A systematic review and meta-analysis on TPACK-based interventions from a perspective of knowledge integration

Abstract

Designing effective interventions that foster (pre-service) teachers' knowledge to teach with technologies is paramount in education research. Researchers have prominently relied on the TPACK-model as theoretical foundation to design such interventions. However, a myriad of distinct TPACK-based interventions emerged, which likely targeted the different knowledge components of TPACK to varying extents. Given this diversity and the lack of performance-based measures to estimate competence growth, little is known about the effectiveness of respective interventions. In the present synthesis study, we therefore sought to systemize TPACK-based interventions regarding targeted knowledge domains across various contexts. Accordingly, we scrutinized which of the TPACK-components were explicitly targeted in TPACK-based interventions within the framework of a systematic review. Further, we conducted a subsequent meta-analysis based on studies applying performance-based measures to investigate whether the targeted knowledge domains affected the effectiveness of interventions. Based on a set of N = 163 primary intervention studies and one theoretical contribution, our analyses suggest that Technological Knowledge was the most prominent targeted TPACK-component. Interestingly, in more than 20% of the interventions, specific training on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (i.e., TPCK) was absent although TPCK is considered crucial for successful technology integration. Results further revealed that researchers do not seem to have adapted the design of interventions on instructional contexts (such as the expertise level of the target audience). The results of the subsequent meta-analysis (N = 8) further provided no clear evidence that targeted TPACK-components affected the effectiveness of interventions.