Chapter 12- TPACK in in-service education: Assisting experienced teachers’ “planned improvisations”

Christine Harrington
Chapter 12- TPACK in in-service education: Assisting experienced teachers’ “planned improvisations”

Most of the chapter, like the rest of the chapters in this TPACK book, were about how to integrate technology into your everyday curriculum and planning. There were some comments and ideas that I really liked in the chapter which I would like to share with you.

There was a comment about technology integration and how it is not defined by the amount or type of technology, but how and why it is used. This is a theme that I was able to take out of this chapter. In-service and experienced teachers are going to do what they see is best for their children and their learning. The integration of technology needs to be appropriate and beneficial and done in a way that is meaningful to children and their learning.

“There is no technological solution that applies for every teacher, every course, or every view of teaching.” What works for some teachers and some grade levels doesn’t necessarily work for everyone else.

As far as professional staff development in the area of technology...”It is important that professional development for experienced teachers that emphasizes TPCK be flexible enough to accommodate the full range of teaching philosophies, styles, and approaches.” I think what is taught for technology should beneficial to teachers and useful in our classroom. Teachers need to have time to effectively integrate technology in a meaningful way. Teachers need time to use technology and practice integrating it into a unit or lesson plan and students need time for use and practice as well. Sometimes it is hard to find the TIME to do all of this!

New terms...I.R.E= teacher initiation, student reply, teacher evaluation
B.N.I.E= bid, negotiated, instantiated, evaluation

With the push to integrate technology, I strongly feel there needs to be a respect for teachers, their teaching styles, and their approach to teaching. There needs to be an understanding that good and experienced teachers know what they are doing and what is best for the children in their classroom. Experienced teachers will integrate technology when they feel it is appropriate and valuable. There is no need to make these teachers feel incompetent and that they are not an effective teacher if a majority of their teaching does not include full blown technology integration. The integration of technology is important and I know it is extremely beneficial and necessary for the children of this generation, however, it needs to pertain to what I am teaching and I need to see it effectively and efficiently impacting student learning. I will continue to try my best to integrate technology in my kindergarten classroom.

Chapter 11- Guiding Preservice Teachers in Developing TPACK

Ch. 11- Guiding preservice teachers in developing TPACK

This chapter was basically about how to teach preservice teachers the importance of integrating content, pedagogy, knowledge, and technology.

I enjoyed the quotes that started each section.
“To teach is to learn.” There is no better way to learn something new than to have to teach it. I sometimes have my children teach each other what we have learned. If they can teach it, I know that they have mastered the concept!

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Children need to have exposure to a variety of tools. Teachers need many tools available to meet all children’s needs. I sometimes call these tools my bag of tricks. It also means that we need to impact all of TPACK to teach children.

I recently went to a district wide RTI training. The speaker there made a similar comment to the one in this chapter that stated, children...”successfully face rigorous higher education coursework career challenges and a globally competitive workforce.” When the speaker was speaking to us, she was referring to her 5 year old daughter and saying that if she is not exposed to this TPACK model and technology that she is not going to be able to compete for a college degree or future career. It was a very powerful comment and presentation.

Preservice teachers need to have the opportunity to experience and be immersed in technology before they enter their teaching career. I wish this was the case with me. I have a lot to learn and not enough time to learn it in. Some of the skills I need to establish can be done on my own, but I have no time to explore them.

Children must have the basics before they move on to further activities or opportunities. We teach the basics in kindergarten...mouse control, logging in, passwords, parts of the computer. If they are not taught these skills, all other technology activities are going to be a challenge. Each lesson outside of the basics is a huge production! It often takes over the content being taught. Teachers need to use their best judgement when teaching technology with younger students. Another thought when teaching with technology is will this technology enhance the learning experience. I am constantly battling with this.

I liked the last comment made in the TPACK book. It said, “...reflection is an important experience in the making of a teacher for the 21st century- a teacher with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for teaching with newer and emerging technologies, a teacher with knowledge and understanding of the intersection and integration of content, pedagogy, and technology in ways that ultimately affect student learning (p. 249). I am working on becoming a TPACK teacher. I am definitely a work in progress, but trying my best.