ePortfolio focus: designing, implementing, and analyzing Educational Technology
I was first exposed to TPCK in my Foundations of Educational Technology class when I wrote a paper on classroom iPad use in conjunction with the TPCK model, and it has been a theory that has influenced me throughout my MET journey.
Check out the podcast below that I recorded with my MET colleague, Paige McClelland, to hear more about selecting and implementing TPCK into our ePortfolios!
So what is TPCK? Well, TPCK stands for Technology, Pedagogy, Content Knowledge. TPCK is a model of instruction that looks at how Technology, Pedagogy, and Content knowledge need to work in unison for successful learning. TPCK is based off of Shulman's (1987, 1986) PCK model, which focuses on the blending of content and pedagogy for instruction.
Why do I like TPCK so much? During my Foundations course, I saw a direct correlation between Information Design and TPCK. As explained in the TPCK literature by Mishra and Koehler, "good teaching requires an understanding of how technology relates to the pedagogy and content" (Mishra and Koehler, 2006, p. 1026) and this is not unlike the work of information designers. Information design focuses on intended users and on managing and producing information that is understandable in varying forms. As Jacobson (2000) described, information designers need "...the ability to present the right information to the right people at the right time, in the most effective and efficient form" (p. 16).
Within a TPCK learning environment, educators must evaluate the content, as well as the pedagogy of learning in order to successfully choose and implement technology, and by focusing on this model, we can more accurately identify effective teaching and also make predictions about context in which good teaching can occur (Mishra and Koehler, 2006, p. 1045).
How am I using TPCK for my ePortfolio? To explain this, I need to explain a visual tool I used to explain information design:
I love using Venn Diagrams as a tool for simple visual explanation of how concepts interact. When I was finishing my undergraduate degree in Information Design, I created the Venn Diagram above to visually explain what Information Design is to me. So in reflection on TPCK and Educational Technology, I decided that I would like to create another Venn Diagram to help visually explain what Educational Technology is.
I want my Venn Diagram to help explain Educational Technology to non-educators. So, I have based my new Venn Diagram on how Mishra and Koehler (2006) conceptualized TPCK from Shulman's PCK model, and they argued that the TPCK model "...can enable a more theoretical robust way of designing, implementing, analyzing and evaluating the use of Information and Communication Technologies in education" (Unwin, 2007, p. 232).
So I'm basing this portfolio on the following diagram:
Coming back to the TPCK model is like reflecting on the beginning of my journey to its conclusion. To take a model that I learned about in my first semester, and apply the model to the rest of my courses and personal journey.
So, throughout my ePortfolio you will see artifacts from my MET journey divided into the categories of Designing, Implementing, and Analyzing, and through these divisions you will also be able to see synthesis, similarity, and overlap (just like the Venn Diagram) between varying projects, ideas, and designs.
TPCK and Constructivism In addition to TPCK, a theory that has impacted me throughout MET is the theory of constructivism. Constructivism recognizes the individuality of building knowledge. In constructivist learning environments learners take in information and reflect, construct, and scaffold their understanding (Baviskar et al., 2009).
According to Herring et al. (2016), TPCK brings forward the need for technology to be integrated into learning beyond "functional fixedness;" to enhance content and be an active tool in problem solving. Essentially, TPCK enhances constructivist thinking.
Through my ePortfolio and the concepts of Designing, Implementing, and Analyzing, I will explain how Educational Technologists are educators that focus on active and engaged learning, that that we skillfully incorporate technology into education.
Page References
Baviskar, S. N., Hartle, R. T., & Whitney, T. (2009). Essential criteria to characterize constructivist teaching: Derived from a review of the literature and applied to five constructivist-teaching method articles. International Journal of Science Education, 31(4), 541-550. doi:10.1080/09500690701731121
Herring, M. C., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2016). Handbook of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) for educators. New York, NY: Routledge. (Google Books).
Jacobson, R. E. (Ed.). (2000). Information design. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for integrating technology in teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054.
Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14.
Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.
Unwin, A. (2007). Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), a conceptual framework for an increasingly technology driven higher education? Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy (BJSEP), 1(1), 231-247.