Week 2 - TPACK and ACAD

This week our task was to answer some questions about TPACK and ACAD:

1. What is TPACK and What is ACAD exactly? (e.g. is it a technology tool, a theory, a model, an animal, a poem, an author? All these? About what?)

TPACK, which means Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge, is a framework for teacher knowledge that focuses on technological integration. According to this framework, technology is a fundamental component of the teaching action, so it must be integrated in order to develop effective teaching.

ACAD, which means Activity-Centred Analysis and Design, is also a teaching framework that is based on the analysis and design of complex learning environments. Basically, it is an activity centred framework, as it establishes that learning is based on what people do, and that activity needs thinking, feeling, perceiving, talking, making, moving, etc. in order to happen.

2. Which are the essential TPACK elements and how do they interact with each other?

The essential TPACK elements are content, pedagogy and technology. Content knowledge (CK) covers the content a teacher knows about the subject they are teaching. Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is the knowledge a teacher has about how the human mind processes information, and how to make learning accessible for the students. Technological knowledge (TK) is a teacher’s ability to use new technologies and apply them to class. Technology is always changing, and a teacher’s TK is at risk of becoming outdated if they do not attempt to stay up to date.

The interactions between these three elements are different depending on the context as can be seen in the variations in educational technology integration. Notwithstanding, the ways in which these three elements can interact are as follows: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), an idea originally defined by Shulman, it contains a teacher’s knowledge about assessing, adapting to a student’s previous knowledge and problem-solving; Technological Content knowledge (TCK), which covers the impact that knowledge and content have in each other, and the teacher’s capacity of understanding and taking advantage of these influences to improve their teaching; and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), which is a teacher’s capacity to understand how technology can be used in a teaching environment, considering what uses it can be given since most programs developed nowadays are not oriented towards education.

3. Which are the essential ACAD elements and how do they interact with each other?

As learning designers and teachers, we can influence a set of dimensions to achieve the desired activities and the intended learning outcomes. These dimensions are Scenography, Epistemic Design and Social Design. Scenography refers to the learning being situated in a physical context, whether in the classroom or online. On the other hand, Epistemic Design implies proposing tasks for students so that they can acquire desired contents and achievements. Finally, regarding Social Design, it deals with how to get students to work together.

When these three elements interact, knowledge can be shared by everyone across the different scale levels. 

4. How would TPACK be useful for you?

Thanks to TPACK, educators can now address the issue of technology integration properly. The framework allows for the development of teacher’s use and understanding of technology for the classroom setting. It enables teachers to go beyond the simple and traditional approaches of the past that simply add technology as an extra and instead properly integrate it into their practice as a vital part of modern education.

5. How is TPACK related to ACAD? 

Both frameworks are related to a teacher’s skills, but they are also quite different. While TPACK is more teacher-centered and focuses around a teacher’s knowledge, ACAD is more student-centred. The aim of ACAD is to establish a set of guidelines to create an ideal space for learning. Since guidelines can be written down, that knowledge can be shared and compared between teachers. However, TPACK is a way of looking at a teacher’s skills and measuring them and therefore, that knowledge is non-transferable. Still, both approaches strive to help teachers self-evaluate both their knowledge and workspace, so they can seek ways to improve their teaching techniques.

Is there any important part of the teacher’s action which hasn’t been included in the TPACK-ACAD model yet? Is TPACK-ACAD sufficient to understand a teacher’s job?

TPACK-ACAD covers almost everything a teacher does in the classroom, but a teacher’s job does not end in the classroom. A teacher must also follow students’ development over time and make sure they achieve their developmental goals. This tutoring part is not included in the TPACK-ACAD approach.

What type of information map did you choose for each framework, and why?

We chose to mix the Venn diagram with a Spider diagram, as we felt that we needed to communicate the common elements between both approaches and simultaneously, describe the elements that compose each one

After answering those questions, we had to look for different types of Graphic Organizers and choose one for representing the answers. We chose the Venn Graphic Organizer to explain the general aspects of both frameworks and the Spider Map to represent the different elements of each framework: