TASK 1. "TPACK AND ACAD" - TRANSLATOR

 

Task 1: Emilio José Ruiz Franco

5 CORE TERMS 

1. TPACK: TPACK means “Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge” (Mishra & Koehler, 2009). It is a way of effective teaching with technology that also interacts with the other two aspects of effective teaching: pedagogy (knowing how to teach) and content knowledge (command of the subject matter to be taught). A definition of Technology Knowledge is the one proposed by the Committee of Information Technology Literacy of the National Research Council (NRC, 1999) “understand information technology broadly enough to apply it productively at work and in their everyday lives”; that is, knowing how to manage the new technological inventions and online materials regarding ICTs to apply them to every aspect of life and education. Pedagogy Knowledge is “teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning” (Koehler and Mishra, 2009); that is, knowing how to teach and having a repertoire of teaching skills for being able to reach an effective way of teaching so that they can facilitate the students’ learning. Content Knowledge is “teachers’ knowledge about the subject matter to be learned or taught”; that is, command of theoretical knowledge about what the teacher is meant to teach, which includes, according to Shulman (1986), theories, concepts… Teachers should have more extended knowledge than just the one which is going to be taught. In the TPACK definition, these three main aspects (technology, pedagogy, and content) are the tools for making teaching effective. The key to TPACK effective teaching is to combine the three tools effectively. This combination occurs in many different ways, combining technology and content knowledge, technology and pedagogical knowledge, pedagogy and content knowledge.
2. PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: This is the bond between pedagogy and content knowledge, referred to as the skills and strategies that allow the teacher to effectively teach a particular content. In order words, and according to Shulman’s view, PCK is applying pedagogical strategies to the teaching of specific content. Once the teacher commands the knowledge of the subject matter to be taught (that regards the “content knowledge” aspect), he will apply his/her repertoire of teaching skills to that specific content, to effectively teach it so that students can learn it.
3. TECHNOLOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: It implies knowing the relation that exists between technology and the content knowledge of a specific subject or topic. Both technology and content are co-related, and technological tools and resources applied to specific content can mean a change in the understanding and study of it. Technology supports the research behind theoretical knowledge and knowing how this support is established, and what technological tools best suit a particular topic, are needed in the TPACK.
4. TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE: Technology can change how learning occurs. TPK refers to the knowledge about how the use of technological resources can help the teacher achieve his/her teaching goal. In other words, it is knowing how technology supports teaching. TPK implies being conscious about how technology facilitates students’ learning and knowing how to apply these technologies to make learning occur.
5. ACAD: ACAD means Activity Centred Analysis and Design. It is understood as “a meta-theoretical framework for understanding and improving local, complex, learning situations”(Goodyear, Carvalho, and Yeoman, 2020). ACAD is configured around the model of teaching based on activity-doing, that is, the student is an active participant with a starring role. The activity is the centre of this framework, learning by doing. In these activities, the teacher is not the important one, but the student is the one who carries out the activity and is a participant in his/her own learning. However, the teacher is expected to set the conditions and design the activity so that it can be effective and produce the intended learning outcomes. The design of an activity in which the student can achieve the learning goal is crucial, and must include the “set design” (the learning environment - it includes tables, blackboards… all kinds of tools that support learning); “epistemic design”, and “social design” (how to work together)

Specific question: Is there any critical part of the Teacher's action that hasn't been included in the TPACK-ACAD model yet? Is TPACK-ACAD sufficient to understand a teacher's job? 

There is one critical part that should be included in the TPACK and ACAD model: it is the context in which teachers and students develop their activity. The context influences and determine the educational proposals that can be made with the ICT such as the availability of technology according to the educative center, time, space, and cultural and economic differences… According to Starkey, L. (2012), "educational systems are organized with multilevel structures (classes, year levels, departments, timetables, and calendars), they include a range of participants (...) and are required to meet assortment of changing expectations"; in other words, complexity in schools is present, and, taking this into consideration, both TPACK and ACAD model should consider the complexity of each concrete educational system or center. Also, Starkley (2012) talked about the context of a complex organization (such as schools are), defending that "the uniqueness is derived from people, history, and culture of the context". To sum up this aspect, it is important that TPACK, and specially ACAD (which involves the design of activities), take into account the context where learning is situated and no standardized practice should be generalized. The same activity cannot work in all contexts, nor the same way of developing each activity. The educational practices should adapt to the needs and interests of the students. 

An important knowledge that would be missing within this model is communicative knowledge since learning is not conceived without communication. Communicative knowledge is important to transmit knowledge in addition to the fact that, one of the most important aspects of education is to encourage participation and interaction and that is thanks to communication. Moreover, communication is very important due to the fact that by using it, teachers can express their expectations towards the students, encourage them to have better outcomes, and students can inform the teacher about their difficulties or thoughts.

The TPACK model offers a framework of understanding to improve pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge… so that the educational proposals focus on the student and promote a technological methodological integration in accordance with the new times and learning scenarios, but teaching for us is a much more complex activity that includes not only these three bits of knowledge and their intersections but many other aspects. In addition to the TPACK and ACAD model, I will like to add some aspects that define a teacher obtained from Chapter 1 of the book "Classroom Teaching Skills: A Workbook" by James Cooper (1977). According to Cooper, J. (1977), "the effective teacher is one who is able to bring about intended learning outcomes". There are four general areas suggested by B.O. Smith (1969) that relates in some way to those aspects of TPACK when defining a teacher:

- Command of theoretical knowledge about learning and human behavior: this is closely related to the Pedagogical Knowledge present in the TPACK model.

- Display of Attitudes That Foster Learning and Genuine Human Relationships: in this sense, socialization and communicative skills are essential in a teacher's job. This includes some different aspects: Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Themselves, Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Children, Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Peers and Parents, and Teachers’ Attitudes Toward the Subject Matter.

- Command of Knowledge in the Subject Matter to Be Taught: this is related to the Content Knowledge of the TPACK model.

- Repertoire of Teaching Skills That Facilitate Student Learning: also, this is related to the Pedagogical Content Knowledge, knowing how to teach.