Their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Research Articles

Exploring teacher educators’ challenges in the context of digital transformation and their self-reported TPACK: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT The ongoing digital transformation requires teachers and teacher educators to re-conceptualise their roles and tasks. The purpose of the present study is to examine teacher educators’ challenges in the context of digital transformation, their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and the role of personal and contextual characteristics. To this end, this study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design. Data were collected from individual semi-structured interviews (N = 8) and an online questionnaire (N = 179). Findings reveal that teacher educators experience challenges on the lecturer and institutional level. However, they rate their TPACK rather high. Results of multiple linear regression analysis indicate that frequency of digital technology use and perceived challenges are significant predictors of TPACK. Findings of the study shed light on teacher educators’ digital upskilling needs and relevant personal and contextual factors which need to be considered in the design of professional development curricula.

A multi-centric investigation of technology integration in health professions education: The importance of educators’ Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

The widespread acknowledgment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a fundamental component of educational strategies is a key context for understanding the findings of our study, which focused on the use of technology by educators in higher education, particularly in the health professions domain. This study examines technology usage patterns and factors influencing active implementation of technology among health professions educators. A cross-sectional survey involving 202 educators from six institutions in Morocco reveals their high confidence in their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), notably in Pedagogical and Content domains. The study highlights a prevalence of passive digital learning activities over active approaches. Educators actively employing technology display enhanced TPACK, emphasizing the significance of TPACK development for effective technology integration in teaching practices. Among those with a good level of active technology use, a majority (102 out of 119) have a high TPACK level, and 54 out of 83 of those categorised as low-level participants have a low TPACK level. The findings contribute valuable insights with both theoretical and practical implications for educators in the health professions, emphasizing the significance of aligning technology use with effective instructional practices in this specialized field. Further research should be pursued with diverse methodological approaches to gain a deeper comprehension of the technology integration process in the health profession domain.

The Role of Trainers in Implementing Virtual Simulation-based Training: Effects on Attitude and TPACK Knowledge

Virtual simulations (VS) are gaining more popularity in vocational education and training (VET) to train professional competencies. However, implementing VS into organisations requires the involvement of trainers in, and the development of their knowledge to fulfil a meaningful approach to integrating this technology into teaching. In the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences (EASS) VS have been used for more than a decade to train and assess rescue and police staff work and related competencies such as decision-making and problem-solving. As there is a lack of research as to the role of trainers in the implementation process of virtual simulation-based training (VSBT) in organisations, a survey among EASS trainers (N = 146) was used to reveal their role in the implementation, their attitudes towards the use of VS and their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). While attitudes grow more positive with the use of VS and especially with training others to use it, integrated knowledge about using technology in training seems to depend on the active participation of trainers in its creation. We discuss the important role of involving trainers in the implementation of VS-based training to ensure the successful use of VS in vocational education.

Technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge of diploma in professional education graduates teaching biology

Content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge are central to effective teaching. Moreover, the interaction and integration of these knowledge bases challenge teachers, especially non-teacher education graduates including diploma professional education (DPE) graduates. Utilising adapted instruments, this study investigated the teaching competence of biology teachers who are DPE graduates, specifically their Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge (TPACK) and Biology teaching competence to design a teacher professional development (TPD) programme. Most teachers were BS Nursing graduates with professional teaching licenses and teaching experience ranging from 3 to 10 years. Also, most teachers received between one to five TPDs focused on biology, pedagogy, and technology. Among the TPACK components, the teachers perceived that they were least competent in pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Although the teachers agreed on their perceived overall TPACK competence, there is still an avenue to strengthen their TPACK. Teachers also believed that they were least competent in biological cellular processes. Need-based teacher professional development programmes are recommended to enhance Biology teachers’ TPACK, and ultimately, biology education.

Examining teachers’ behavioural intention for online teaching after COVID-19 pandemic: A large-scale survey

Recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to rapid digitalisation in education, requiring educators to adopt several technologies simultaneously for online learning and teaching. Using a large-scale survey (N = 1740), this study aims to construct a model that predicts teachers’ extensive technology acceptance by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and innovativeness. TAM has been a valuable tool to measure the adoption of new technology in various contexts, including education. However, TAM has been designed and principally applied to assess user acceptance of a specific technology implementation. This study has extended TAM to measure teachers’ technology-enabled practice (online teaching) with the adoption of various technologies. The proposed model explains teachers’ behavioural intention to teach online with a good fit. Our findings revealed the collective effects of TPACK, perceived usefulness (PU) of technology, and innovativeness on teachers’ behavioural intention to teach online post-pandemic. Moreover, the study identified training and support from school as a significant predictor for both teachers’ TPACK and PU. The novelty of this study lies in its model conceptualisation that incorporates both information-technology-based constructs and personal-competence-based features, including TPACK and innovativeness. Furthermore, our study contributes to the growing body of literature that addresses the online teaching adoption by schoolteachers in the post-pandemic era.

코로나 19 상황의 온라인 교양영어 수업에 대한 한국인과 원어민 교원의 인식 및 적응 과정

Objectives The purpose of the study was to investigate Korean and native English teachers’ perceptions of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), techno-stress, teacher efficacy, and environmental support. The study also attempts to illustrate how the Korean and native English teachers have adapted to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how their experience has affected their perceptions about online classes.
 Methods Data were collected through a survey questionnaire and interviews. A total of 37 (27 Korean, 10 native English) faculty members responded to the questionnaire and twelve of them participated in the interview. The responses in the survey were analyzed to compare the participants’ experience in online classes and their perceptions and interviews were coded to illustrate their adaptation process of teaching online classes.
 Results The results showed that there was no significant difference between the Korean and native English faculty groups in terms of their online class experience, and perception of TPACK, techno-stress, teacher efficacy, and environmental support. It was shown that the mean scores of TPACK and teacher efficacy were relatively high while their techno-stress was not high. The participants underwent the process of frustration, adaption, and reflection while coping with challenges of acquiring and utilizing technology-based instructional tools in their online classes. Though the participants were forced to adapt to online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it helped them improve their technological skills and gain new understandings of their own classes and students.
 Conclusions The online class experience provided the participants an opportunity to improve their TPACK and to reflect on their teaching methods, students’ perspectives, and colleagues’ support. It can be suggested that teachers need to be encouraged and challenged to adapt to new teaching environments through which they can improve their teaching efficacy.
 

코로나 19 상황의 온라인 교양영어 수업에 대한 한국인과 원어민 교원의 인식 및 적응 과정

Objectives The purpose of the study was to investigate Korean and native English teachers’ perceptions of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), techno-stress, teacher efficacy, and environmental support. The study also attempts to illustrate how the Korean and native English teachers have adapted to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how their experience has affected their perceptions about online classes.
 Methods Data were collected through a survey questionnaire and interviews. A total of 37 (27 Korean, 10 native English) faculty members responded to the questionnaire and twelve of them participated in the interview. The responses in the survey were analyzed to compare the participants’ experience in online classes and their perceptions and interviews were coded to illustrate their adaptation process of teaching online classes.
 Results The results showed that there was no significant difference between the Korean and native English faculty groups in terms of their online class experience, and perception of TPACK, techno-stress, teacher efficacy, and environmental support. It was shown that the mean scores of TPACK and teacher efficacy were relatively high while their techno-stress was not high. The participants underwent the process of frustration, adaption, and reflection while coping with challenges of acquiring and utilizing technology-based instructional tools in their online classes. Though the participants were forced to adapt to online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it helped them improve their technological skills and gain new understandings of their own classes and students.
 Conclusions The online class experience provided the participants an opportunity to improve their TPACK and to reflect on their teaching methods, students’ perspectives, and colleagues’ support. It can be suggested that teachers need to be encouraged and challenged to adapt to new teaching environments through which they can improve their teaching efficacy.
 

Relevance of social studies in the 21st century society: Students perspectives

Social Studies is a key tool in this changing world. It serves as the foundation of social development across the country and acts as an agent of change that transforms an individual into an effective citizen of the nation. Moreover, the Philippine K to 12 curriculum accentuates the role of social studies in developing the learners’ literacy and effective engagement as a citizen of the country. This study aims to elicit the junior high school students' perspectives on the significance of social studies in 21st century society. A total of 25 7th grade students enrolled in a public secondary school participated in the study. This study used a qualitative descriptive design with a semi-structured interview guide as the primary gathering tool. Thematic analysis was used in analyzing the data. Five major themes emerged from the categorized statements of the participants. Social studies is still relevant today as it encourages community participation, enhances critical and creative thinking, fosters cultural sensitivity, broadens global perspective, and promotes values formation. Moreover, participants claimed that social studies promotes cultural heritage, fosters economic efficiency, serves as a source of meaningful information, and brings people back to the past. The study recommends that teachers should enhance their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in Social Studies to keep abreast with the demands of 21st century society. Further, teachers are encouraged to make the teaching of Social Studies contextualized, indigenized, and localized to make it responsive and relevant in the current setting.

Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Perception of Their Readiness for Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a worldwide unexpected interruption of face-to-face teaching and a sudden conversion to emergency remote teaching (ERT). In this exploratory study, a sample of 244 secondary mathematics teachers was considered to analyze their perception of their readiness to ERT during the COVID-19 pandemic based on their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), their previous training in digital teaching tools, their level of digital competence for teaching mathematics, and their adaptation to ERT. An online questionnaire was applied, and the answers were quantitatively analyzed. Given the use of a large number of digital resources and the high percentage of self-developed materials using educational software, secondary mathematics teachers reflected adequate digital competence and TPCK for teaching mathematics. The sudden transition to ERT forced teachers to slow down the pace of teaching and to reduce the content taught. Significant differences were observed based on gender and age with respect to teachers’ perception of their adaptation to ERT. Despite the positive influence of previous training on their perception of readiness for ERT, in general, teachers recognized that they need more training. The demand for preparation for video editing and online quiz composition can be considered for the design of future training programs.

Three Internal Barriers to Technology Integration in Education: Opinion, Attitude and Self-Confidence

It is known that teachers’ negative opinions, attitudes and lack of self-confidence towards technology in education negatively affect the technology integration process as an internal barrier. In this study, in order to understand the holistic effect of these internal barriers, the relationship between teachers ‘views on students’ use of technological tools, their attitudes towards technology and their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) self-confidence was investigated. 378 secondary school teachers participated in the study, in which relational screening model was used. The data of the study were collected through the Scale of Attitudes Towards Technology (SATT), TPCK Confidence Survey, and Personal Information Form. Multivariate Kruskal-Wallis H Test was employed in order to identify the relationships between teachers’ opinions and the factors of the scales, Pearson Moments Multiplication Correlation Coefficient was used so as to identify the relationship of the factors with each other, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed in order to determine the level of teachers’ attitudes predicting their TPCK confidence. It was determined that there was positive and significant relationships between the teachers’ opinions about the students’ benefiting from technological tools and their attitudes, and between the teachers’ opinions about the students’ benefiting from technological tools in the lessons and their TPCK confidence. In addition, it was understood that there were positive and significant relationships between all factors of the attitude scale and confidence scale, and that the teachers’ attitudes towards technology was a significant predictor of their TPCK confidence.

Teacher Learning Management: Investigating Biology Teachers’ TPACK to Conduct Learning During the Covid-19 Outbreak

Adaptation of new habits in many aspects of life, including education, is required amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Many countries, including Indonesia, suddenly implement online learning as a realization of social distancing policies. This sudden change in the learning system has become a challenge for teachers. They must be able to integrate technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge to conduct online learning well. Therefore, this study investigates the readiness of biology teachers to face online learning based on their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). The purposive survey method was used by distributing questionnaires and conducting online interviews. The questionnaire consists of 30 statements about the TPACK readiness of biology teachers and ten questions about the online learning process during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 121 biology teachers in West Java, Indonesia, participated in this study. The findings indicate that biology teachers have sufficient TPACK skills in implementing online learning. However, their technological capabilities still need to be improved. The flexibility of place and time, availability of learning resources, and increased independence of teachers and students in using technology are the advantages of online biology learning during the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, the problems faced by teachers include technical connectivity and student honesty in taking exams in the implementation of online learning. The uncertainty of when the pandemic will end makes this study important to carry out for evaluation and potential improvement of online biology learning systems.

