TPACK FRAMEWORK

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Introduced by Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler – Michigan University, 2006

Figure 1: TPACK Diagram

“Technology has become an increasingly important part of students’ lives beyond school, and
even within the classroom it can also help increase their understanding of complex concepts or
encourage collaboration among peers.”

- Serhat Kurt, 2018

“TPACK” in Educational Technology

The Evolution of TPACK Framework:

 The seminal piece on the TPACK model was written in 2006 by Punya Mishra and
Matthew J. Koehler in “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for
Teacher Knowledge.” They explain that their theory comes after five years of studying
teachers at all different grade levels with design experiments to see how their classrooms
operated.

They based their initial idea on Lee S. Shulman’s 1986 work “Those Who
Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching.” First, Shulman discusses the usual idea of
knowledge in teaching which is that teachers have a set of content knowledge – specific
knowledge about the subject they are teaching – and a set of pedagogical knowledge –
knowledge about how to teach including specific teaching methods. Shulman counters
this and says that effective teachers overlap these two knowledge sets, making a set of
knowledge about how to effectively teach their subject matter. He calls this pedagogical
content knowledge or PCK.

Twenty years later, Mishra and Koehler saw that the biggest change happening in
education is the use of technology in the classroom. They noticed that technological
knowledge was treated as a set of knowledge outside of and unconnected to PCK. After
five years of research, Mishra and Koehler created a new framework, TPACK, which adds
technology to pedagogical content knowledge and emphasizes the connections,
interactions, and constraints that teachers work with in all three of these knowledge areas.

The TPACK Framework:

 Is a Technology-integration framework that identifies three (3) types of

knowledge that instructors need to combine for successful ‘EdTech Integration':

Knowledge Areas:

1. Technological Knowledge – specific knowledge regarding on how to

integrate technology in teaching and learning.
2. Pedagogical Knowledge – knowledge about how to teach including
specific teaching methods.
3. Content Knowledge – specific knowledge about the subject they are
teaching.

are thus combined and recombined in various ways toward a better, more
robust understanding of the subject matter.

 Provides more of a map for understanding on how to integrate technology into

the classroom effectively.
  To understand how to use technology to teach concepts in a way that enhances
student learning experiences.

Overlapping Areas:

A. Tecnological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) - describes relationships

and interactions between technological tools and specific pedagogical
practices.
(The area where technology and pedagogy influence each other. Incorporating
technology into the classroom often causes a change in how the material is
taught.)
B. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) - describes the same
between pedagogical practices and specific learning objectives.
(represents a class of knowledge that is central to teachers’ work and that
would not typically be held by non-teaching subject matter experts or by
teachers who know little of that subject.” As teachers, we know PCK is required
to simplify a subject and teach it effectively.)
C. Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) - describes relationships
and intersections among technologies and learning objectives.
(how the technology influences the content.)
D. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) - acknowledges
that all three of these sets of knowledge are influencing each other, that each
is important, and that to have an effective learning environment, we need to
consider all three.

“TPACK represents a class of knowledge that is central to teachers’ work with technology. This
knowledge would not typically be held by technologically proficient subject matter experts, or by
technologists who know little of the subject or of pedagogy, or by teachers who know little of that
subject or about technology.”
- Mishra & Koehler, 2006
-
These triangulated areas then constitute TPACK, which considers the
relationships among all three areas and acknowledges that educators are acting within
this complex space.

They also point out that knowledge lies in specific contexts. You as the teacher
form part of the context, while your students and the environment also contribute to the
context. With each situation, the context changes slightly and your set of knowledge shifts
with it to create the learning environment.

Impact in Teaching and Learning:

 Currently, technology is treated as if it is separate from teaching and learning. We have
Professional Development workshops where we are instructed in the use of some particular
software or app, and how to fit it into our classroom is not discussed.

Mishra and Koehler point to this as a current negative impact. They claim that the lack of
awareness of TPACK keeps technology separated and leads to four problems with using
technology in the classroom.

1. There are such rapid changes in technology that it is extremely difficult to keep up with
all the latest advancements and apps.
2. Software is designed for business, not for education. This often means that students
are learning how to use the program and not learning the content of the class. The
third problem with keeping technology separate is the situational nature of the
classroom. A teacher can adjust a lesson to make sure it meets the needs of the
specific group of students, but the instructional video cannot. It’s the same video every
time it is played.
3. Keeping technology separate places an emphasis on “what” not “how.” From the
teacher’s perspective the lesson becomes about what technology are we going to use
today, what does it say, what skills does it require, instead of how can I teach my
students.

Classroom Application:

Keeping technology as a separate knowledge set causes problems, but when we

understand the framework of TPACK, we can integrate technology into the content and pedagogy
of our classrooms. The integration will help our students learn more effectively.

Mishra and Koehler suggest that TPACK should guide curriculum development and
teacher education. To apply TPACK to our classrooms now, Judith B. Harris and Mark J. Hofer
worked with colleagues from universities around the United States to create Activity Types. Their
article, “‘Grounded’ Technology Integration: Instructional Planning Using Curriculum-Based
Activity Type Taxonomies,” explains how TPACK should change the way we plan our daily
lessons.

They describe a planning process where we first choose the learning outcomes that we
will be working on that day or during that class session. The learning outcomes are the content.
The second step they propose is choosing an activity type. The activity type is the pedagogy or
how are the students going to learn the content. Finally, we can choose technologies that will
support the activity type and aid the students in learning. Harris, Hofer, and their colleagues show
us with example after example of how our instructional planning should include each part of the
TPACK framework and allow us to create and develop the overlapping knowledge to make the
best learning environment for our students.

The simplest idea at play in TPACK is that a person who is a world-renowned expert in a
subject might not be a great teacher because they lack the pedagogical knowledge to make the
subject accessible and understandable. To be a great teacher, we have to combine our
knowledge of the subject with our knowledge of how to teach. With the increasing focus on
technology, we need to also learn how to combine technology with our content and pedagogy to
create an effective learning environment.

References:

S. Kurt, 2018. Educational Technology: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

– TPACK Framework. https://educationaltechnology.net