International Portal of Teacher Education

Source: Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 281–300 (Summer, 2011).
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)

The TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009; Mishra & Koehler, 2006) provides a lens through which to observe the role of technology in teacher knowledge with sufficient flexibility to allow for the rapidly evolving technological landscape.

This review of literature examines the methods and instruments designed to assess the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of preservice teachers.
The researcher conducted a literature search to compile a list of journal articles and conference papers that described the application of the TPACK framework in teacher preparation.

The author found that it is possible to envision the ways in which the TPACK framework serves as a lens for observing the impact of teacher preparation experiences on knowledge and cognitive processes as well as for assessing the outcomes leading toward effective and innovative teaching practices.

The author claims that researchers should consider using multiple instruments to maintain the context sensitivity necessary to examine specific learning experiences in which gains in TPACK are evident.

The author concludes that through research efforts that employ multiple methods for assessing TPACK, it will be possible to begin to differentiate between models of introducing technology integration in teacher preparation programs and to better understand how preservice teachers develop their knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content and their abilities to use this knowledge for instructional planning.

References
Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60–70.

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054.