TPACK Introduction
Teachers are the single most important influence on student success. The qualifications of financial educators have direct impact both on short-term student outcomes and on their long-term financial well-being. Because research has established that teachers are the single most important variable contributing to student success regardless of student age(1), frameworks have been established to ensure that financial education is taught effectively.
TPACK is an educational framework that identifies the skills educators should possess in order to teach effectively. This framework describes the ‘Technological,’ ‘Pedagogical,’ and ‘Content Knowledge’ an educator must possess to achieve effectiveness. This page provides an overview of the TPACK framework and describes a turnkey solution for integrating this framework into a financial education program. For additional training register for the Certified Financial Education Instructor program.
(1) L. Sanders, S. P. Wright and S. P. Horn (1997). Teacher and classroom context effects on student achievement: Implications for teacher evaluation. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11.
TPACK Overview
The TPACK framework is centered on the complex interplay between three primary types of knowledge: Technological, Pedagogical, and Content. As illustrated by the infographic, new kinds of knowledge also emerge at the intersections between these three main knowledge sectors. The model recognizes that every situation is unique; therefore no single combination of the components will apply for every teacher, course, teaching or learning style.
Discover where the TPACK framework intersects with teaching financial education lessons – click here for the Framework for Teaching Personal Finance.
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Blended Learning
Blended learning incorporates digital and online learning delivery with more traditional in-person classroom teaching methods. Since a single person can only teach so many students, blending face-to-face instruction with technology-based training offers an opportunity to deliver learning on a much larger scale.
The blended learning approach gives students some level of control over the time, place, and pace at which they learn the material, and offers both educators and students flexibility to choose specific lessons or learning pathways. The digital learning platform also gives opportunity to incorporate individualized testing and evaluation components, which offer immediate feedback to boost student outcomes.
Flipped Classrooms
The flipped classroom model is a new teaching method that literally turns traditional instruction on its head. In the traditional model – with which we’re all familiar – students would attend lectures in class and then complete homework activities on their own. In the flipped model, students watch video “lectures” online at home and at their own pace. Then classroom time is spent applying what they learned to completing practical activities, with the instructor as a guide.
Flipped classroom learning takes advantage of increasing student access to technology and the fact that a high percentage of the adult population now views videos online. This approach helps increase concept engagement by reinforcing knowledge with activity-based learning.
TPACK Financial Education Solution
The NFEC makes following TPACK guidelines easy with a turnkey system to ensure the educator is prepared with the skills and resources needed to implement this framework. The NFEC provides 3 core products that comprise a complete TPACK solution: educator training & certification, financial literacy curriculum and eVolve Online Learning Center .
TPACK Background & Relevance
This information is based on Hoffmann, M. M. (2015). An exploratory study: Mobile device use for academics (Doctoral dissertation).
Retrieved from ProQuest. (Publication no. 3685662).
Revisiting the role of technology in learning has untapped potential for educators. In the past, education misplaced focus on the importance of content knowledge, discounting the equal importance of pedagogical and technological knowledge. The best way to integrate all three knowledge types is through TPACK. Through TPACK, technologies are integrated into the classroom while allowing students to learn at their own pace, using their own devices. Digital learning platforms offer an opportunity for students and educators to make connections and learn on the go. Educators must begin learning how to use technology in diverse ways, as teaching practice evolves and technology becomes a key instruction tool.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Until about 1986 teachers were asked to prove subject knowledge through tests, never required to prove that they understood the best pedagogical strategies for teaching that content. Shulman (1986) believed pedagogy and content knowledge merit shared importance. Too much focus on one or the other disrupts the balance required for students to learn effectively. If there was too much emphasis on content knowledge but the teacher failed to convey the facts, students would not learn. If the teacher was good at imparting content using various teaching techniques but the content knowledge was wrong, the knowledge being taught was useless. Teachers need to learn not just pedagogy itself, but the best pedagogical strategies for teaching different subjects.
Teaching should not be a one-size-fits-all model. For example, science lends itself to hands-on experiences like dissection, language arts requires peer-to-peer writers’ workshops, and social studies benefits from primary source materials to enrich the learning environment. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) has dramatically changed the nature of teacher education since 1986.
