Teaching with TPCK

Since I am not a math or science teacher, but rather focus solely on Language Arts and Creative Writing, I’ll focus on more on the technology side to tie it in with STEM learning.

This is not the first course where I have come across the idea of TPCK, so I have had ample time in which to reflect on the ideas that are presented here. I went back and found my notes from the first time hearing of this idea and it was amazing to see how my understanding and application of these ideas has progressed. When I first read Mishra & Koehler (2006), I had notes down like, “Does technology really require/possess new sets of knowledge and skills?” Yet, now, looking at it, I can more clearly see that there are technology specific skill sets that are necessary to be successful.

In my classroom this week, we are working on creating ePortfolios. In my Creative Writing class, they function more as interactive notebooks, rather than simple collection agencies. For this post, I will be breaking apart teaching my students how to create one using the TPCK framework:

• Technology
  • Typing: The technology skills that are necessary for the creation of an ePortfolio in my class begin simple with knowing how to type. The faster they are at typing, the more efficient the entire process is.
  • Web-Design: Using Google Sites requires a very basic amount of knowledge of web design. Some of it is related to word processing and is a simple carryover (headers, footers, etc.), yet others require more specific knowledge (formatting, page previews/proofs, publishing to the web)
  • Cloud Computing: Students (and myself) must have an adequate knowledge of how to link documents from Google Drive to the webpage and display them correctly. Collaboration and teamwork are necessary for those projects that were done in pairs.
• Pedagogy
  • Classroom Management: All good lessons stem from consistent and solid classroom management. From students knowing how to get out Chromebooks to knowing protocols for group work and asking questions, management comes first.
  • Scaffolding: Students cannot take in too much information at one time. To assist in this, I create a visual step by step presentation that shows the various steps of creating a website (Front loading). I then demonstrated it in front of them, then asked them to join in with a part of the creation (Guided practice). Finally, they were set free to build their own sites (independent practice).
  • Reflection: The entire activity of keeping a record of learning and reflecting back on it is built on Constructivist ideals. By compiling all their work in one place and writing about what they learned, students are actively involved in the process of reflection and growing through their dealing with past artifacts.
• Content
  • Grammar: Creative Writing is built around using the language to play with ideas. In order to do this, I need to have a solid grasp on the rules of grammar, how to apply them, and when they are able to be broken for stylistic choices.
  • Forms: Each piece that the students made was in a different genre (descriptive, narrative, poetry, fiction, non-fiction). To effectively teach the students, I need to be sure of the distinctions between these genres and also be able to show exemplars to the class to guide them through the classification of these pieces.

I’m sure the lists here could go on and on, but for this post, I will leave them here, as there are solid representative categories for each one. Solid TPCK makes for lessons that are well informed and for students who are learning from experience (Shulman 1987), forming comprehensive knowledge (Shulman 1987), and are learning by design (Mishra & Koehler 2006). Authentic problems, active engagement, and tangible artifacts make an equation for success.

References

Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4 -14.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching. The foundations of a new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1)1-23. 

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers college record, 108(6), 1017.