Matthew J. Koehler

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): The Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument for Preservice Teachers.

Abstract Based in Shulman’s idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has emerged as a useful frame for describing and understanding the goals for technology use in preservice teacher education. This paper addresses the need for a survey instrument designed to assess TPACK for preservice teachers. The paper describes survey development process and results from a pilot study on 124 preservice teachers. Data analysis procedures included Cronbach’s alpha statistics on the TPACK knowledge domains and factor analysis for each domain. Results suggest that, with the modification and/or deletion of 18 of the survey items, the survey is a reliable and valid instrument that will help educators design longitudinal studies to assess preservice teachers’ development of TPACK.

Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Learning Activity Types: Curriculum-based Technology Integration Reframed

Abstract In this paper we critically analyze extant approaches to technology integration in teaching, arguing that many current methods are technocentric, often omitting sufficient consideration of the dynamic and complex relationships among content, technology, pedagogy, and context. We recommend using the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework as a way to think about effective technology integration, recognizing technology, pedagogy, content and context as interdependent aspects of teachers’ knowledge necessary to teach content-based curricula effectively with educational technologies. We offer TPACK-based “activity types,” rooted in previous research about content-specific activity structures, as an alternative to existing professional development approaches and explain how this new way of thinking may authentically and successfully assist teachers’ and teacher educators’ technology integration efforts.

Teachers Learning Technology by Design

Abstract Although there has been much debate about what teachers need to know about technology, less attention has been paid to how they are supposed to learn it. Teacher preparation programs need to go beyond merely training teachers in how to use specific software and hardware tools, and instead focus on developing an understanding of the complex set of interrelationships between artifacts, users, tools, and practices. In this paper, we introduce and advocate a Learning By Design approach that can help teachers develop a flexible and situated understanding of technology. In this approach, inservice teachers work collaboratively in small groups to develop technological solutions to authentic pedagogical problems. We introduce the Learning by Design strategy and provide examples of its use in three different courses. We summarize what teachers learn in this approach, focusing on learning about technology, learning about design, and learning about learning.

What is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

This paper describes a teacher knowledge framework for technology integration called technological pedagogical content knowledge (originally TPCK, now known as TPACK, or technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge). This framework builds on Lee Shulmans (1986, 1987) construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to include technology knowledge. The development of TPACK by teachers is critical to effective teaching with technology. The paper begins with a brief introduction to the complex, ill-structured nature of teaching. The nature of technologies (both analog and digital) is considered, as well as how the inclusion of technology in pedagogy further complicates teaching. The TPACK framework for teacher knowledge is described in detail as a complex interaction among three bodies of knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. The interaction of these bodies of knowledge, both theoretically and in practice, produces the types of flexible knowledge needed to successfully integrate technology use into teaching.

The technological pedagogical content knowledge framework

In this chapter, we introduce a framework, called technological pedagogical content knowledge (or TPACK for short), that describes the kinds of knowledge needed by a teacher for effective technology integration. The TPACK framework emphasizes how the connections among teachers’ understanding of content, pedagogy, and technology interact with one another to produce effective teaching. Even as a relatively new framework, the TPACK framework has significantly influenced theory, research, and practice in teacher education and teacher professional development. In this chapter, we describe the theoretical underpinnings of the framework, and explain the relationship between TPACK and related constructs in the educational technology literature. We outline the various approaches teacher educators have used to develop TPACK in pre- and in-service teachers, and the theoretical and practical issues that these professional development efforts have illuminated. We then review the widely varying approaches to measuring TPACK, with an emphasis on the interaction between form and function of the assessment, and resulting reliability and validity outcomes for the various approaches. We conclude with a summary of the key theoretical, pedagogical, and methodological issues related to TPACK, and suggest future directions for researchers, practitioners, and teacher educators.

Deep-play: developing TPACK for 21st century teachers

A key complication facing teachers who seek to integrate technology in their teaching is the fact that most technologies are not designed for educational purposes. Making a tool an educational technology requires creative input from the teacher to re-design, or maybe even subvert the original intentions of the designer. The learning technology by design (LT/D) framework has been proposed as being an effective instructional technique to develop deeper understanding of technological pedagogical content knowledge. In this paper we expand our description of the LT/D technique to develop what we call a deep-play model for teacher professional development. The deep-play model integrates: a) pedagogy for key 21st century learning skills; b) content that cuts across disciplines with trans-disciplinary cognitive tools; c) technology by the creative repurposing of tools for pedagogical purposes.

Regulated Randomization: A Potentially Sharper Analytical Tool for the Multiple- Baseline Design

A dual-randomization procedure, regulated randomization , is proposed for behavioral and educational interventions that incorporate the logic of single-case multiple-baseline designs. The new approach is sharper conceptually and methodologically than previously developed approaches in that regulated randomization maintains the basic integrity of the multiplebaseline design (namely, the systematically staggered introduction of the intervention across the experimental units) while being statistically practicable with fewer units N < 4 . Moreover, previously suggested nonparametric analyses of multiple-baseline data can be subsumed by a general regulated randomization formula. The regulated randomization approach provides researchers with a flexible analytic tool that can take into account specific substantive, methodological, and statistical trade-offs.

Using Questioning to Facilitate Discussion of Science Teaching Problems in Teacher Professional Development

Previous research has shown that questioning is a key strategy that facilitators use to promote discussion in Problem-Based Learning (PBL). Yet, there is a lack of detailed understanding on what questions facilitators ask and how those questions affect discus sion. In this study we examined different types of questions that experienced facilitators asked to promote discussion of teaching problems in professional development for science teachers. We videotaped six PBL sessions facilitated by three pairs of experienced facilitators. Data analysis showed that facilitators asked a set of questions to initiate and advance PBL discourse, including questions to solicit ideas, to reframe ideas, to clarify ideas, to push for elaboration, to check for interpretation, and to connect to teachers’ classroom practice. This study has implications for the development of PBL facilitators.

Context and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): A Systematic Review

Abstract Context is an important aspect of educational research and the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework, but is often missing from TPACK research, or its specific meaning is not clear. To provide a systematic and comprehensive view of the extent to which context is included in such research, and to understand the meaning of context when it is included, we conducted a systematic review of publications about TPACK. Context was included in descriptions, explanations, or operationalizations of TPACK among 36% of the 193 empirical journal articles we examined. When context was included, classroom and school factors and those related to teachers were more likely to be included than those related to students and society. The grounds for context being included among around one-third of the articles and why some contextual factors are examined more than others are discussed. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research focus on investigating the complexity of practice, the development of measures that include context, and aligning TPACK and educational technology research with other disciplines through greater attention to context. (Keywords: TPACK, technology integration, teacher knowledge, context).

Use of a Case-Based Hypermedia Resource in an Early Literacy Coaching Intervention with Pre-Kindergarten Teachers

Use of a case-based hypermedia resource (HR) was examined in a Web-based early literacy coaching intervention with pre-kindergarten teachers of at-risk children. Web usage logs, written records of coach feedback to teachers on their instruction, and a teacher questionnaire were the primary data sources. Visits to the HR content pages were unevenly distributed across literacy topics, with 9 of 16 cases in the video-intensive HR receiving a majority of all page visits. Usage patterns of both teachers and coaches point to selective engagement of the Web’s resources rather than usage driven by the available number of items in each of the HR’s content areas. Teachers provided highly favorable assessments of the video exemplars, including their ecological validity. Implications for the design and uses of Web-based professional development are discussed.