TPACK Newsletter, Issue #3: Late April 2009

Welcome to the third edition of the TPACK Newsletter, now with 362 subscribers (representing a 30% increase in the last two months!), and appearing bimonthly between August and April. If you are not sure what TPACK is, please surf over to www.tpack.org to learn more.

Gratuitous Quote about Technology
"Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons."
– Buckminster Fuller

In this Issue:
-2. Introductory blurb

-1. Gratuitous Quote about Technology
0. In this issue (You are here.)
1. TPACK’s Grandfather
2. Measuring TPACK
3. TPACK-in-a-text(book)
4. Recent TPACK Publications
5. Recent TPACK Presentations
6. The TPACK Handbook as Course Text
7. TPACK-based Dissertations
8. TPACK Wiki Work
9. TPACK Video Mashup
10. Display Your TPACK Proudly!

11. Learning and Doing More with TPACK
–. Un-numbered miscellaneous stuff at the end

1. TPACK’s Grandfather
Dr. Lee Shulman, the legendary educational philosopher who developed the notion of pedagogical content knowledge, has added mention of TPACK to his Web site:

"Shulman drew heavily on the work of John Dewey who, in his essay “The Child and the Curriculum,” wrote extensively about the difference between logical understanding (the knowledge of the "scientist") and psychological understanding (the knowledge necessary for teachers). At the heart of this construct was the notion of a specialized body of knowledge that only teachers possessed, a category of professional knowledge that distinguished teachers from others who might know a subject well, but had no occasion to develop the knowledge entailed in teaching a subject. The concept of pedagogical content knowledge, which Shulman introduced as a hypothesis as president of the American Educational Research Association in 1985, became popular very quickly. Teacher tests began including items intended to assess teachers’ PCK, and researchers began proposing projects to document such knowledge. The idea was particularly useful in the fields of science education and physical education, as well as — most recently — in the domain of technological pedagogical content knowledge." — http://www.leeshulman.net/domains-pedagogical-content-knowledge.html

2. Measuring TPACK
Two robust survey instruments that measure TPACK via respondents’ self-reports
have been published recently. The instruments are available online for use
by other researchers:

Survey of Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge of Teaching and Technology (Schmidt, D., Baran, E., Thompson, A., Koehler, M.J., Shin, T, & Mishra, P., 2009) – Survey .PDF file

Archambault, L., & Crippen, K. (2009). Examining TPACK among K-12 online distance educators in the United States. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/vol9/iss1/general/article2.cfm

Are you researching TPACK? Please consider adding a description of your research methods to the TPACK wiki’s “Researching TPACK” section.

3. TPACK-in-a-text(book)
Peggy Roblyer and her new co-author, Aaron Doering (of Go North! And GeoThentic fame, and recent SITE 2009 conference keynoter), have used TPACK as one of the primary theoretical bases for the 5th edition of Peggy’s bestselling educational technology textbook, Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Peggy and Aaron suggest that teachers self-assess their TPACK regularly as part of technology integration. Aaron described this approach as part of a presentation at AERA 2009.

4. (Sort of) Recent TPACK Publications
Hot off the press! Punya & Matt’s feature article in the May issue of Learning & Leading with Technology, “Too Cool for School? No Way! Using the TPACK Framework: You Can Have Your Hot Tools and Teach with Them, Too” is free to download in .PDF format until June 1, 2009.

Stéphane Lévesque’s TPACK-based chapter, “The Impact of Digital Technologies and the Need for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge,” appeared in Tony Di Petta’s book, The Emperor’s New Computer: ICT, Teachers and Teaching (Sense Publishers, 2008). A free preview (.PDF file) of the book is available online.

Elizabeth Crawford & Misty Kirby’s TPACK-based guide to helping students to develop global awareness (“Fostering Students’ Global Awareness: Technology Applications in Social Studies Teaching and Learning”) was published in the Journal of Curriculum & Instruction in January 2008. A .PDF version of the article is available online.

5. (Really) Recent TPACK Presentations
William Bauer, the Director of Music Education at Case Western Reserve University, wrote to tell us that he presented a session entitled “Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge, Music, and Assessment” this month at an international symposium on assessment in music education at the University of Florida.

In addition to the five AERA 2009 TPACK-based presentations that we listed in issue #2 of this newsletter, Chris Dede chaired an 8-participant Division K symposium about “Bridging New Literacies and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK): Theoretical and Research Perspectives.” Joan Hughes was the session’s discussant.

