For TPACK!

For this assignment I will be critiquing TPACK and how I believe it is either good for teachers or how it can be bad for teachers. When digging into TPACK I learned a lot more about it and how it works. For me, I believe TPACK is great and that it will help teachers who have a hard time understanding technology and incorporating it into their lesson plans. The best thing I think TPACK has is its seven components, there are three primary forms of knowledge, and these are Content, Pedagogy, and Technological. Next, there is also the framework that breaks down what lies between the intersections of the three primary forms. These are Pedagogical Content (PCK), Technological Content (TCK), Technological Pedagogical (TPK), and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). These components all work together to help teachers build and integrate a better classroom, where the students can utilize and learn by using technology. 

As I broke TPACK down more and looked at it in a really basic format. When looking at Content Knowledge, this is the teacher’s knowledge about a subject matter that is to be learned or taught. When looking at Pedagogical Knowledge it is the teachers knowledge of practices or methods that they will use to teach the content knowledge that they know to their students so that the students when understand and retain the information. When looking at the Technology Knowledge, it is the knowledge and understanding of technology content and the influence that it can have on the classroom and the students. It is also where the teacher needs to master more than just the content knowledge, but the knowledge of technology so that it can be used in the classroom.

Looking at the over laps of the framework is where the teachers learn to use all of these together. PCK or Pedagogical Content Knowledge is the knowledge that the teacher has from the Content that is being taught and combines it with the Pedagogical knowledge that the teacher has to teach the students. TCK or Technological Content Knowledge is the knowledge of the teacher being able to combine the Content and the Technology together to teach the students. If teachers can master not only the Content but master the Technology and incorporate it all into the classroom the students will be able to learn the more and retain the content better. The next is TPK or Technological Pedagogical Knowledge, this outlines the way that technology is utilized to change the process of teaching and learning.

TPACK illustrates how utilizing technology with an understanding of all three concepts forms a basis of effective teaching with technology. I agree that technology will benefit teachers and students alike by offering different perspectives to the education process. In my experience, I will be able to incorporate my knowledge, teaching strategies, and technology to better craft a learning environment for my students. This will assist my students in retaining and understanding the lesson at a higher level. Overall, I am in support of the TPACK method and would recommend this to other teachers so that they may use it to become better educators.

Soruce: 

Koehler, M. (2018).TPACK Explained. Retrieved from http://matt-koehler.com/tpack2/tpack-explained/