Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a framework to understand and describe the kinds of knowledge needed by a teacher for effective pedagogical practice in a technology enhanced learning environment. The idea of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) was first described by LeeShulman (Shulman 1986) and TPACK builds on those core ideas through the inclusion of technology. Punya Mishra, full professor, and Matthew J. Koehler, associate professor, both at Michigan State University, have done extensive work in constructing the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra 2008, Mishra & Koehler 2006).
The TPACK framework argues that effective technology integration for teaching specific content or subject matter requires understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components: Technology, Pedagogy, and Content. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and (perhaps) broader than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a scientist or a musician or sociologist), a technology expert (a computer engineer) or an expert at teaching/pedagogy (an experienced educator).
The TPACK framework highlights complex relationships that exist between content, pedagogy and technology knowledge areas and may be a useful organizational structure for defining what it is that teachers need to know to integrate technology effectively (Archambault & Crippen, 2009).
(Definition from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_Pedagogical_Content_Knowledge)
http://tpack.org/
The following video gives a detailed explanation of the domains and sub domains of the TPACK model. The first seven (7) minutes are the most important…what comes after is the author’s own view and how it relates to a course being offered.
Other resources for TPACK:
- Matthew Koehler’s site - a thorough discussion of the components of TPACK by one of the team who developed this model.
- Punya Mishra’s web – Punya Mishra also developed the TPACK model. His website has links to a number of resources and presentations on TPACK.
- Technology Integration in Teaching: The TPACK Framework - an recorded ISTE webinar of Mishra discussing TPACK.
