Professional Development for Educators

Professional Development of Educators Using Frameworks

There are many workshops operated by different training providers with different focuses and training curricular. How do you know if you need the workshop or if its material that has been covered before? Haven’t we been sent to a workshop only to realise we’ve done it before, its at a higher or lower level, or its an area that you are focused on developing. (e.g. you are on teaching track and not leadership track)

By using a standardised framework, it is easier for training providers and teachers to identify training needs and to offer targeted and effective training.

The TPCK FRAMEWORK

image from www.tpck.org

The TPCK Framework consists of 3 knowledge areas:

T - Technology Knowledge
P - Pedagogical Knowledge
C - Content Knowledge

There are also overlapping areas

TPK - Technology driven Pedagogical Knowledge
PCK - Content-specific Pedagogy Knowledge
TCK - Content using and involving Technology Knowledge

Why The TPCK Framework for Professional Development?

1. Serves as an E-Portfolio for Teachers

Each individual teacher can easily compile records of training activities, plot and design his or her own professional development plans and have a platform for all materials to be kept.

Useful for

Career Progression
Future Job hunts
For Self Introductions in External Presentations

Competency levels: Level 1 - Literacy/ BeginningLevel 2 - Deepening/ IntermediateLevel 3 - Creation/ AdvancedLevel 4 - Mastery

2. Professional Development & Competencies Journey for Teachers and Schools

With TPCK, its easy to identify the Competency levels of each teacher or allow the tracking of a group of teachers to see if your school or division has teachers with the necessary skill sets for policy advancement.

For the Individual Teacher

Allows the teacher to decide on which specific area of expertise to develop on and identify areas that he or she wants to focus on.

For the Head/ Supervisor/ Manager

Also allows for long term and strategic planning for the teachers under his/her charge and their professional development journey.

Front Page of UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers .png

Image from: Unesco ICT Competency Framework for Teachers

3. Benchmarking with Established Education Frameworks

It is easier to standardise and compare a teacher's ability and the effectiveness of an education or school policy for improvement and maintaining excellence.

In Singapore: MOE and ETD uses a modified version of TPCK: The ICT-PD Framework for Competencies and PD Training Curriculum for Teachers
Schools: Many schools are using or exploring the use of a adapted TPCK framework.
UNESCO: (Global advisory body for education) Compatablity with UNESCO’s Competency Framework for Teachers

See the UNESCO Competency Framework for Teachers