TPACK Framework

This is my summary of how the TPACK Framework works. I find it to be a very helpful system for integration of Technologies in the classroom.

Brief History

The Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Framework (TPCK or TPACK) was postulated by Mishra and Koehler in 2006 as a constructive addition to Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) Framework in 1986. The new framework addressed the issue of how ICT’s are being used in the classroom. Mishra and Koehler suggested that ICT’s were being introduced to the classroom separate of the pedagogy and content and not providing a homogenous learning environment, but a broken one where the ICT’s were either taking over the learning environment to the detriment of PCK or being of poor quality to supplement the PCK (2006, p. 1018).

How IT Works

The TPCK framework builds on the PCK framework of Shulman. The PCK model stipulates that content (the major focus of teacher education till the early 1990’s) is only learnt when working in harmony with the pedagogy, and vice-versa. Pedagogy has been the main focus of teacher education since, to the detriment of content. Teachers have to ensure that the content being taught is of appropriate standard and the pedagogy is effective enough to ensure learners make meaning from learning experiences. The measure of effective pedagogy is that learners must be able to make meaning from these learning experiences that introduce new content or build on previously acquired knowledge. As Mishra and Koehler (2006, p. 1021) summarised, “PCK represents the blending of content and pedagogy into an understanding of how particular aspects of subject matter are organized, adapted, and represented for instruction.”

Diagram 1: PCK as a Venn Diagram

An example of effective PCK could be such: is it appropriate to teach John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme with an analysis of the harmonic and melodic content to a group of thirteen year olds who have never heard of a seventh chord by making them analysis the  song in note form? Or would it be more helpful to play a simpler jazz song like Coltrane’s Mr. P.C. to the same group and introduce a simple blues form, the most basic building block of jazz music by allowing students to create music in a scaffolded activity? This is the kind of interaction between pedagogy and content that needs to be addressed by educators.

The addition by Mishra and Koehler is the Technological facet. As Shulman realised in 1986, content and pedagogy are not mutually exclusive of each other, but rather their dependence on each other is critical to an educator’s success. This same principle applies to technology and its relationship with PCK and the relationships between the three aspects are nuanced and delicate. Correct manipulation of the three and their interactions is now the most critical to educator’s success in the learning environment.

Diagram 2: TPACK Framework as a Venn Diagram

As seen in Diagram 2, not only is the TPCK essential, but the Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) and the PCK have significant bearing on creating educational episodes.

TPK is about the ability to manipulate technology to change the course of how a learning experience occurs. This is also the case in reciprocal (pedagogy manipulating technology).

For example, would Garage Band be a more effective tool to teach sound recording on compared to an industry standard recording interface such as ProToolsHD 10? What difference would that make to the learning experience and how would the pedagogy of such lessons be altered? What difference would it make to different levels of students, e.g. year eight to year twelve?

TCK is about the ability to manipulate technology to change the course of the lesson content. This is also the case in reciprocal (content manipulating technology).

For example, if the content to be learned was an aria for flute, an iPad with the sheet music on it that is also able to play the music back for the student and highlight sections of music and give useful hints would be a benefit to the student’s learning experience, as opposed to simple sheet music. This would be of obvious benefit to the content taught in the lesson.

TPCK is about how technology, pedagogy and content come together and work harmoniously to create optimal learning experiences. All three aspects are interdependent on each other, and a change in one dimension will have bearing on the others. An example of this interdependence might be this:

Students may be focussing on what constitutes Baroque music. After the teacher provides a few examples from YouTube or some other source of what is and isn’t Baroque music, students are asked to create a list of some characteristic of Baroque music. They are then asked to go to the class wiki and listen to some links of music that the teacher has provided them. These links are found in a table, and beside them are ‘For’ and ‘Against’ columns. Students are asked to provide arguments for and against each piece of music in the wiki and through collaborative learning (maybe over a week or so) the table is finished. After this, a classroom discussion occurs with each student deciding whether the table is accurate and what is and isn’t Baroque music. The teacher can them come up with a summary of the characteristics of Baroque music using the student’s ideas.

This learning experience blends the technology aspect (wikis) with an engaging pedagogy (due to the wiki and musical aspect) as well as covering the main content that covers characteristics of Baroque music. If the technology aspect was the essential part of the lesson, then maybe the dullness of Baroque music may not have been covered. If the pedagogy hadn’t included list making, and objective decision-making via the wiki (moving from Lower Order to Higher Order thinking skills in Blooms Taxonomy), the dullness of the content wouldn’t have made an influence. This is the kind of process that TPACK ensures for effective learning.

Conclusion

My summary on TPACK has greatly enhanced my understanding of the framework and I will try to use it as much as possible to integrate technologies into my classrooms. Please leave as many of your thoughts as possible on my summary in the comments section, the further I can improve my understanding of the model the better!

A copy of the journal article that was postulated by Mishra and Koehler on the TPACK theory can be found here.

References 

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record , 108 (6), 1017-1054.