You're a teacher ready to tap students into 21st century learning, but teaching with technology adds a whole new layer of knowledge and expertise. TPACK, or Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge, is a framework that helps teachers consider how their knowledge domains intersect in order to effectively teach and engage students with technology. It's an approach that looks at the combination of what teachers know, how they teach, and the role of technology in order to better impact student learning. So, how does TPACK work? First, consider three domains.
Content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. Content knowledge, CK, is the what? Your understanding and expertise of the subject area you teach.
Whether it's science, social studies, math, language arts, or all of the core curricular areas. CK is made up of all the facts, concepts, and theories of any given discipline. Pedagogical knowledge, PK, is the how. Your expert knowledge of the art and science of teaching. From learning theories to instructional design, PK includes methods of teaching and assessment like project-based learning as well as instructional strategies like think-pair-share.
Knowledge of these principles helps you design successful learning experiences for each individual student. Pedagogical content knowledge, or PCK, is the intersection of the pedagogical and content areas, the knowledge you have of how to effectively engage students in learning concepts and skills. This knowledge includes approaches for addressing different learning styles and scaffolding content for deeper understanding.
Educational psychologist Lee Shulman saw this intersection as teaching at its best. But several scholars, including Matthew Kohler and Punya Mishra, have added an additional component to 21st century teaching, technological knowledge, or TK. TK represents your knowledge about the tools, including how to select, use, and integrate technology into your curriculum.
But it's not just about the devices. It's also the quality of content that students access through apps, websites, and games for learning. By integrating technology into PCK, you now have new insights into, and opportunities for, student learning.
Technological content knowledge, or TCK, refers to how technology is used in a subject area for deep and lasting learning. For instance, to further their understanding of a topic, budding scientists can use sophisticated tools to collect evidence, make observations, and document findings. Interactive software then allows them to see their data represented in various ways. Application of such technologies can help deepen individual students inquiry within a given discipline. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge, or TPK, is your understanding of how to choose and manage technology for your students.
For instance, what technology will best ease your students workflow throughout their exploration of the scientific method? How can you use collaboration tools to have students share their learning with each other? This knowledge about technology will advance your teaching.
The intersection of all three knowledge domains, content, pedagogy, and technology is the core of TPK. This center area refers to your understanding of how tools can enhance your teaching and support student learning more deeply and effectively. For example, when learning about water pollution, students could explore 3D models of bacteria's cellular structure and then create their own animated images to analyze local water sources. They then could share their findings virtually with a prominent field expert. This dynamic interplay of all three components is TPACK, the heart of innovative teaching.
You can use the TPACK framework to assess your own knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technology. Consider which areas you feel confident about and which areas you could improve upon. But also think about how you can collaborate with others at your school or in your professional learning communities to combine your strengths. For example, you could meet with your technology coordinator to brainstorm ways to redesign learning experiences. And knowing that each student, each teacher, and each classroom differs, The dotted line around the framework symbolizes the context that affects how TPACK is applied in a practical sense.
TPACK takes into account that every classroom context is unique due to variations in professional development, school climate, and available resources. In conclusion, TPACK will help you remember to start with your content and pedagogy and then layer in technology. Sometimes we get excited about a new technology and then we design a lesson around that particular tool. But in doing so, it's easy to lose sight of goals and objectives for student learning.
TPACK reminds us that technology is just part of great teaching. It's truly an intricate combination of content, pedagogy, and technology that make for innovative teaching and learning. So, what does your TPACK look like?