A flexible TPACK?

To be a real cognitivist, I have to combine the new information with my prior knowledge. So, this blog will combine the TPACK-model with the things I learned earlier in this course. In the last reflection in this weblog, I summarized the first three topics of the course, flexibility, pedagogy and technology. So, I won’t do that again in this blog. What I will do, is talk about the role these things play when using the TPACK-model.

Pedagogy and technology

Pedagogy and technology are elements of TPACK. So, teachers have to think about them in relation to eachother. When one changes, the other will probably change too. What I’ve learned about technology is that there are educational possibilities with all kinds of technology. In the TPACK-model, teachers can be very creative by using these technologies (as the figure from Mishra and Koehler (2009) shows). Technology is more than an add-on. It is one of the elements of the TPACK-model. So, it isn’t just the instrument, it also influences the content and the pedagogy.

Flexibility as prerequisite                                           

But flexibility is not an element of the TPACK-model. How can these two be combined? In my first blog, I’ve said: flexible learning in generally goes about the freedom of students to choose their way of learning (Collis & Moonen, 2001). That’s from the perspective of the learner. But now, I think flexibility is also going about the choice of the teacher. Do the teacher have the freedom to choose the content, pedagogical approach and technology (s)he wants? That’s at the core of the TPACK-model. When teachers don’t have the choice in the T, P and C, TPACK can’t be used. So, flexibility of the teacher is a prerequisite for TPACK. This flexibility can be given by the school and the environment. But it also have to be in the teacher him/herself. When a teacher can’t or won’t think about other ways of teaching, there is no flexibility and TPACK won’t be used. So, teachers must see the added value of TPACK and they must be able to work with it. They must be, or learn to be, flexible.

Flexibility as outcome

I think, flexibility for the learners can also be an outcome of TPACK. When a teacher combines a specific T, P and C, flexibility can be the outcome. It could be that students will learn the content the best when they have freedom to choose, so when there is flexibility. But it can also be the outcome that flexibility is not wanted. So, in this way, flexibility is dependent on TPACK.

Flexibility as context

Third, flexibility can be a prerequisite for the course. It could be that flexibility is given and teachers have to deal with it. Than, flexibility is the context of TPACK. Teachers have to think about TPACK within the given flexibility for the learner. It could be that they have to deal with elective courses, or with different backgrounds of the learners. The TPACK has to be defined by that context.

So, combining TPACK with my prior knowledge, I can say that technology and pedagogy are part of TPACK. Both are important and influences eachother. I think you can see flexibility in light of TPACK in three ways. First flexibility as a prerequisite. Teachers need to think flexible when they use TPACK. The second is flexibility as an TPACK-outcome. Thinking about TPACK, flexibility for the learner can be the outcome, or no flexibility at all can be prefered. Third, flexibility as the context of TPACK. Flexibility can be a given state where in the teacher have to practice and use TPACK.

To go short, I think flexibility and TPACK are interdependant also, just as the T, P and C in TPACK are interdependant to eachother. So teachers have to think about flexibility also by using TPACK. 

Mishra, P. & Koehler. M. J. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Using the TPACK framework: You can have your hot tools and teach with them, too. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(7), 14-18.