First Activity: TPACK

We have chosen this activity fot the final portfolio because we think tha the TPACK is the base for being a good teacher.

Our teacher proposed us to read some documents about the TPACK Framework and later try 

to illustrate it in a poster. In this poster the three main components of this model (Content, Pedagogy and Technology ) were illustrated and also the connections between them.

Our final poster was this:

What have we learnt doing this activity, is that TPACK is very important when teaching. By putting into practice the three main parts of this model you can gather the main characteristic of a good teacher. With technology knowledge you can use different tools and applications and discover a new way to teach, with pedagogical knowledge you can learn how to treat with your students to make the educative process more effective, and through content knowledge, teachers can know all the content that is in their subject matter.

We have also learnt to work in group while doing this activity because we had to make some decisions about how to make a poster where we had to reflect the TPACK model.

The five more important concepts that we have considered are:

1. Content knowledge: Content Knowledge is knowledge about the actual subject matter that is to be learned or taught. The content to be covered in high school social studies or algebra is very different from the content to be covered in a graduate course on computer science or art history. Clearly, teachers must know and understand the subjects they teach, including: knowledge of central facts, concepts, theories and procedures within a given field; knowledge of explanatory frameworks that organize and connect ideas; and knowledge of the rules of evidence and proof. 

Shulman, 1986,Content knowledge-by Matthew Koehler, retrieved from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/pedagogical-knowledge-pk/

2. Pedagogical knowledge: Pedagogical Knowledge is deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning and how it encompasses (among other things) overall educational purposes, values and aims. This is a generic form of knowledge that is involved in all issues of student learning, classroom management, lesson plan development and implementation, and student evaluation. It includes knowledge about techniques or methods to be used in the classroom; the nature of the target audience; and strategies for evaluating student understanding. 

 Shulman, 1986,Pedagogical knowledge-by Matthew Koehler, retrieved from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/pedagogical-knowledge-pk/

3. Technology knowledge: Technology knowledge is knowledge about standard technologies such as books and chalk and blackboard, as well as more advanced technologies such as the Internet and digital video. This would involve the skills required to operate particular technologies. In the case of digital technologies this would include knowledge of operating systems, and computer hardware, as well as the ability to use standard set of software tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, browsers, email etc. TK would include knowledge of how to install and remove peripheral devices, install and remove software programs, create and archive documents. Most standard technology workshops and tutorials tend to focus on the acquisition of such skills. 

Shulman,1986,Technology knowledge-by Matthew Koehler, retrieved from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/pedagogical-knowledge-pk/

4. Pedagogical content knowledge: This knowledge includes knowing what teaching approaches fit the content, and likewise, knowing how elements of the content can be arranged for better teaching. This knowledge is different from the knowledge of a disciplinary expert and also from the general pedagogical knowledge shared by teachers across disciplines. PCK is concerned with the representation and formulation of concepts, pedagogical techniques, knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn, knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology. It also involves knowledge of teaching strategies that incorporate appropriate conceptual representations, to address learner difficulties and misconceptions and foster meaningful understanding. It also includes knowledge of what the students bring to the learning situation, knowledge that might be either facilitative or dysfunctional for the particular learning task at hand. This knowledge of students includes their strategies, prior conceptions (both “naïve” and instructionally produced); misconceptions students are likely to have about a particular domain and potential misapplications of prior knowledge.

Shulman,1986, Pedagogical content knowledge-by Matthew Koehler, retrieved from http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/pedagogical-knowledge-pk/

5. TPACK: The TPACK framework argues that effective technology integration for teaching specific content or subject matter requires understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components: Technology, Pedagogy, and Content. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and (perhaps) broader than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a scientist or a musician or sociologist), a technology expert (a computer engineer) or an expert at teaching/pedagogy (an experienced educator). (Archambault & Crippen, 2009).

(Archambault & Crippen, 2009, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge ,retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_Pedagogical_Content_Knowledge).

We think that as a group we deserve an 8 because our final result was more or less what we had waited for, although always can be better, so an eight it’s ok.

Individually, we think we deserve the following grades (from 1 to 10):

-Amelia Avilés Carrión: 8, because she always had the initiative to start the work and to create the blog (because this activity was one of the first developed).

-Andrea Bermúdez Sánchez: 7, because she has done what was necessary to do and also she contributed several ideas.

-Laura Clemente Sánchez: 7, because she helped was what necessary, she was always disposed to work! 

-Noelia Clemente Tolinos: 7, because,as same as Laura, was always offering help.

-Verónica Costa González: 7 because she always motívate us becaus she gave the positive part of the work. 

-Nerea García Barceló: 7, because, despite of the fact that she entered in the group later she adapted very well and always contributed positively with the rest of the members of the group.

-Gloria García Hortelano: 7, because she always did her work correctly and was the creativity soul of the group.