Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Constructs Research Articles

TPACK Constructs: A Sustainable Pathway for Teachers Professional Development on Technology Adoption

As numerous Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) penetrate various facets of life, teachers are underutilising it in the teaching and learning process. With the introduction of ICTs in the Cameroon primary school curriculum, teachers have been receiving training on computer skill-base courses and yet many are unable to adopt the tool in instructional processes. To ensure that teacher training programmes effectively assist them in integrating technology in instructional processes, a study was initiated to determine additional set of skills that they need to adopt the tool in their classrooms. This study employed a quantitative survey methodology in the collection of data towards the determination of additional skills needed by primary school teachers. A total of 400 teachers were selected using the stratified random sampling technique from primary schools across all the 10 Regions of Cameroon. The data were analysed using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the survey indicated that teacher-participants reported a better mastery of content knowledge (CK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and technological content knowledge (TCK). On the other hand, they reported weaknesses in three other constructs notably: technology knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The researcher concluded that teacher-participants performed better in the CK, PK and PCK because these constructs constitute the basis for teacher education in Cameroon. Similarly, they performed well in the TCK construct because their professional development programme is focused on fostering their computer knowledge as a standalone skill. Their poor performance in the TK, TPK and TPACK stems from the fact that the training programmes do not lay emphasis on these constructs. To provide a sustainable teacher professional development programme on technology adoption, it was therefore recommended that stakeholders involved in the sector design training packages that focus on the TPACK constructs. This will foster teachers’ adoption of the tool for instructional purposes.

Authentic learning exercises as a means to influence preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and intentions to integrate technology

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin: 1em 0px; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">This study explored the impact of authentic learning exercises, as an instructional strategy, on preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and intentions to integrate technology. Also explored was the predictive relationship between change in preservice teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy and change in intentions to integrate technology. Participants included 104 preservice teachers enrolled into a professional preparation methods course. Technology integration self-efficacy was measured as perceived technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). A paired samples t-test revealed a significant increase in self-efficacy for all TPACK constructs, as well as intentions to integrate technology. The effect was greatest for PCK. Also, multiple regression analysis revealed change in technology integration self-efficacy as a model, predicted change in intentions to integrate. Particularly change in perceived technology knowledge, predicted change in intentions. Implications for professional preparation programs are shared.</p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

TPACK-in-Action: Unpacking the contextual influences of teachers' construction of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

In school-based environments, teachers need to consider contextual factors such as the availability of technology and school policies as they apply TPACK to address instructional problems. However, qualitative TPACK studies tend to exemplify the seven TPACK constructs whereas its contextual influences have not been articulated in detail. This study describes TPACK-in-Action, a framework that can be used to visualize the interplay between TPACK and four contextual factors (Physical/Technological, Cultural/Institutional, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal) that influence teachers' design of ICT lessons. This was used to analyze the lesson design discussions of 24 school teachers from a Singapore primary school who were teaching the levels of Primary 1, 4, and 5. Content analysis of the transcribed audio-recordings of teachers' discussions and chi-square analysis of coding frequencies found that when the logistics of lesson implementation as per the Cultural/Institutional category dominated group discussions, it curtailed the emergence of TPACK. When Intrapersonal factors such as beliefs of teaching and students were articulated and its pedagogical implications considered, it facilitated TPACK. Furthermore, the team facilitated by an experienced educational technologist also demonstrated higher occurrences of TPACK. These results suggest that for ICT innovation to be effective, the composition of design teams need to be carefully considered. Teachers also need to develop competencies to facilitate and discourse about design such that contextual concerns can be turned into opportunities to support pedagogical improvement.

Goldilocks and TPACK

In the education community, the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has become a popular construct for examining the types of teacher knowledge needed to achieve technology integration. In accordance with Katz and Raths’s ’Goldilocks Principlen’ (cited in Kagan, 1990), TPACK, with its seven knowledge domains, may be too large (vague or ambiguous) of a construct to enable reasonable application. In this article, we provide a critical review of the TPACK construct and address the development, verification, usefulness, application, and appropriateness of TPACK as a way to explain the teacher cognition needed for effective technology integration. We make suggestions for returning to a simpler conceptualization to refocus our efforts on what teachers need to achieve meaningful technology-enabled learning.

Investigating the impact of an integrated approach to the development of preservice teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

The purpose of this study is to describe an integrated pedagogical approach, aimed at advancing preservice teachers' learning on the use of technology and investigate its impact on participants' knowledge (i.e., TPACK) and practice. The integrated approach juxtaposes an educational technology course with methods courses and field experience through careful instructional design. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data were collected through a pre-post administration of the Survey of Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Teaching and Technology. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey responses and preservice teacher case narratives reporting on the design and implementation of technology-integrated lessons in a field placement. Finding revealed that participants experienced significant gains in all TPACK constructs. Further, findings indicated that participants applied their knowledge in practice though there was variability in the ways in which knowledge domains were represented in participants' narratives. Findings have implications for teacher education programs and for researchers interested in the development and assessment of preservice teacher knowledge of teaching with technology.

