Saturday, March 9, 2013

Becoming An Effective 21st Century Educator


Used with permission from iCLIPART
How do educators effectively teach students in the 21st Century?  The seemingly omnipresent nature of technology in society provides unique challenges and opportunities for educators.  Preparing students to overcome these challenges and take advantage of these opportunities represents a wicked problem.  Effectively teaching the next generation has always been a wicked problem for every society.  However, the 21st Century, and the changing nature of technology, creates the newest iteration of this wicked problem.
Used with permission from tpack.org via Wiki Commons


Strategies exist to help educators deal with this wicked problem of effectively teaching in the 21st Century.  TPACK is one such strategy to help educators plan for and engage today's technologically inclined learners.  Watch this video for a quick explanation of TPACK.  The whole purpose of TPACK is to provide educators with a framework to effectively teach for the 21st Century.  Ideally, educators should try to exist within the center of the TPACK framework where technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge intersect with each other.  In order to be an effective 21st Century teacher, one must successfully wield technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge so they coalesce to create engaging instruction.    



However, as with any educational framework, the struggle comes when trying to practically apply TPACK in the everyday classroom.  One way to help apply TPACK to the classroom is to look at it through the "Four Cs".  The "Four Cs" are the skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.  These are incredibly important skills in today's world where change occurs faster due to the free flow of information.  Teachers can create lessons and units that use the "Four Cs" in their content area.  This focus can help guide pedagogy for teachers as they devise ways to develop lessons and units that require the "Four Cs" skill set.  Once a pedagogy ins in place that focuses on apply the "Four Cs", technology more readily be utilized to facilitate lessons and units that help students learn the skills that are necessary for succeeding in the 21st Century.  The video below shows examples of how the "Four Cs" can help drive the application of TPACK in the classroom.




Ultimately, TPACK is only useful if it helps educators teach more effectively.  Educators need to spend time unpacking TPACK and how it can help create a more engaging 21st Century educational experience.  In order to find solutions to the wicked problem of educating students in the 21st Century, educators must become more than just masters of content and pedagogy.  Educators must learn to embrace technology so they can more effectively engage students and create that instructional synthesis that is at the heart of the TPACK framework.  To help achieve this synthesis, and to keep current on how TPACK is being applied to today's classrooms, follow #TPACK on Twitter.



6 comments:

  1. Brian - I really enjoyed reading your comments on TPACK. I wonder, though, if TPACK is really just another theory or if it actually has more weight to it? Does it really internalize what many of us already know about education? Does it provide a common language for us to discuss technology integration? Does it provide a framework to actually figure out where our instructors are at and how effective our integration is? All of these are important questions, but I wonder if it is theory worthy or not? Do you use the TPACK personally? Why or why not?

    -Randon

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  2. Randon, thanks for your comment. I agree that TPACK goes beyond mere theory. I think that it was just poor word choice on my part. I do think that TPACK communicates what many teachers already know about effective education. Pedagogy, content knowledge, and technology must all work together in order to teach for the 21st Century. TPACK definitely provides educators with a framework to successfully integrate technology along with pedagogy and content knowledge. I haven't used TPACK, but I look forward to introducing it to my school.

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  3. To enter the conversation, TPACK seems like a theory that we already know about technology integration, but now we have a framework to refer too. However, the more I think about that, the less I agree with this statement I just said. All too often the tools become the technology. It is like when we become so focused on a great activity that goes with a unit instead of really evaluating if it the best way to get our students where we want them to be.

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  4. First off, thank you for including that video. I had not seen that one yet, and I think it's one I could use at our next professional development.
    I agree with all of you. The TPaCK framework is nothing that teachers don't already know. However I am hesitant to include all teachers in that statement. There are teachers (in my school and in others) that do not have the Technology Kowledge. That area is their weakest. If anything, I think TPaCK is for them. They need to see how technology works with Content and Pedagogical Knowledge in order to be the most effective teacher they can be. I think this answers more Randon's question, but how many teachers do you know that use 1:1 devices as merely expensive ways to distribute homework? TPaCK is simple enough for all to understand and see technology's purpose within our teaching contexts.

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  5. Brian, nicely organized post, here. I, too, agree with everyone in your comment section. The TPACK framework just seems to be a great way to engage the educator in a balanced discussion as to what 21st learning should look like in today's learning environment.

    Now, I am not so sure all educators understand the balance of technology knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge, and what a best practice model looks like. I think the discussion needs to occur regarding how educators understand TPACK, then TPACK needs to be unpacked, then TPACK needs to be collaboratively explored (preferably in PLC groups) to determine the most effective use of this framework.

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  6. Good progression through using TPACK. Your point is well made about making the teachers UnPACK TPACK to better understand it. Have you thought about how you can helpthem unpack? Adding the #TPACK at the end was an important link for your readers. It will be the beginning of a plethora of information.

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