6. Spring 2009 Courses that Use the TPACK Handbook as a Course Text
EDU 583/580: Development and Planning of Curriculum and Assessment I and Technology Integration Module III

University of Maine at Farmington
Dr. Grace Ward
http://edu583spring09.wikispaces.com/

TECS 290: Introduction to Instructional Technology
Fort Hays State University
Dr. Rita Hauck

Syllabus .pdf: www.fhsu.edu/syllabus/tecs/rmhauck/tecs290vcrh-S09.pdf

EDUC 7600: Technology and Learning
Georgia Southwestern State University
Dr. S. Bola Tilghman
http://www.gsw.edu/academics/bulletin/contents/gr.htm#E

7. TPACK-based Dissertations, 2006-2008

Cavin, Rose M., Ph.D.
Developing technological pedagogical content knowledge in preservice teachers through microteaching lesson study
The Florida State University, 2007, 197 pages; AAT 3301531

Cox, Suzy, Ph.D.
A conceptual analysis of technological pedagogical content knowledge
Brigham Young University, 2008, 197 pages; AAT 3318618

Forbes, Leighann S., Ed.D.
Internet use in teacher preparation programs: The relationship between pedagogy and practice in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
Duquesne University, 2007, 200 pages; AAT 3286087

Harrington, Rachel A., Ph.D.
The development of pre-service teachers’ technology specific pedagogy

Oregon State University, 2008, 181 pages; AAT 3308570

Hsueh, Su-Ling, Ph.D.
An investigation of the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge framework in successful Chinese language classrooms
Brigham Young University, 2008, 198 pages; AAT 3342724

Rowland, Joseph Damon, Ph.D
Laptops as practice: A case study examining communities of practice in a ubiquitous computing environment. (.pdf version)

The University of Texas at Austin, 2008, 271 pages; AAT 3342344

Whitworth, Shelli A., Ph.D.
Secondary world history teachers’ integration of technology into the classroom: A mixed-method approach
University of South Florida, 2007, 113 pages; AAT 3306902

Youmans, Michael J., Ph.D.

When, where, how, and why Berkshire County high school teachers use the Internet for teaching and learning (Massachusetts)
Boston College, 2006, 235 pages; DAI, 67, no. 10A (2006): p. 3705

8. TPACK Wiki Work
Candace Figg & James McInnis from Brock University; and Charles Graham from Brigham Young University have stepped up as editors of the TPACK wiki. Candace and James will be working on the Reference Library /Key Articles page and Charles will be working on the Researching TPCK page(s). Inspired by their energy and initiative, Judi Harris volunteered to work on the Developing TPACK page. We would like to thank them, and if there are others interested in helping out, please drop an email to mkoehler@msu.edu or punya@msu.edu (Matt or Punya).

9. First-ever TPACK Video Mashup
On April 8th, Punya was a guest host on Nashworld, the (awesome) blog of Sean Nash, a TPACK-totin’ biology/marine biology teacher at Benton High School in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Punya’s entry included a great video mashup-with-a-message. (And yes, it’s posted on YouTube, but there are no comments added – yet. Hint, hint, cough, cough.)

10. Display your TPACK proudly!

Yes, it’s true. There’s more TPACK merchandise than your credit limit can handle at Café Press. Shirts, hats, bags, stickers, cards, calendars, mugs, totes, teddy bears…and even “intimate apparel.” All proudly displaying a cool new "ambigrammic" TPACK logo (which you have to see in a mirror to appreciate the full effect!):

Punya & Matt would like to add that neither of them make any money on these sales. They are priced at what Cafe Press charges.

11. Learning and Doing More with TPACK
Interested in learning more about TPACK or getting more involved in the TPACK community? Here are a few ideas:

a. Visit and contribute to the TPACK wiki at: http://tpack.org /
b. Join the TPACK SIG at: http://site.aace.org/sigs/tpack-sig.htm
c. Join and contribute to the TPACK Google group at: http://groups.google.com/group/tpack/

d. Review and provide feedback on the TPACK Learning Activity Types at: http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/

Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in its contents. Even better, have them subscribe to the TPACK newsletter by sending a blank email to sympa@lists.wm.edu , with the following text in the subject line: subscribe tpack.news FirstName LastName (of course, substituting their own first and last names for ‘FirstName’ and ‘LastName’ — unless their name happens to be FirstName LastName, in which case they can just leave it as is).

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Standard End-Matter
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Have a great summer, everyone! We’ll be back in late August with issue #4 of the TPACK Newsletter.

– Judi, Matt, Mario, and Punya

Judi Harris, Chair, College of William & Mary
Matt Koehler, Vice-Chair, Michigan State University
Mario Kelly , Futon, Hunter College

Punya Mishra, Recliner, Michigan State University