Thematic Considerations in Integrating TPACK in a Graduate Program

Abstract

The integration of technology into classrooms is an increasingly important issue in America’s schools, and at the core of this integration is the training of teachers. Teacher educators seeking to impact teachers’ use of technology should recognize the needs of these learners as well as their knowledge as practitioners, in order to expand their knowledge and help them think about technology in creative ways. In this chapter, the authors describe the design and implementation of the Master’s program in Educational Technology at Michigan State University (MSU) as an example of an institution’s attempts to improve their facility to incorporate technology into the classroom practice. The authors briefly define the concept of the TPACK and how that theoretical model is important in thinking about technology with teacher practitioners, and how it helped to focus the design of the Educational Technology program at MSU. The authors then outline central TPACK themes that run through each of the stages of this program, and how each level, in turn, informs the others. Finally, the chapter offers concrete examples of TPACK in practice at each stage of the Master’s program in educational technology.

Faculty professional development in emergent pedagogies for instructional innovation in dental education

“…Guided by the ‘learning by design’ approach to faculty development , faculties in both programmes were given opportunities to learn theoretical knowledge and engage in hands‐on design activities. For instance, in the Teaching and Learning Seminar Series , fundamental knowledge sessions were offered first to expose faculty to educational research and learning theories related to technology integration.…”

“…The programme facilitator (the first author) also modelled effective technology integration during the seminars for faculty learners to experience technology‐enhanced instruction first‐hand. Additionally, research has found that one of the most effective ways to develop faculty's TPACK is ‘learning by design’ . For this reason, we engaged faculty in hands‐on design activities during which they learned about effective technology integration by designing technology‐enhanced instructional activities to solve their own pedagogical issues.…”

‘Free rein’ to learn about language, culture & technology: a multimodal digital text exchange project between school students in Australia and Japan

“…Digital technologies can support a range of language teaching approaches, from traditional didactic to contemporary communicative and sociocultural approaches (Chun et al, 2016;Hockly, 2016). In recent years a strong focus has emerged on 21 st century skillssuch as critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity and innovation (Mishra & Kereluik, 2011;P21, 2019) intertwined with the digital literacies to operationalise them in online and blended environments (Dudeney et al, 2013;Pegrum et al, 2018). These literacies can be developed in myriad ways, including through students' creation and exchange of MDTs.…”

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“…Ref. [ 7 , 21 ] also questioned the newness of the 21st century and expressed doubts about their efficacy in learner development. Despite all these criticisms, it might be opined that 21st-century skills concepts are still playing a crucial role in shaping the policies and practices in the global South for creating global knowledge workers e.g., Ref.…”