Reflection on the design process 01: Designing Process and Working with TPACK

1. Designing process and Working with TPACK

The assigned starting point of our group is gaming, belonging to the technological knowledge base of the TPACK model. The range of gaming is wide, from the traditional and physical games such as hide and seek or hangman to the latest and fashionable ones such as Xbox or PSP. Hence, it took our group a while to decide which kind of games would be applied in our lesson plan. Considering the lectures on flexibility and technology, the focus is more on the application of the most advanced technology. We concluded to use online games as the main technology in the lesson plan.

In the searching process of the online game, we started by looking for the game that contains appropriate content for primary school, the assigned element of the context. After collecting a number of games, the three of our group started the selection. W did not notice the difficulty due to the lack of a specific context at that time. The selection was not very efficient when the consideration switched back and forth from the game content and the possible context. Both of the two elements affected each other and adjusted themselves simultaneously. After the struggling, our context gradually formed and we also chose a suitable free online game named Geo-Challenge. On the other hand, setting a specific context in advance may restrict our choice of the game. Because not all of the games are free, we might confront the problem that no appropriate game is available.

In the mean time, I was confused about the content part of the TPACK model. We did not have certain content in mind when selecting the game. The content had already been entailed in the game. It seemed like we had no other choices but to accept the fixed content and used it as the foundation to design the lesson plan. Nonetheless, after a discussion in class, I realized which part of TPACK model our designing process was standing on. As far as the draft of lesson plan was concerned, we were just in the technological content knowledge phase. And since we had thought about the interaction between the content and the context, we still took the content into consideration even if we had not possessed a certain preference in mind.

After deciding two of the three elements of TPACK model, the range of choosing the third one, pedagogical knowledge, became relatively clearer. Because the three main elements and the corresponding context were specified, writing the lesson plan became smooth. The only concern was the proportion of the game within the lesson. The main object of the lesson is to enable the learner to have daily conversation on trip plan in English, rather than operating the online game, which is an assistant tool. However, this may lead to losing focus on the technological part, the game and lead us to a dilemma. After discussion, we did not want to apply technology just because we were supposed to use it. On the contrary, technology should be applied only when it benefits the learners. Based on this belief, we completed the lesson plan.

As for the support for the new lesson plan, target teachers’ TPACK knowledge bases should be taken into consideration. In the designed lesson plan, we assumed the target teachers have no relevant knowledge or skills and design corresponding support. However, when applying the plan in actual world, in case most teachers have already had the needed knowledge or skills, we should run an audience analysis first to offer the support efficiently.