PCK and TPACK

This knowledge base, in part, is an amalgam of knowledge about pedagogy (P) or the nature of teaching and learning and knowledge about content (C) such as geometry or evolution. PK or pedagogical knowledge might include things like student engagement, time management, access issues and district funding, administration and prep time for teachers. Taken together, he suggested the specialized knowledge of teachers is PCK and differentiated it from general pedagogical knowledge (eg. knowledge about students in general such as their affect, engagement levels, the profession, schools and schooling, or regulatory bodies governing teachers) and content knowledge that might be the purview of experts such as scientists and mathematicians. Rather, PCK includes specialized knowledge of how to teach a particular topic in a particular subject area. PCK includes knowledge of using the blind cave fish example to teach about evolution, knowledge of how to teach geometry, knowledge of using Punnet squares to teach genetics or using force diagrams to teach about opposite forces.

Mishra and Koehler extended this notion of PCK to include technology (T) as a third and important dimension to the work of educators. TK or general technology knowledge includes things like knowledge of interface design, browser compatibility, accessibility. Taken from one of my papers, TPCK or TPACK; however, encompasses that specialized knowledge of how technologies can be used to teach particular concepts, how pedagogical techniques that employ technologies to support the learning of content and development of skills, or how technology can help redress some of the problems with a challenging topic that students face. Over 13 000 dissertations have been written on TPACK. While PK and TK issues are important to some courses, the core focus of discussions in Module B (and C) in this class will be on PCK and TPACK. This means that contributions should focus on PCK throughout this module and illustrate deep thinking about teaching and learning specific concepts or skills in math or science and those activities, with or without technology, that may support aspects of conceptual development about particular topics in math or science.

Please read the following three papers to orient your contributions for the remaining modules. Discuss PCK and TPACK, your posts will be displayed below.

• Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4 -14. Text available on Connect.
• Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching. The foundations of a new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1)1-23. Text accessible from Google Scholar.
• Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. The Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Text accessible from Google Scholar.