TPACK

Image source: http://tpack.org

 

To me, TPACK is the next stage in the evolution of teaching.  Traditionally, teaching was all about the content knowledge.  From its earliest days, education was about teachers talking and students listening. A teacher was required to be an expert in the subject in which they were teaching.  While it is still a desirable concept that a teacher does know and understand their topic well, it did not always guarantee that the method used by the teacher, that is the pedagogy, was sufficiently sound to pass the information to the student.  In response to this issue, the mid to latter half of the twentieth century saw a shift towards greater focus on the need for stronger pedagogy in the classroom.  However, the latter half of the twentieth century also saw the creation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and as education is an innovative process, it rapidly adopted the new technologies for use in the classroom.  As many teachers were not always conversant with the new technologies, very often the focus then fell onto the technologies rather than either the content or the pedagogy.

Therefore, today the focus in education is on how the content of the subject, the pedagogy used to teach it and the ICT tools selected all intersect to create  the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework.  Built on Shulman's idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, TPACK cannot simply be using ICT tools to illustrate content knowledge or pedagogy based on ICT (Koehler, 2011). 

It must be through the combination of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and ICT knowledge that optimum educational results will be achieved, including:

• enabling deep knowledge through higher order thinking
• collaborative learning where interaction with others is important
• students understand their own learning styles
• problem-based inquiry learning based on real world situations and outcomes
• relevant learning that connects students to their prior knowledge
• students take ownership and manage their own learning
• socially supportive learning that engages and values individual culture
• learning that encourages active citizenship (UNESCO, 2008)

Bibliography:

Koehler, M. (2011, May 13). What is TPACK? Retrieved from TPACK: Retrieved from: http://www.tpack.org/

UNESCO. (2008). ICT competency standards for teachers. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.