Running head: THE LEARNING PRINCIPALS AND TPACK

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The Learning Principals and TPACK
Juan Bottia
National Louis University























Running head: THE LEARNING PRINCIPALS AND TPACK

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The Learning Principals and TPACK

What are the pillars that support the Technology Pedagogical Content
knowledge (TPACK) framework? To better understand this new framework that
represents a new way of thinking about preparing teachers to teach and learn with
technology (Wetzel and Marshall, 2012, p. 73), it is necessary to use the learning
principals as a lens to review the core elements in TPACK. Darling-Hammond and
Bransford (2005) summarized his research findings on learning into three
principals: Learners need opportunities to activate their prior knowledge. Also, to
improve expertise in a field, learners need to develop foundation of factual
knowledge to facilitate retrieval and application. Lastly, a metacognitive approach to
instruction helps the learner take control of his or her own learning. These three
learning principals are the pillars that support the core elements in TPACK. I will
use them to highlight the impact of this new framework in education.

Wetzel and Marshall (2012) stated, Pedagogical knowledge refers to the
broad principles and strategies of classroom management and organization and
involves lesson planning and implementation (p. 73). Pedagogical Knowledge (PK),
an important piece of the TPACKs framework, mirrors two learning principals:
Activating background knowledge and integrating metacognition skills into the
curriculum. To help students make connections with their background knowledge,
teachers have to investigate and understand students skill levels, knowledge,
attitudes, and interests. After students connect concepts, the next learning principal
applies a metacognitive approach to instruct students on how to take control of
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their learning. (Nancy Hekkema. Professor, In-class PowerPoint presentation, July
24
th
, 2014).
In the study written by Wetzel and Marshall (2012), Ms. Marshall, a 6
th
grade
teacher made her students become journalists. They researched a character they have
previously studied, developed the questions and answers for the interviews; and found
another student to assume the interviewers role and rehearsed their answers (p. 76). In
this example the teacher used both, background knowledge and metacognition, to solidify
her pedagogical practices for this assignment. Students had the opportunity to portray a
character they were familiar with (background knowledge), and they also had to assume
the characters point of view (metacognition). Collectively, these two ideas represent the
essence of the Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) component in TPACK.
After the blueprint of her lesson was completed, Ms. Marshall preceded to show
an example on how Technological Knowledge (TK) and Technological Pedagogical
Knowledge (TPK) look like in the TPACK framework. Ms. Marshall decided to make
her students use Web 2.0 tools to brainstorm, write information, and videotape their
work. In addition, she created an online platform that allowed students to critique each
others projects. During the lesson, the study explained that it was evident that Ms.
Marshall had already taught procedures on how to use the computers safely in the
classroom. A protocol was clear and well understood by her students, which
demonstrated an example on how to implement Technological Knowledge (TK). Ms.
Marshall also used technology as a formative assessment tool, which offered an
opportunity to course correct mid-journey without punitive actions (West and Bleiberg,
2013, p. 13). Effective pedagogy is strongly linked with the quality of formative
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assessments. Ms. Marshall used the writers workshop with technology to strengthen her
formative assessments, which facilitated her reflection on students needs and editing for
future lessons.
It is evident that Ms. Marshall has a deep understanding on how to teach
language arts. She taught the writing process using the writers workshop, orally quizzed
her students about the sequence of ideas in their project, and gave them the opportunity to
present it in authentic ways. The interplay between content and pedagogy are present in
these examples and show how the Pedagogical Content Knowledge in TPACK looks like
in the classroom.
Content Knowledge (CK) in TPACK mirrors the third learning principal-a
knowledge-centered approach to teaching. Teachers must obtain factual knowledge to
provide opportunities to teach concepts and skills in depth. Teachers must understand
what should be taught, why, and what observable behaviors define progress (Nancy
Hekkema. Professor, In-class PowerPoint presentation, July 24
th
, 2014). Willingham
(2005) argues that teaching conceptual knowledge requires teachers to use different
approaches, or modalities to help students learn new information. As teachers develop a
better understanding of a concept they become more capable to deliver the lesson with its
appropriate modality. Willingham stated, teachers should indeed think about the
modality in which they present material, but their goal should be to find the contents best
modality, not to search (in vain) for the students best modality (para. 18). If teachers
gain a deeper understanding of the concepts they teach, and also learn how to teach them
in a comprehensible manner, then this simple strategy should trigger students
metacognition no matter their learning styles. To support this argument Willingham gives
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an example on how a Civil War unit could be taught at its best modality. He states, in
addition to lecture and reading, it might be appropriate to include recordings of martial
music used to inspire troop, visual representation (maps) of battlefields, and perhaps a
chance to handle the pack and equipment the troops carried(para. 19).
In Ms. Marshalls study, she demonstrated Content Knowledge (CK) by
establishing essential questions for the Renaissance project. She used those questions to
guide her instruction, and her students used them to create a concept map, which became
a scaffold for their writing project. In addition, Ms. Marshall gave students content and
language objectives before each lesson. The process of writing and thinking is applicable
to the content area subjects, and Ms. Marshall proved that she could teach language arts
at its best modality by using subjects like social studies and science as the backbone for
her units of study.
The TPACK framework provides a clear pathway on how to integrate technology
in the classroom. School districts in Cook County have been using the Charlotte
Danielsons framework, and it is going to be interesting to observe how TPACK will be
integrated into schools improvement plans. Whichever framework a school district
decides to use, it is important to note that the integration of technology in a school fully
depends on the principals understanding of the role it should assume in the classroom.
Carr (2011) explains, technology is a powerful tool with incredible potential for altering
established forms of pedagogy. The school principal is the key factor affecting its
success (p. 2). Due to the quantity of educational frameworks that have been created, I
suggest that administrators focus on the three learning principals, and use them as a lens
to review and educate new teaching frameworks.
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References


Carr, T. (2011). An examination of leadership styles in implementing
Instructional technology: A Case study to examine the elementary school Principal
perspective.1(1), July 23rd, 2014. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.nl.idm.oclc.org/docview/894251697
Chapter 2 Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, (1999). How people learn. Brain, mind,
experience, and school. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press.
Hekkeman, Nancy. Learning Principals and Classroom Environment. PowerPoint
presentation. National Louis, Chicago, IL. 22 July 2014.
Hekkeman, Nancy. Representational Modes. PowerPoint presentation. National
Louis, Chicago, IL. 22 July 2014.
West, D. M., & Bleiberg, J. (2013). Education technology success stories.1(1), July
23rd, 2014. Retrieved from ERIC database.
Wetzel, K., & Marshall, S. (2012). TPACK goes to sixth grade: Lessons from a middle
school teacher in a high-technology-Access classroom., July 23rd, 2014.
Willingham, D. (2005, July 1). Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need
Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction?. American Educator, 29