm

Thanks this TPACK this is an interesting topic and thanks for sharing

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Permalink Reply by Stacy Mercer on January 9, 2015 at 12:43pm

I absolutely agree that TPACK "is the key to effective technology integration in any given school district."  I first learned of TPACK two and half years ago in a graduate tech class (I am currently working on my masters in IT).  It has become the foundational framework that I use to structure the teaching in my classroom and I have seen remarkable results with my students.  

I readily share new ideas and concepts with my colleagues.  Many of the teachers that I work with welcome the knowledge and understanding that I have attempted to share about technology integration according to TPACK (I have shared my TPACK guide, TPACK.org, YouTube videos, etc), but I would like to share this with my entire district and administration.  Yet, I do not feel qualified to teach my entire district about TPACK.  I am still learning, but I also feel a sense of urgency to share this theory with others.

Does anyone know are there people that will come to your school district to do PD training on TPACK?  If not, does anyone have any suggestions about doing an out-reach to the teachers and administrators of my school district?

Thanks!

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