Social Studies Middle School Guide

Canyons School District

Instructional Supports Department

TPACK FRAMEWORK “The most important thing that schools can do is not to use technology in the curriculum more, but to use it more effectively.” (John G. Palfrey & Urs Gasser)

TPACK is a technology integration framework that identifies three types of knowledge educators need to combine for successful educational technology integration: technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (a.k.a. TPACK). The three primary forms of knowledge are not entirely separate. In fact, the intersections of each are critical because they represent deeper levels of understanding. The center of the diagram, otherwise known as TPACK, represents a full understanding of how to teach with technology. Keep in mind that this is not the same as having knowledge of each of the three primary concepts, individually. Instead, the point of TPACK is to understand how to use technology (TK) to teach concepts (CK) in a way that enhances student learning experiences (PK).

Guiding Questions

It is important to start with content and pedagogical knowledge and layer in the technology. The table below provides questions to help guide your thinking when using the TPACK framework.

Content Knowledge (CK) (Teacher Clarity)

Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) (Academic & Behavioral Instructional Priorities) What instructional strategies do you need to meet the needs of your students and the requirements of the lesson plan, and how do your students learn best?

Technological Knowledge (TK) (Best Practices for Digital Teaching and Learning) What digital tools are available to you, which do you know well enough to use, and which would best support pedagogy and content acquisition?

What are you teaching and what is your own knowledge of the subject?

Critical Actions for Educators

When lesson planning, consider the three elements of the TPACK framework and use the guiding questions to: ○ align your learning intentions and success criteria with the three types of knowledge. ○ determine how you will evaluate students’ performance. ○ identify teaching approaches that can be used in a classroom setting to guide student thinking and learning in your teaching subject. (Academic and Behavioral Instructional Priorities) ○ identify tasks that will promote students complex thinking of your teaching subject. ○ determine how you can support student growth, understanding, and achievement. ○ identify how you will provide appropriate feedback.