What is the added value of TPACK?

Compared with the three topics discussed in previous posts and lectures, TPACK model relates to the first topic, flexibility, in an overall perspective while it contains two other topics, pedagogy and technology, within its framework.

As for the first topic, the key idea of flexibility is learner has more choice in different aspects of learning experience. In order to achieve this goal, instructor and institutes must have enough knowledge, skills or resources to meet learners’ needs. We mentioned the five dimensions of flexibility in previous post: time, content, entry requirements, instructional approach and resources, and delivery and logistic. Among them TPACK covers the two major categories, content and instructional approach and resources. One component of TPACK, technology, also can be used to support to the other two categories, time and delivery and logistic.

The main added value of TPACK on flexibility is that TPACK elaborates how the flexibility learning increases its feasibility by increasing teacher’s knowledge base, leading to the importance of teachers’ professional development. Based on the TPACK model, the bigger scope each of the three primary forms of knowledge has, the bigger the overlap of each two forms becomes, as well as the interplay section of the three components. In other words, if teachers have broader knowledge on content, pedagogy and technology, they have more flexibility in combining each two of the knowledge or all of them together, resulting in more successful and flexible learning for learners. For this purpose, the professional development can use TPACK model as main structure, analyze the target teachers’ knowledge base and provide teachers with relevant courses.

Analyzing the figure of TPACK model, it is easy to notice that the three primary circles of knowledge overlaps with each other, which means it is not sufficient to implement flexible learning if teachers only have the three primary knowledge separately. “Approaches that teach only skills (technology or otherwise) are insufficient. Learning about technology is different than learning what to do with it instructionally.” (Harris, Mishra & Koehler, 2009) In this way, when using one component as the focus of designing instructional plans, teachers should take into consideration the other two components and their interrelations as well. Hence the second added value of TPACK is that it emphasizes the importance of integrating the three primary forms of knowledge, providing teachers a framework as reference when designing, developing and implementing instructional plans.

It is also obvious through analyzing the figure that there is no fixed start point in TPACK model. This offers teachers more flexibility in designing instructional plans. They can adjust the model to the resource or technology they have now, the topic of content they want to teach, or the teaching style they are used to. The third added value then is TPACK treats the instruction from teacher’s perspective rather than from learner’s perspective. Though teachers have more flexibility, relatively, improving their own knowledge bases becomes highly required for better implementation of flexible learning.