I chose the document Butterflies
and Their Beauty for grades K-2. In this particular scenario, as you could
have maybe gathered from the title, the kids are learning about the life cycle
of the monarch butterfly, their migration south, their habitats, and what they
eat. Another part of this study for the students was showing them the impact
humans had on the butterflies.
"Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is
a framework that identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively
with technology. The TPACK framework extends Shulman’s idea of Pedagogical
Content Knowledge." (http://www.tpack.org/)
TPACK is the way teachers’ help students use the medium of
technology to further extend their learning experience of a subject in a way
other than paper and pencil, or other forms that don't involve technology.
TPACK is a structure made up of three different "knowledge's":
Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK). TPACK goes beyond only seeing
these three knowledge's in isolation, it likes to use and show that they are
indeed used together in all different ways. This emphasizes new kinds of knowledge
that lie at the intersections between them, representing four more knowledge
bases teachers applicable to teaching with technology. Examples of this are,
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), or
Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK).
Some things that the students were doing that feel under the
TPACK boundaries was drawing butterflies with the Paint program on the computer
and used Monarch Watch website to participate in global activity. These two
activities could be seen as substitutions for something the students could have
done on paper, and also seen as an enrichment through the use of the
technology. Another things that could not really have been possible without
technology was the students taking videos of the butterflies and how they
changed over time. This could not have been done without such technology
because this was the actual and real proof for these students that there was
real change happening.
Although some of these ideas were really beneficial for the
students, I don' think some of them were necessary. Kids should actually be
coloring and producing something with their hands; balance is key.
Hi Abbie,
ReplyDeleteI think you did an outstanding job describing the TPACK framework. I wonder how you would apply the different aspects of TPACK to the scenario. You reference drawing with paint and following Monarch Watch as falling into TPACK and I wonder if you mean falling specifically within the TK? How well do you think these techniques work to enhance student understanding? If you had to pick one to keep and one to discard which would it be? I would love to hear where you would take this and how you might strike a better balance.
Nice work,
Allison