Validating and modelling technological pedagogical content knowledge framework among Asian preservice teachers

<p>The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework has been adopted by many educational technologists and teacher educators for the research and development of knowledge about the pedagogical uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in classrooms. While the framework is potentially very important, efforts to survey teachers' TPCK efficacy has yet to identify all seven factors postulated by the framework. This study attempted to validate a TPCK efficacy survey by implementing it on an Asian group of 550 preservice teachers from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The seven factors underlying the TPCK framework were identified which suggested the research instrument to be valid and reliable. The structural equation model proposed based on the TPCK framework supported eight out of 12 hypotheses about the relationships between TPCK constructs. The results indicate that the positive effects of the basic knowledge factors of CK, PK, and TK were indirect, occurring through the second layer of knowledge factors (TPK, TCK, and PCK). Implications for preservice teacher professional developments are discussed.</p>

Modeling pre-service teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) perceptions

The TPACK framework comprises seven constructs that describe teachers' technology integration expertise. These TPACK constructs address a theoretical void in the area of educational technology and have been widely adopted by colleges of education for the planning of teacher technology integration courses. This study first describes Singapore pre-service teachers' TPACK perceptions with respect to these seven constructs. Using a stepwise regression model, this study then analyzes the relative impact of age, gender, and TPACK constructs on the TPACK perceptions of pre-service teachers. It was found that TPACK constructs had significant impact on pre-service teachers' TPACK perceptions whereas the demographic variables of age and gender were not signficant. Among the TPACK constructs, only technological pedagogical knowledge and technological content knowledge were found to be significant predictors of TPACK. The implications of these findings on the design of pre-service teacher ICT courses are discussed.

The Development of an Instrument to Assess Preservice Teacher's Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Pre-service Teacher-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Survey (PT-TPACK) instrument. The PT-TPACK survey items were written to assess preservice teachers' perceptions and understanding of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge construct originally proposed by Mishra and Koehler (2006). The participants for this study were preservice teachers ( n = 120) enrolled in a foundations of educational technology course at a mid-sized western university. Data analysis yielded six interpretable factors: pedagogical knowledge (PK), technological knowledge (TK), content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Technological content knowledge (TCK) was the only dimension in the TPACK construct specified a priori that did not emerge. Results from this study suggest that the PT-TPACK survey holds promise as a useful evaluation tool for assessing preservice teachers' knowledge and use of technology to increase the effectiveness of their instructional efforts.

Theoretical considerations for understanding technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)

The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is increasing in use by educational technology researchers around the world who are interested in issues related to technology integration. Much that is good can be found in the TPACK framework; however considerable theoretical work needs to be done if TPACK research is to cohere and constructively strengthen the field of educational technology. This paper uses Whetten's (1989) criteria for theory building as a lens for examining the TPACK framework. Specific weaknesses are identified, which in turn suggest areas needing theoretical development. This paper calls for researchers to increase emphasis on using research findings to constructively build common definitions and understandings of the TPACK constructs and the boundaries between them.

Modeling primary school pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) for meaningful learning with information and communication technology (ICT)

Within the field of educational technology, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been theorized as a seven-factor construct to describe teacher’s integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching. However, this framework has yet to be successfully validated through survey instruments. This paper examines the construct validity of a TPACK survey that was contextualized for the pedagogical approaches employed in a 12-week ICT course designed with reference to the TPACK framework for Singaporean primary school pre-service teachers. Using this framework, the researchers were able to uncover five of the seven TPACK constructs which were a better model fit as compared with several extant studies of TPACK surveys. Using these results, pre and post-course structural equation models were constructed to explain the relationships amongst the different constructs of teachers’ TPACK perceptions. It was found that pedagogical knowledge had a direct impact on TPACK at the beginning of the course. As teachers made connections between their technological knowledge and pedagogical knowledge to form technological pedagogical knowledge during the course, the direct relation between pedagogical knowledge and TPACK became insignificant where as the relations between pedagogical knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge, and technological pedagogical knowledge and TPACK were strengthened. The comparison between the pre and post-course models also revealed that the pre-service teachers’ perceived relations between content knowledge and TPACK changes from insignificant to significant. The implications of these findings and suggestions to improve the construct validation of the TPACK framework are discussed in this paper.