Cooking with TPACK

In this blog, we will be discussing two things I am very passionate about, food and education. In both professions, thinking on your feet is a necessity of the job. As an educator, I am constantly adapting curriculum to meet the needs of my students while also working with what I have available. Teachers use the content knowledge they have and their pedagogy knowledge (or knowledge about teaching practices) everyday in order to create meaningful learning experiences. I recently read an article by Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler that discusses how teachers must also use their knowledge of technology to enhance their classrooms. The intersection of these three things used by teachers is called TPACK. At the heart of TPACK is meeting students' needs. Teachers must find ways to adapt technology, content, and teaching methods in order to best foster student growth (Mishra, 2006). 

In the video you’ll find below, I discuss the connections between education and the food industry in a fun challenge I nicknamed, “When Life Gives You Lemons”.

During the challenge, I was reminded of an article by Landon Winner. In Do Artifacts Have Politics?, Winner discusses the politics present in technology. He argues that technology is both formed by politics and forms politics (Winner, 1980). I believe that technology is much like the kitchen utensil chosen in the “When Life Gives You Lemons” challenge. It has the power to shape what is produced, just as technology shapes the world. My cheese slices, for example, were curved and uneven due to the wooden spoon I used. Similarly, in a regular kitchen setting, the type of food you want (politics) determines the utensil you use (technology). All of these ideas are interwoven into TPACK. The ins and outs of classroom pedagogy and politics can be hard to navigate, but I hope this week’s blog gave some insight as well as a laugh.