Modeling Meaningful Chemistry Teacher Education Online: Reflections from Chemistry Preservice Teacher Educators in Australia

As the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, universities around the world reacted quickly by shifting classes online. To varying extents, this rapid change required chemistry teacher educators to rethink and redesign their units and delivery. Some teacher educators may have perceived this shift as a timely opportunity to reflect on their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and on how to model TPACK through chemistry preservice teacher education classes. This paper presents reflections from three chemistry teacher educators from different universities in Victoria, Australia. The reflections are offered in the form of vignettes that illustrate how these teacher educators modeled the use of digital technologies to meaningfully support preservice teachers’ learning in chemistry education. After the teachers independently wrote the vignettes, they were analyzed for common themes which have been used to develop recommendations for other chemistry teacher educators who may also find themselves reflecting on their TPACK as they support preservice teachers in an online environment.

Secondary School Language Teachers’ Online Learning Engagement during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore language teachers’ online engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Four questions guided the inquiry in this study: 1) To what extent did teachers engage in online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic? 2) What challenges did teachers encounter while engaging in online learning during the Covid-19 crisis? 3) How has the suspension of face-to-face classroom meetings changed teachers’ practices? and 4) What were their hopes for the future of education in their respective regions?v Background: The sudden learn-from-home mode enacted since 24 March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic has forced all schools to shift into online learning with no or little preparation in terms of internet access, teacher capacity, and student-parent readiness. All in all, the pandemic disruption has shed light on the widening digital divide that has serious implications for the human capital development in Indonesia Methodology: This case study involved 18 teachers from four regions in Indonesia. Data were collected through an online survey, weekly reflections, and interviews with the teachers. A group interview with five students for each of the 18 teachers was used as triangulation. To probe more deeply into a representative sample for a variety of attributes, the researchers then focused on four teachers for a more in-depth analysis. Contribution: Knowledge of the impacting factors on online learning engagement can aid in resolving the issues and providing equal opportunities for all students. This study highlighted that teachers in remote regions would need a more top-down intervention from education authorities and offered two recommendations to the government to overcome the widening digital divide as amplified by the current school suspension. This study presents interesting results pertaining to online learning engagement during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Insights gained in this study would contribute to the perspective on the challenges and dilemmas faced by educators and students elsewhere while engaging in online learning. Findings: This study found an interplay of five related factors of online learning processes against five levels of engagement. Those five factors are learners, teachers’ prior exposure to online learning, technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and the support system. Teachers in this study were still struggling to enhance the quality of online learning engagement. Nevertheless, given the rising awareness of the inadequacy of their online learning delivery and a renewed sense of commitment, these teachers had high hopes that they would be able to enhance their competence and improve their professional practices. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study found most teacher participants have, within a short period, enhanced their technological knowledge (TK) regardless of their prior exposure to technology. Teachers can be encouraged to integrate their technological knowledge with pedagogical and content knowledge to develop their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) by participating in the government program for teacher professional development. Recommendation for Researchers: This study involves only language teachers; therefore, future researchers are invited to involve non-language teachers so that more conclusive findings can be obtained. Impact on Society: Knowledge of the impacting factors on online learning engagement can aid in resolving the issues and providing equal opportunities for all students. More importantly, the lessons learned should enlighten educators that technology integration into sound pedagogy would transform current practices into quality learning. Future Research: Issues related to technology integration in education can still be unearthed especially because the budding insights of online learning will steadily be developing in post-pandemic realm, particularly in Indonesia.

Mathematics teachers’ levels of technological pedagogical content knowledge and information and communication technology integration barriers

Many mathematics teachers struggle to effectively integrate information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching and need continuous professional development programmes to improve their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This article aims to identify mathematics teachers’ levels of TPACK and barriers to integrating ICT as a means to inform their continuous professional development needs. The TPACK framework of Mishra and Koehler was used as a lens for this the study. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilised. Ninety-three mathematics teachers, who completed a quantitative questionnaire, reported higher levels of content, pedagogical, and pedagogical content knowledge, with comparatively lower levels of technology, technological pedagogical, and technological content knowledge. Ten of these participants also participated in semi-structured interviews and revealed six primary barriers to integrating ICT in the classroom, namely curriculum-related time constraints, technological infrastructure, impact of ICT use on the learning process, ineffective professional development, teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and poor leadership. Continuous professional development programmes addressing specific ICT-integration barriers can effect significant changes in teachers’ TPACK, which may promote better teaching and learning of mathematics.

