TPACK

Although TPACK may sound like a hip hop artist or rap artist's name, I am in fact talking about an important model of teaching in the 21st century. TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Here is a link to a youtube video we watched in professional experience class Thinking creatively part 1. 

As you can see in the image of TPACK, it is a complex interplay of three important strands of knowledge. Content Knowledge (CK) refers to the content in which teachers need to know before teaching a subject or lesson e.g. research, social studies or math knowledge. CK alone does not mean that you will be able to teach what you know. Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) contains the knowledge or know how to teach, convey and transfer information onto your students.

The third strand is Technological Knowledge (TK), which is increasingly playing a bigger role in the classroom. This strand includes the knowing how to use technologies relevant to the classroom. 

The TPACK model shows that all three elements of knowledge should come together in order to support and give a balanced learning experience. Teachers need to understand the content, understand how to teach the content and use technologies as a means of interacting with information and support your teaching or research.

I believe that this model is significant and relevant in teaching today. It also takes into consideration that each classroom is a unique context, hence the dotted circle around the model.


Koehler, M. (2011). TPACK. Technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.tpck.org/tpck/index.php?title=Main_Page