ICT teacher handbook/Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge TPACK

TPACK Framework

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework provides a useful basis to understand the integration of ICTs in education. It has seven components - Technological Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Content Knowledge, Technological Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

Content and Pedagogy

The NCFTE says "Most teacher education courses focus exclusively on the methodology of teaching individual school subjects. It is assumed that the teacher trainees have the subject-content knowledge which they would draw upon when required. Hence, teacher education curricula do not engage teacher trainees with subject-content. However, if we want to prepare teachers to present subject-content in developmentally appropriate ways and with critical perspectives it is essential that several theoretical concepts learnt during general education in school and college be revisited and reconstructed".
Elliot W. Eisner said that “Like the systole and diastole of the beating heart, curriculum (content) and teaching (pedagogy) are the most fundamental aspects. ...No curriculum teaches itself, it always must be mediated, and teaching is the fundamental mediator".
Thus content and pedagogy are closely linked in the processes of teaching, and teacher education needs to focus on both. Shullman also disagreed with the thinking that teachers' subject (content) knowledge and pedagogy were mutually exclusive. He believed that teacher education programs should combine the two knowledge fields. He introduced the notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that includes pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge, (and also curriculum knowledge, knowledge of educational contexts etc). PCK has two parts:

1. Content: Which includes all that the teacher needs to know to teach. This includes actual content (not just facts and definitions but key concept learnings, the ethics of the subject, the social justification/ social implication for the subject and the philosophy of the subject). This can be seen as the “what” of teaching. Content knowledge will make you an expert in the subject.
2. Pedagogy : Which includes all the methods, strategies and techniques that are used to teaching. This includes various technologies, use of various resources, materials, etc. This can be seen as the “how” of teaching.
   

Integrating content knowledge with pedagogical knowledge, rather than seeing the two as distinct, will make a better teacher.

TPACK

ICT have significantly impacted content/ learning resource possibilities for teachers. Earlier, the main resource was the text book; with ICT, text resources can be complemented and supplemented with image, audio, video, semantic map, simulations and various kinds of digital resources. ICT have also impacted pedagogy, by providing many more options for teachers. Earlier, to demonstrate eclipse, we could use a candle and a ball and physically manipulate these. Now, with a desktop planetarium tool like Stellarium, the sun, moon and Earth can be shown as moving in the screen, due to which actual classroom strategies can be different. Thus digital technology has altered/ presented new ways of representing content which makes it possible for new learning strategies to be developed.
Professor Punya Mishra and Professor Matthew J. Koehler, professor have done extensive work in extending PCK to the TPACK framework. integrating technology into their practices can help teachers in their professional development both in terms of deepening their content knowledge as well as in terms of supporting newer classroom processes.

TPACK discussion with teachers in Telangana

The TPACK framework provides a perspective on how technology impacts content and pedagogy, the two main components of the teaching learning process. This framework can help us understand the integration of ICTs into teaching-learning. In recent Subject Teacher Forum workshops with Telangana maths and science teachers, this framework was discussed, and the concept maps exploring TPACK in these subjects was created, which is provided below.

Discussion with mathematics teachers

Understanding TPACK - Telangana Maths STF Hyderabad.mm File:Understanding TPACK - Telangana Maths STF Hyderabad.mm

Discussion with science teachers

Understanding TPACK - Telangana Science STF Hyderabad.mm File:Understanding TPACK - Telangana Science STF Hyderabad.mm