Gauging the E-Readiness for the Integration of Information and Communication Technology Into Pre-Tertiary Education in Ghana

Countries are investing in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and educating their citizens for effective ICT utilization. The attainment of the anticipated benefits hinges on effective integration of ICT in various levels of education. Effective integration of ICT requires educators and teachers who possess the skills to harness the capabilities of ICT into their teaching and learning environments. This article assesses the extent of pre-university teachers' e-readiness to utilize ICT in teaching their various subjects by assessing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Although the ICT literacy of teachers in the pre-university schools in Ghana is high, their ability to utilize ICT to design and deliver subject contents and improve the learning environments of their respective subjects is low. The article suggests a comprehensive retooling of teachers with capabilities to integrate ICT in teaching their subjects.

Relationships between Pre-service Teachers’ Social Media Usage in Informal Settings and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Social media are increasingly adopted in university administration, teaching, and learning. For pre-service teachers, although there is growing evidence suggesting the effectiveness of educational technology courses in enhancing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), relatively little is known about whether and how this knowledge is associated with social media usage (SMU) in informal settings. In this study, the relationships between SMU in informal settings and TPACK among pre-service teachers were investigated. Based on the survey data of a sample of 212 pre-service teachers in Hong Kong, media sharing was found to be a significant positive predictor of technology knowledge and knowledge of teaching with technology, whereas Internet searching and video gaming were not predictive of any component of TPACK. The findings of the study were interpreted in the light of the educational affordances of social media technologies, and their implications for researchers and teacher educators were discussed.

EVALUATION OF TPCK USAGE LEVELS IN MATERIALS DEVELOPED WITH STOP MOTION ANIMATION TECHNIQUE

During the course of their profession, teacher candidates are required to develop course materials in line with their course content. Development of course materials by teachers using their pedagogical content knowledge and technology is highly important in terms of providing an effective learning environment. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which science teacher candidates can use their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) while developing their course materials with the incorporation of stop motion animations. During the study, the survey method was used as a quantitative research method. The research population consisted of 62 teacher candidates from the Department of Science Teaching at the Manisa Celal Bayar University during the 2015-2016 academic year. The SPSS 18.0 software package was used for data analysis. Suggestions were made based on the results of the study. Article visualizations:

Investigating the impact of teacher education strategies on preservice teachers' TPACK

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers' perceptions of the support their teacher education programs provide for developing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The research was conducted with 215 preservice teachers in the last year of teacher education programs and teaching certificate programs in three universities in Turkey. Data sources were the synthesis of qualitative evidence (SQD) scale that was validated in the Turkish context as part of this study and the TPACK‐practical scale. The strategies investigated in the SQD‐model included: using teacher educators as role models; reflecting on the role of technology in education; learning how to use technology by design; collaboration with peers; scaffolding authentic technology experiences; and providing continuous feedback. The linear regression analysis revealed a positive relation between teacher education strategies and preservice teachers' TPACK. Reflection and teacher educators' as role models were the most frequently used teacher education strategies in teacher education programs included in this study. Results provided recommendations for further research on the connection between the teacher education strategies and the development of preservice teachers' TPACK in teacher education programs.

Changes of Teachers’ discursive practices learning dynamic mathematics in a collaborative, online environment

Using data from an inservice professional development course, we inquire into changes in secondary teachers’ discursive practices in a latter part of the course compared to the beginning of the course. Participants interacted in a collaborative online environment, known as Virtual Math Teams with GeoGebra (VMTwG), focusing on discursive, mathematical, and collaborative practices. From a sociocultural perspective, we believe that teachers gradually develop their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) by interacting discursively in small teams. Using conventional content analysis of the teachers’ review of their recorded discourse, we investigate changes in practices from the teachers’ perspective. Our results show that teachers perceived that their discursive practices differed importantly from their practices at the beginning of the course.

The Development of the Survey of Technology Use, Teaching, and Technology-Related Learning Experiences among Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Indonesia

This study aims to design a survey instrument that can be used to collect information on the relationships between the ICT-related learning experiences of the English language pre-service teachers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to analyse the degree of the reliability and validity of the instrument. The result suggests that this instrument meets the general requirements to be used in a larger scale of work in investigating the role of pre-service teachers’ experiences in learning to use ICT in their pedagogical practice in influencing the development of their TPACK.