The TPACK model: Explanation and Reflection (Obligatory Entry #1)

Since the role of good teachers and efficient teaching methods have undergone a change in the past decades, teachers have to face new challenges organising learning processes. Especially the concept of Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) has changed massively over the centuries. The revised “Grammar-Translation Method”, focussing on the explanation of grammatical and syntactic structures of sample sentences in the students' mother tongue, seems, from our contemporary perspective, to be an old-fashioned and inefficient way of teaching a foreign language. But what are the criteria for modern and good teaching? Increasing opportunities modern technology offers teachers to establish individual teaching concepts lead to an increased sense of insecurity concerning lesson planning. Unfortunately all too often, longtime teachers with a broad repertoire of experience-based pedagogical and content knowledge cannot use a whiteboard which is the technological and interactive substitute for chalkboard in many technologically well-equipped schools.

What is an interactive whiteboard?

This short video explains what an interactive whiteboard is and for what purposes you can use it.

The TPACK model

The TPACK model developed by Koehler and Mishra illustrates the interdependency between pedagogical, content and technological knowledge and shows how crucial technological knowledge is in modern society in order to create a holistic style of learning by including new media into the teaching process. The three knowledge components cannot be seen as individual and divorced from one another fields; they overlap and depict the three main competences teacher should acquire. The intersection of these three core competences is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK).

To explain the content and the meaning of the TPACK model, one can imagine a teacher who wants to teach an EFL lesson with an interactive whiteboard. First of all, the teacher must have profound knowledge about the subject and the content she/he wants to teach. Furthermore, the instructor should know fitting methods to teach the content. This includes that the teacher uses practices which fit to the way her/his students gather information, develop skills and process knowledge. The intersection of these two fields is called Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The teacher has to find ways to present the subject matter in consideration of the students’ prior skills and provide material. Moreover, Technological Knowledge is essential. This means that the teacher has knowledge about information technology in general and, in this specific case, about the functionalities and operating modes of a whiteboard and should know how to use it for communication purposes in class. When Technology and Content Knowledge merge, the teacher knows ways to support the subject matter she/he wants to teach with appropriate technological devices and how they might influence each other. A whiteboard can, for example, be used to surf on the internet and gather information together, show videos or pictures on the internet, solve web quests or to listen to podcasts and therefore offers manifold opportunities for student-centred, motivating and process oriented teaching and learning. Additionally, it can be used to save the board content the class developed during the lesson which makes it possible to email the students the content of this lesson.

Developing pedagogical strategies by using technology based learning is called Technological Pedagogical Knowledge. Teachers then know how learning is influenced by the usage of new media in several ways. When all these aspects interact Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is reached, which is the basis of teaching efficiently with technology.

Having taken all above mentioned aspects into consideration, one could summarise that TPACK requires a diversity of competences:

“(…) an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of the problems that students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge (…).” (Koehler & Mishra 2009: 66).

Reflection of the TPACK model

The model illustrates what is expected of teachers in modern increasingly digitised world and emphasises that the teaching profession in the 21st century requires more competences than content knowledge and a slight idea of teaching methods. Because media literacy is mentioned as one of the cultural techniques and classified as equally important as reading and writing skills, the KMK recommended media education at school in 2012. Since media literacy is an expected skill for labour market, it is essential for teachers to prepare their students for using technology by showing them opportunities, but also dangers and disadvantages, of media use. Teachers should set a good example and include technology into their lessons and engage students in exploring new media for their daily life and academic purposes. As surveys like ICILS 2013 prove that approximately 30 % of the internationally tested eight grade students have only fundamental media skills, there is action required in teaching students the use of new media. Due to this, I think that the TPACK model is relevant for pre-training and in-service teacher. It differentiates between three main competences and sets its focus to the interface of content, pedagogy and technology which points out that all disciplines are important but the combination of the subdisciplines is most important to teach subject-specific content, learning strategies and media literacy.

At this point I have to clarify that I do not think that media usage is a premise for good and efficient teaching. Although the TPACK model gives teachers, and especially pre-training teachers, an orientation of what competences to acquire, I do not feel that technological knowledge and new media must be considered in every single lesson. Rather, it depends on the topic, the learning goals and the students whether to include media or not. TPACK also includes to weight the pros and cons of a certain (media-based) method in order to make form fit the purpose and do, in case of doubt, a lesson without media-based material if it does not improve the learning process. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that competent use of media at school, and to stick to the example, an interactive whiteboard helps creating a student-centred, process-oriented, interdisciplinary and active and collaborative learning atmosphere in which the teacher as a learning partner has the opportunity to initiate project- and problem-oriented learning scenarios.

Sources:

Bos, Wilfried; Eickelmann, Birgit; Gerick, Julia ; Goldhammer, Frank; Schaumburg, Heike; Schwippert, Knut; Senkbeil, Martin; Schulz-Zander, Renate; Wendt, Heike. (2014). ICILS 2013 : computer- und informationsbezogene Kompetenzen von Schülerinnen und Schülern in der 8. Jahrgangsstufe im internationalen Vergleich. Online im Internet: https://www.waxmann.com/fileadmin/media/zusatztexte/ICILS_2013_Berichtsband.pdf. (Stand 30.10.2015).

“Challenges of the teaching profession” In: Grimm, Nancy; Meyer, Michael & Volkmann, Laurenz (2015). Teaching English. Tübingen: Narr Verlag, 27.