Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Theoretical Framework by Anna

Theoretical Framework: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

Origins

TPACK is based on Lee Shulman’s (1986) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) construct regarding his research into how teachers develop their teaching, which was adapted by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler who added technology when they proposed addressing content, technology and pedagogical knowledge concurrently as a way to integrate technology into the curriculum (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).

Bernard Robin (Robin, 2008) proposed the use of TPACK as the theoretical framework underpinning the use of Digital Storytelling in Education.

Proponents of TPACK, drawing on Shulman’s suggestions that content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are not separate entities in teacher education and Pierson’s research into teaching and technology-use abilities (Pierson, 2001), focus on the connections and inseparability between content knowledge, pedagogy and technology (Robin, 2008).

A related theoretical framework is suggested by Harmut Koenitz of protostory, narrative design and narrative vectors for what he called Interactive Digital Narrative (interactive digital storytelling). This framework emphasized system (the digital artefact) and process (user interaction) over the “product-centered view of legacy media” (Koenitz, 2010). Koenitz’s theoretical framework drew upon on his reading of Janet Murray’s descriptive framework for the new kind of storytelling that the addition of digital technology can afford, one which holds the “promise to reshape the spectrum of narrative expression” (Murray, 1997) a perspective that, unlike some game theorists, views “interactivity and narrativity as inseparable” (Koenitz, 2010). In her more recent work Murray expands on her descriptive framework and the “representational affordances of digital environments” as encompassing computational procedures, user participation, navigable space and encyclopaedic capacity (Murray, 2011).

Key ideas, concepts and principles

TPACK examines the relationships between technology, pedagogy and content, along with the different experiences teachers and students.

It embodies the following intersections:

  • Content knowledge (CK) – knowledge of the subject area

  • Pedagogical knowledge (PK) – knowledge of teaching and learning practices, processes and methods

  • Technological knowledge (TK) – knowledge of technologies and educational technology

  • Technological content knowledge (TCK) - how technology and content can influence and conflict with each other

  • Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) – how different technologies can be appropriately pedagogically applied

TPACK requires an awareness and understanding of the complexities of these relationships.

It is argued that TPACK “remains a powerful principle” (Kurt, 2019) because it provides a framework which can be applied flexibly in different educational settings. However Archambault and Crippen (2009) have criticised the addition of technology to the framework as making an already complex model hard to apply because of the difficulty of defining the TPACK knowledge area boundaries. Others have questioned whether TPACK is a knowledge framework or an action employed to “teach specific content-based material” (Byrne, 2016).

Implications for our project

Although Robin (2008) is referring to a traditional classroom context when he explores the integration of technology, content knowledge and pedagogy which the TPACK framework offers Digital Storytelling for pedagogical purposes; arguably this is transferable to the hospital setting in which technology-enhanced staff CPD may be carried out in a variety of innovative ways, which could include Digital Storytelling. However the TPACK framework does not mention the ethical complexities and implications of the relationships between content, pedagogy and technology. Appropriate ethical use of technology for CPD exerts a strong influence on the extent to which digital storytelling could be applied to hospital staff CPD because of the privacy, copyright and data protection issues which surround learner creation of digital stories.

References

Archambault L, Crippen K. (2009) Examining TPACK among K-12 online distance educators in the United States. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 71–88, Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255629738_Examining_TPACK_among_K-12_online_distance_educators_in_the_United_States (accessed 4 June 2021)

Byrne, C.S. (2016) eLearning integrators' narratives expressing professional identity and explaining patterns of practice with ICT. [Thesis (PhD/Research)]. Available at https://eprints.usq.edu.au/32823/ (accessed 4 June 2021)

Koenitz, Hartmut (2010) ‘Towards a Theoretical Framework for Interactive Digital Narrative’, in: Aylett R., Lim M.Y., Louchart S., Petta P., Riedl M. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6432. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 176–185. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16638-9_22. Available at https://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/gvehrt/TN_cdi_springer_books_10_1007_978_3_642_16638_9_22 (accessed 2 June 2021)

Kurt, S. (2018) "TPACK: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework," in Educational Technology, May 12, 2018 (last updated 16 September 2019). Retrieved from https://educationaltechnology.net/technological-pedagogical-content-knowledge-tpack-framework/ (accessed 2 June 2021)

Mishra P, Koehler MJ. (2006) Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. Available at https://www.punyamishra.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdf (accessed 4 June 2021)

Murray, Janet H. (1997) A new kind of storyteller: Half hacker, half bard, The Chronicle of Higher Education; Oct 3, 1997; 44, 6; ProQuest One Literature pg. B11. Available at https://www-proquest-com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/docview/214724188 (accessed 2 June 2021)

Murray, Janet H. Inventing the Medium : Principles of Interaction Design As a Cultural Practice, MIT Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central. Available at https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=3339350 (accessed 2 June 2021)

Pierson, M. E. (2001). Technology integration practice as a function of pedagogical expertise. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33, 413–430. Available at https://pmt-eu.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/gvehrt/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_274685076 (accessed 4 June 2021)

Robin, Bernard R. (2008) Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom, Theory Into Practice, 47:3, 220-228, DOI: 10.1080/00405840802153916 Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802153916 (accessed 2 June 2021)

Shulman, Lee S. (1986) “Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching.” Educational Researcher, vol. 15, no. 2, 1986, pp. 4–14. JSTOR, Available at www.jstor.org/stable/1175860 (accessed 3 June 2021)

Bibliography

Wikipedia (2021) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_pedagogical_content_knowledge