Development of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK)
TPACK became relevant when considering how undergraduate professors could begin to integrate digital platforms into formal instruction. TPACK emphasizes teachers’ knowledge because teachers are the biggest influences in classrooms – they historically have decided what would be taught and how. As new technology tools hit the stage, researchers first asked whether certain technologies made a difference in the classroom, i.e., “Do iPads influence learning?” Realistically, a better question would be, “How do teachers use iPads to influence learning?” or, “What subject matter instruction is enhanced by using iPads?” The technology is irrelevant if the teacher is ill-equipped to use it properly.
The TPACK framework distributes focus equally on each core aspect – Technological, Pedagogical, and Content – and equal distribution across components creates the best learning environment (Koehler & Mishra, 2008). Traditionally higher education has been full of subject matter experts who are accomplished in their fields, highly experienced, and well-published – i.e. content knowledge experts. Content knowledge expertise is important because misrepresentation of content could have great impact on learning (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Students look to professors as subject matter experts, for the most part accepting information they teach without question. If content is misrepresented, it creates holes in students’ foundational knowledge, affects how they use the knowledge, and creates need for clarification down the road.
Truly sound educators must also be Pedagogical experts. Knowing how to create lesson plans, vary instruction, and manage a classroom effectively are examples of pedagogical expertise. Pedagogy can be demonstrated through differentiation of instruction and a strong sense of caring for the students’ education and well-being. Combining Content and Pedagogical Knowledge creates a better learning experience for students, as teachers choose appropriate teaching techniques and arrange content to facilitate understanding (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). A teacher who is sound in his/her content knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge can find errors in students work and suggest corrections (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).
Educators with Technological Knowledge can troubleshoot technology with little or no direction and have a large repertoire of technological tools. Teachers blend Technological Knowledge and Content Knowledge when they find or create connections between content areas and technologies. For instance, a teacher might use Geometer’s Sketchpad to teach mathematics. Technological and Content Knowledge teachers replace tasks previously done without technology and achieve the same learning objectives using digital tools (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Technology teachers are usually strong in Technological and Pedagogical Knowledge, applying a variety of tools to various instructional uses (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The key to blending technological and pedagogical knowledge is diversity in both tools and strategies. The technology is the tool, not the purpose (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).
Finally, Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge is the ideal blend of all four components. TPACK applies a variety of technologies that represent concepts and facilitate pedagogical techniques to differentiate teaching (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). An educator who incorporates TPACK effectively builds on students’ prior knowledge by blending appropriate technologies and best pedagogical practices seamlessly into the classroom. An effective TPACK educator models this framework in daily instruction to meet the diverse needs of all learners.
Resistance to Changes in Education
New innovative technologies appear on the educational landscape every day. Many K-12 teachers have discovered and implemented technology into their classrooms, but in higher education students rarely see such integration. While some professors are willing to explore technologies for the sake of student learning, many are apprehensive about tackling new tools. Teachers should provide immersive, meaningful learning activities that actively engage students in the content (Ackermann, 2001).Working on real-life problems as they arise brings meaning to the tasks (Shaffer, 2006).
Integrating the TPACK framework into higher education will create a relevant teaching and learning experience for all students. Educators can be the facilitators between task-based and sense-making activities. Students can perform a task and educators can help schematize content to real-life applications. The instructor’s assistance will help students move between tasks and form connections between activities (Rogers, Connelly, Hazlewood, & Tedesco, 2010). Learning tasks and materials must be sensitive to the five psychological challenges of the mobile learning experience: context dependency, resource limitations, distributed cognition, and attitudes and preferences concerning technology use (Terras & Ramsay, 2012). An effective TPACK blend will give students examples of what the world is today and how technologies exist within it.
Author Info
Dr. Malia Hoffmann has been a lifelong educator. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Middle School education and began teaching middle school, cross-curricular subjects, while integrating technology to keep her students motivated. While teaching middle school she earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and began adjuncting for Marian University. After a year of teaching as an adjunct she took a full time position with the university and began pursuing her doctorate degree in learning technologies from Pepperdine University. At Pepperdine University she completed her dissertation on how undergraduate students and faculty use mobile devices for learning using the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework.