Teacher Knowledge and Education Technology: Two Frameworks to Guide Inquiry

• In Event: Education Technology, Teacher Knowledge, and Classroom Impact: Frameworks and Approaches to Research

Abstract

Objectives

We present two guiding frameworks for the symposium, the Comprehensive Framework for Teacher Knowledge (CFTK) and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK).

Theoretical Framework(s)

The CFTK model, developed through a series of exploratory studies (Ronau, Rakes, Wagener, & Dougherty, 2009; Ronau et al., 2010), presents teacher knowledge as a three dimensional model by pairing 6 inter-related aspects into three orthogonal axes: (1) Field comprised of subject matter (S) and pedagogy (P); (2) Mode comprised of orientation (O) and discernment (D); and (3) Context comprised of individual (I) and environment (E). The interactions of these aspects have direct implications for future research on teacher knowledge as well as policies for guiding professional development and preservice teacher training.

TPACK is a dynamic lens that describes teacher knowledge required for designing, implementing, and evaluating curriculum and instruction with technology (Koehler & Mishra, 2009; Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Niess, 2005; Niess et al., 2009; Niess, 2011a). TPACK strategic thinking incorporates knowing when, where, and how to use domain-specific knowledge and strategies for guiding students’ learning with appropriate digital, information, and communication technologies.

Method(s)

This study uses a systematic review of literature.

Data Sources

We identified 411 manuscripts that addressed teacher knowledge across 14 content areas out of an initial 564 potentially relevant manuscripts. Approximately 50% of the manuscripts (N=208) did not specify a particular subject matter. Approximately 10% (N=60) of this set of articles were randomly sampled to be double coded. Every article contained seven opportunities for disagreement on the coding sheet, providing 420 opportunities to disagree overall within the subset of 60 double-coded manuscripts. We agreed 323 times for an overall inter-rater reliability of 77%. We discussed each disagreement and reached consensus before completing the coding process. We also examined the patterns of disagreement for evidence of bias.

Results

The sample studies addressed both single aspects and interactions. In this session, we will present the distribution of the number of studies that addressed each aspect or interaction.
Sixteen interactions identified by the CFTK framework were not addressed in the sample. The most commonly studied interaction was the Subject-Matter/Pedagogy interaction under the label of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (75 studies, 18% of sample). Teacher knowledge of technology was often used to mean several different aspects of teacher knowledge and their interactions (e.g., P only; S-P-D and P-O interactions). Such complexity suggests that current teachers need more than simply learning about the technologies. Implications for teacher training and development will be discussed in terms of the five TPACK stages, Recognizing, Accepting, Exploring, Adapting, and Advancing (Niess et al., 2009).

Significance

This presentation will highlight limitations of current research for supporting future inquiry of teacher knowledge and education technology due to the lack of guiding frameworks. The two frameworks discussed here offer potential perspectives for determining the needs of future research and possible directions for measuring teacher knowledge and evaluating the role of teacher knowledge for integrating technology into classroom instruction.

Authors

• Robert N. Ronau, University of Louisville

• Christopher R. Rakes, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Margaret L. Niess, Oregon State University