This week I decided to look at some of the other research involving TPACK. There’s a wealth of articles out there, so it took some effort to choose which to review. I ended up going with an article from Koehler, one of the creators of TPACK, referenced below:
Rosenberg, J. M., & Koehler, M. J. (2015). Context and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): A Systematic Review. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 47(3), 186–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2015.1052663
In this systematic review, Rosenberg and Koehler (2015) examine the inclusion of context in TPACK research. First, the TPACK model, its influence, and its history is summarized. Next, the authors describe a framework by Porras-Hernández and Salinas-Amescua (2013) expanding on the context element of the TPACK model. In this contextual framework “teachers’ TPACK reciprocally affects each of the parts of the framework, so that changes in teachers’ knowledge are a function of teachers’ engagement in a rich setting of social interactions, resources, scaffolds, and supports as categorized with the three levels (micro, meso, and macro) and two actors (teacher and student)” (p. 189). The research was investigated the frequency of inclusion of context in TPACK research, and the nature of that inclusion in terms of the framework above. Overall, 36% of 193 articles included a mention of context. Further coding found varied types of context included.
As might be expected from a creator of the framework, this research is well-informed by the theory studied. Additionally, the authors are noticeably inclusive to expansions of the original framework. If fact, the inclusion of context did not appear at all in the model until suggested by other researchers. This suggests the framework has developed inertia beyond its origins, which is welcomed by its creators. This relates to one of the limitations of the study. The frequency of the term ‘context’ is coded only with that word and not with similar terms. However, this is justified by the fact that the same term is specifically depicted in the model. So, only studies that mentioned ‘context’ specifically were included in the count.
I found this article fascinating as I was familiar with the TPACK model, but not as much with various applications of context. The concept of levels relates also to similar TPACK research examining levels of depth in technology integration. However, I had not considered this in terms of context. This provides another lens to discuss technology integration, while still utilizing TPACK.
Recent Comments