Carrie Devlin
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Just a Thought

Classroom Support or Constraint?

5/29/2022

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Have you ever found yourself  having started a project only to realize that you don’t have the right tool, leaving you with a deflated kind of uncertainty knowing there is a better way?  

The Cooking with TPACK Experience was just that: a Quickfire  simulation of how it must feel, as a student, to not have access to the appropriate technological tools to successfully complete a task (Masters of Arts in Educational Technology, 2021). First, I was given a dinner plate, a salad bowl, and a whisk. Then I was tasked with making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using only those kitchen tools. Let's see what happens when given the wrong tools for a job. 

Although I was successful, I felt silly, anxious, slightly confused and somewhat frustrated. It got me thinking about marginality. For our students who already struggle with learning due to a disability or trauma, or inattention, having an inappropriate technological tool adds an additional layer of constraint to their challenges.

In Do Artifacts Have Politics?, Winner claims that technology has significant implications. In many of our technological advancements instead of providing humankind with more freedom, these technological systems are often more constraining
(Winner, 1980). Winner charges his readers with the importance of attending closely to the technological systems (tools) we are choosing because of its social and political implications. ​
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The TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework helps us to think critically about those constraints implied by technology, question our practices, and the technological tools we choose to support learning (Green, 2014). As well, this model deepens our understanding of teaching and learning through successful integration of technology by connecting pedagogical (teaching), content (knowledge of discipline) and technological knowledge (Kereluik, 2011). Hence, this framework is a  “repurposing” of technology as a thoughtful classroom support tailored to our student’s learning goals or needs. 
References and Media Credits:

Devlin,C. (2022, May 28). Cooking with TPACK - CEP 810. [Video].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/Mq79xMqYpZY

Master of Arts in Educational Technology (2021, Spring). Course content from Unit 2: Unit 2: Cooking with TPACK Experience and Video. Michigan State University, CEP 810: Teaching Understanding with Technology. https://d2l.msu.edu

Green, Tim. (2014 March 12). Talking TPACK with Dr. Punya Mishra. [Video].
Youtube.
https://youtu.be/wn4ElDeZQeM


Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. J. (2011). On learning to subvert signs: Literacy, technology and the TPACK framework. The California Reader, 44(2), 12-18.

Mishra, P. (2018) Revised version of TPACK image. [Image]
https://punyamishra.com/2018/09/10/the-tpack-diagram-gets-an-upgrade/

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge.Teachers College Record,108(6), 1017-1054.

Rubberfinger. (2016).Wrong tool for the job [Photograph]. imgflip.
 imgflip.com/tag/wrong+tool+for+the+job


Winner, L. (1980). Do artifacts have politics? Daedalus, 109(1), 121-136.
  http://www.jstor.org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/stable/20024652
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​  Start at the Beginning

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Have you ever just wanted to skip over the whole process of being a novice learner? All of the mistakes, the uncertainty, cringeyness, lack of confidence, and general messiness of the learning process. A necessary place to begin. 

I found this video years ago when I first started teaching. Many of my days felt like this:  The Novice 

One main difference between experts and novices is that the expert’s organizational knowledge enables them to readily and efficiently identify patterns in order to ‘chunk’ information (Bransford et. al 2000). This ability provides experts to view a problem from a conceptual perspective or with the intent to understand the issue.
 

Another difference between the expert and novice is the expert's ability to efficiently and fluently retrieve knowledge to support problem-solving in new situations or learning. In my early years of teaching, I struggled with identifying students with academic disabilities (SLD). It is like a puzzle, yet the pieces are scattered and sometimes hidden. It was challenging to analyze the data and identify their learning patterns. As my content knowledge increased so did my pedagogical knowledge. As my PCK grew, my thinking changed in regards to teaching and learning. Therefore it would stand that as we learn to understand technology integration, we grow our understanding of its connections to our pedagogical content knowledge. 

Another tell-tale sign of the expert is their ability to adapt their knowledge and teaching to any classroom in any given opportunity. In fact, I would suggest that experts often look for opportunities to adapt their skills to a variety of teaching and learning settings. Experts are the artisans of their craft. 

​The novice must step out of their comfort zone to grasp these foundational pieces of learning in educational technology and technological integration in order to access a deeper understanding of how our PCK connects to technological knowledge.

To read more: revision2_cep_810_unit_1.pdf


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References, Media, and Image Credit: 


Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. National Academy Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368.

Sagar, D. (2022).  [Photograph/Abraham Maslow Quote]. Quotefancy. quotefancy.com/quote/1010022/Abraham-Maslow-You-will-either-step-forward-into-growth-or-you-will-step-back-into-safety
 
Trending Happiest (2016, November 28) Trying to get through my day. [Video]. Facebook.  www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1897402760481052&ref=sharing ​



Photo used under Creative Commons from Didier Bigand
  • Blog
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