TPACK: Integrating Technology without Sacrificing the Lesson
Have you ever felt like you are running in the Indy 500? Cars zooming by you at rapid speed and you are pushing the gas pedal as hard as you can, but can’t manage to keep up. That is how I often feel when it comes to technology and education. My first year teaching, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and technology hit all teachers and educators like a ton of bricks. Since then, technology has become an integral part of education, but there has to be more to it than just putting up a YouTube video in the middle of a lesson.
.png)
Integrating technology is not just about the technology tool. It’s an all encompassing approach to using the technology with content, knowledge and pedagogy. TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge (Koehler, 2012). The point of TPACK is to understand how to use technology to teach concepts in a way that enhances student learning experiences (PowerSchool, 2022).
TPACK is a framework that interplays Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogy Knowledge (PK), and Technology Knowledge (TK). TPACK can also be broken down into Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), or Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK). The "sweet spot" is the center of the diagram where you hit TPACK, when all three knowledge areas work together. To me TPACK gives you a lot of options to integrate technology into your lessons without making technology the main topic.
Why TPACK is Important
Many teachers think technology is the answer to solving all their teaching problems. This is not true. Just making PDF files of the lessons and uploading them to Google Classroom is not a good use to integrating technology. Teachers are also hesitant or do not understand how to use technology or implement it into their lesson. This is why TPACK is important. TPACK shows that there is a relationship between technology, content, and pedagogy, and the purposeful blending of them is key (PowerSchool, 2022). There is no one-size-fits-all for integrating technology into education. TPACK allows flexibility and freedom for individual teachers to integrate technology based on their grade-level, school-specific factors, demographics, culture, and other factors (Koehler, 2012).
TPACK can be helpful for teachers to take a step back and look at their whole lesson, and allow them to figure out how to integrate that technology without compromising content and pedagogy (PowerSchool, 2022).
Lesson Plan with TPACK
The PowerSchool article gives an example of how to implement TPACK into a lesson: PowerSchool: The TPACK Framework Explained (With Classroom Examples)
Here is another video that breaks down lesson plans and TPACK:
Videos and examples about using TPACK in the classroom and in lessons are all over the web. I encourage you to practice a couple of times before really jumping in with the lesson.
Other Technology Integration Methods
TPACK is not the only Technology Integration Method out there. One called SAMR is also used. SAMR lays out four tiers of online learning roughly in order of their sophistication and transformative power: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (Terada, 2020). SAMR is a good tool, but can be very linear as teachers feel like they have to do SAMR step by step (TPACK vs SAMR: Key Differences Between 2 Tech Frameworks YouTube Video, 2018).
TPACK is the opposite of SAMR allowing teachers to look at content, knowledge, and pedagogy when a teacher is planning a lesson, and making sure all three of those areas are represented and meeting the standards (TPACK vs SAMR: Key Differences Between 2 Tech Frameworks YouTube Video, 2018).
There is also TIM, or the Technology Integration Matrix. TIM combines a five-point scale of Entry, Adoption, Adaptation, Infusion and Transformation with five characteristics of the learning environment: Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic, and Goal-Directed. TIM provides common vocabulary for pedagogically sound technology integration for teachers, school leaders, coaches, researchers, evaluators, and professional development facilitators. The theoretical framework of the TIM is based in constructivist learning theory and research related to teacher practice. In contrast to other models for technology integration, the TIM is designed to evaluate a lesson, as opposed to rating a teacher or judging a discrete task (Winkelman, Roy, Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2005-2023).
Like SAMR, TIM is useful in integrating technology into the classroom. However, the matrix is one that confuses me, so I chose not to go with TIM.
I encourage all new teachers to try out all three and see what works best for you. Every classroom is different and every teaching experience is different. Good luck to all new teachers and teachers new to integrating technology!
References
Koehler, M. (2012, September 24). TPACK explained. TPACK.ORG. http://matt-koehler.com/tpack2/tpack-explained/
The TPACK Framework Explained (With Classroom Examples). Powerschool.com. (n.d.). https://www.powerschool.com/blog/the-tpack-framework-explained-with-classroom-examples/
Terada, Y. (2020). A powerful model for understanding good tech integration. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-integration
Winkelman, Roy. (n.d.). Background. TIM. https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix/background/
YouTube. (2018). TPACK vs SAMR: Key Differences Between 2 Tech Frameworks. YouTube. Retrieved July 24, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVq4F36b8gM.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI like the simplicity of your blog page and the flow of your blog on TPACK: Integrating Technology without Sacrificing the Lesson was easy to follow, clear and well organized. You covered the definition, the components, and the gist of the sweet spot to help the reader understand TPACK for a first time reader on this particular framework. I think you conveyed your message on the purpose and importance of TPACK with clarity and how it’s applied in lessons. I like how you chose to include some of the other frameworks/models/matrix as they are all helpful to any teacher not familiar with integrating technology into their lessons. It’s also helpful, when sharing your perspective on why you don’t prefer a model like the TIM Matrix. When other educators give honest opinions on what works or does not work, I believe it helps others to go with an open mind when learning new tools for their own teaching. I agree with you that the TIM matrix was a little confusing to grasp. In fact, after reading over these particular models mentioned and finding more throughout my own research, I feel like it truly is a preference on whichever model a teacher is comfortable using. They all tend to overlap and have similarities as to how they are integrated into lessons. I like that you have videos embedded throughout your blog. That is always eye catching to the reader, and is always a plus because it helps guide the reader to learn more information in a different format. I didn’t find any mechanical issues in your writing and you followed the APA format as directed. Overall, your blog effectively presents the concept of TPACK and its importance in integrating technology in education.