TPACK has been called “the heart of innovative teaching”. Teachers who want to empower their students through 21st Century learning have this model in mind in order to provide the best instruction possible. The most recent addition to the above Venn diagram is the TK, or, Technological Content circle. It adds a whole new dimension to a teacher’s knowledge of Pedagogy and Content. Content knowledge is what teachers know. Pedagogical knowledge is how they teach. Technological Knowledge relates to the role of technology to not only assist PK and CK, but also to potentially re-define what they mean. You can’t really effectively describe the TPACK model unless you do it in light of another important educational model, which is the SAMR model: SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The introduction of technology into schools can substitute prior, non-tech teaching strategies and techniques. This is considered to be the weakest use of technology. An example is using a computer to type a paper instead of writing it by hand. Using technology to augment instruction means to substitute a non-tech tool, but with a functional improvement. An example of this is using spell check while writing a paper on the computer. A tech modified lesson allows for a significant task redesign. An example of a modified writing lesson is to have students share their writing in Google Docs and do peer reviews. At its most powerful, technology can redefine pedagogy and content. This means that new, previously inconceivable tasks can be done. An example of this is to create videos and slideshows to showcase writing, and to share end products on social media sites. The goal that the SAMR model shows is the transformation of outdated education habits such as dictation and memorization, with the 21st Century skills of analyzing, evaluating, and creating. These skills are essential to today’s Common Core State Standards. Technology has the potential to significantly enhance students’ ability to perform the 21st Century “4 C's Skills” of Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creation.
Let’s look at both TPACK and SAMR in the context of the Screens to Streams outdoor photography homework idea I am working on. TPACK: In the area of content knowledge, I’m looking at the NGSS science standards for third grade. I’m looking at the descriptions of the units, and which units lend themselves to the integration of outdoor, digital photography projects. For example, for the NGSS standard: LS4.C: Adaptation For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.(3-LS4-3) Possible photo prompts for this unit could be: “Take pictures of plants around your house and community. Try to take pictures of plants that you think people planted, and also “weeds” or trees that you think grow there naturally. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?” “Take pictures of animals and insects from around your house and community. You can take pictures of pets. Also try to take pictures of wild animals and bugs if you can find them. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?” In the classroom or in Zoom, (depending on where we are at with distance learning in the years to come), when students share their photos and observations on Padlet, they get a much better idea of which plants and animals are having success in their community. A discussion can also arise about which plants and animals were NOT seen in the community and why. An important task in the development of this idea is to create prompts to give to the students for their photography, according to each unit, and also what guiding questions to discuss when students display their photos. Here is where it will be useful to have a current, NGSS science curriculum to mirror. Our school has not had a current “traditional” curriculum for the past several years. Teachers piloted several curriculums this past year, but with the Covid-19 crisis, adoption has been put on hold for another year. Many teachers including myself have been using the online, video based program called Mystery Science. These photography units can also be built around the NGSS standards covered in Mystery Science. In the area of pedagogical knowledge, I’m also looking at NGSS guidelines. Specifically, I’m using the pedagogical “best practices” of students doing science and modeling their science learning rather than just learning about concepts from a textbook or video. I think it’s a very powerful idea to get kids outdoors in their communities and accompanied by their parents in order to tie their science learning into their individual contexts. Happily, the technological knowledge branch of TPACK is what empowers students to be able to perform the pedagogical best practices of “doing” and “modeling”. Digital tools like cameras, nature identification apps like iNaturalist, and collaboration platforms like Padlet, are just a few of the tech tools that can redefine science learning in the 21st Century. For example, when a student makes a recording of an observation of a plant or animal in iNaturalist, the app uses GPS technology to “pin” the observation, which in turn is added to their “IO” or integrated and open database. This adds to real science because it is a resource for people all over the globe. It looks like a good place to jump over to a discussion of how Screens to Streams fits in with the SAMR model: SAMR: Here are the questions I’m asking myself as I look at outdoor photography units in relation to the SAMR model: Substitution: What will I gain by replacing the old technology with the newer technology? A: Taking digital devices home to take photos of observations in nature is more motivating to many students than drawing in nature journals. Augmentation: Have I added an improvement to the task process that could not be accomplished with the older technology at a fundamental level? A: Yes, with a camera, students are able to record a larger number of observations in less time. Modification: Does this modification fundamentally depend upon the new technology? A: If my students were taking nature journals home and drawing their observations instead of photographing and posting, they would be more limited in their ability to share their observations with peers on collaboration platforms and with larger audiences through social media. Redefinition: How is the new task made possible by the new technology? A: Taking photos with the app iNaturalist, for example, redefines a student’s role in science. With each valid observation they have the ability to add to the body of scientific knowledge on species’ ranges and habitats around the globe.
2 Comments
Joel
6/24/2020 01:24:35 pm
Great writing Jeremy, I learned a bunch. I like how you connected TPACK to SAMR and related it to your action research lessons. Well done.
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Melissa
6/24/2020 04:33:17 pm
Jeremy,
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AuthorJeremy Smith teaches third grade at Calistoga Elementary School. Archives
July 2020
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