TPACK

            TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) is an approach to teaching and learning that utilizes the interplay among three types of knowledge. The concept purports to extend the basic tenets of Lee Shulman’s model of pedagogical content knowledge.

            Technology is often an “add-on” rather than a seamless component of instruction. My experience as a teacher and principal has convinced me that this is most often due to a lack of training for teachers in educational technology and its possibilities for best practice. School systems typically lag behind in technology due to budgetary restrictions and the rapid implementation of new computer hardware and software. Yet, even in schools where cutting edge technology is available, there can be a philosophical lag as teachers struggle to determine exactly how it will meld with their individual beliefs about teaching and learning. TPACK attempts to help in that effort by redefining technology as a helper rather than a hammer.

             TPACK is a dynamic paradigm for evaluating the effectiveness of technology in the classroom that differs significantly from other static representations. TPACK acknowledges that classroom instruction is constantly in flux due to individual differences in teachers, schools, student demographics, ability levels, cultural backgrounds, etc. The challenge is to discern how technology relates specifically to curriculum and pedagogy and the degree to which it weaves the three together into a continuum.

            TPACK does not offer any kind of toolkit for how to specifically use technology in the classroom but rather a lens for evaluating how balanced the teacher’s approach is. The usefulness for me centers on the integration of technology into the inner sanctums of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge – rather than being an extension of one or the other (or both). I have grappled most with the content knowledge sphere. TPACK supporters contend that technology can enhance or restrict the teaching of content knowledge, and that the reverse can also be the case. I can see their point, but it will take time and experience to see the equality that the model seems to suggests.

          Even though my reading of TPACK indicates that it is a fluid model, I have always been skeptical of visual representations with equal geometric shapes – especially when they represent the uncertain craft of teaching. Perhaps my concern is more a commentary on me than the TPACK model, but I am interested in testing the theory in my own teaching.