Games, Claims, Genres, and Learning

Author(s):  
Aroutis N. Foster ◽  
Punya Mishra

We offer a framework for conducting research on games for learning. Building on a survey of the literature on games, we suggest a categorization scheme (physiological and psychological) of the range of claims made for games. Our survey identifies three critical issues in the current scholarship. They are: a lack of authentic, situated research studies; a lack of sensitivity to the pedagogical affordances of different game genres; and a lack of emphasis on the importance of acquiring disciplinary knowledge (i.e., content). We offer the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework as a way to address these concerns and guide future research in this area. We argue that assessment on learning from games needs to consider the specific claims of games, as they interact with genre and content knowledge. Finally, we introduce an ongoing study that utilizes this approach.

2011 ◽  
pp. 497-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aroutis N. Foster ◽  
Punya Mishra

We offer a framework for conducting research on games for learning. Building on a survey of the literature on games, we suggest a categorization scheme (physiological and psychological) of the range of claims made for games. Our survey identifies three critical issues in the current scholarship. They are: a lack of authentic, situated research studies; a lack of sensitivity to the pedagogical affordances of different game genres; and a lack of emphasis on the importance of acquiring disciplinary knowledge (i.e., content). We offer the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework as a way to address these concerns and guide future research in this area. We argue that assessment on learning from games needs to consider the specific claims of games, as they interact with genre and content knowledge. Finally, we introduce an ongoing study that utilizes this approach.


This chapter addresses the theories underlying the construct TPACK. The chapter begins with reviewing the history and then the rationale of teacher knowledge base in the form of a multi-dimensional model taken from published literature. It also discusses how TPACK framework has developed and evolved in the last decade. Some seminal works whose authors have contributed greatly to the development of TPACK model are reviewed. Based on the theoretical frameworks and the findings of the empirical studies, a comprehensive list of the definitions of TPACK and critical issues regarding this framework are discussed. The chapter comes to its end by introducing the evolved model of TPACK, TPACK in-Action, in detail.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Najjari ◽  
Gholam reza Abbasian ◽  
Massood Yazdanimoghaddam

Abstract This research aimed to study the impact of “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge” (TPACK) workshops on Iranian EFL teachers’ and their TPACK progress after implementation of workshops. TPACK workshops were implemented by using TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2006) and “learning by doing” method (Hegelheimer & Chapelle, 2004) to investigate in what manner English teachers expand TPACK skills and use it in instruction. 15 EFL teachers who attended this qausi-experimental research design were the participants of this study who attempted two separate TPACK literacy, implementation and perceptions questionnaires. Findings resulted in positive contribution to the target teachers after TPACK workshop implementation. Moreover, it was observed that participants’ perceptions towards TPACK literacy developed in the light of TPACK workshops. Thereby, the study develops a new perspective and provides empirical evidence in the investigation of integrating technology and knowledge in teaching English and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Iran. Also, the theoretical and pedagogical recommendations for future research and practice are provided.


Author(s):  
Margaret L. Niess

The 21st-century explosion and decisive impact of digital media on education has highlighted the need for rethinking the required teacher knowledge for guiding students in taking advantage of improved technological affordances. The reformed teacher knowledge, called technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK or TPACK), is knowledge reflecting a dynamic equilibrium for the interaction of technology, pedagogy, and content. The intersection of these three knowledge domains reveals four additional subsets: technological pedagogical knowledge, technological content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge. The summation of these domains resides within the intellectual, social, and cultural contexts of education, to reveal the knowledge known as TPCK/TPACK. Teacher educators, researchers, and scholars have been and continue to be challenged with identifying appropriate experiences and programs for assessing and developing this teacher knowledge for integrating digital technologies as learning tools in reformed educational environments. Two questions guide this review of the literature surrounding the active, international scholarship and research toward understanding the nature of TPCK/TPACK and guiding the development of teachers’ TPCK/TPACK. The response to the first question describes the nature of this teacher knowledge for the digital age and how it differs from prior descriptions of teachers’ knowledge. The response to the second question explores the research and scholarship unveiling how this knowledge is developed and assessed at the pre-service and in-service teacher levels. From this scholarly work, three distinct views on the nature of TPCK/TPACK are proposed to explain various approaches in how this teacher knowledge is both developed and assessed in pre-service and in-service preparation programs. The integrated, heterogeneous vision recognizes the distinctness of the multiple subsets in the model and calls for specific preparation in each of the domains as key to developing the teacher knowledge for the digital age. The transformative, homogeneous vision considers the knowledge as a whole, composed through the integration of the multiple subset. Through the educational processes, the multiple subsets are rearranged, merged, organized, integrated and assimilated in such a way that none are any longer individually discernible. The third vision, called the distinctive vision, acknowledges the critical nature of the primary domains of pedagogy, content and technology and proposes the value of preparing teachers in each of these distinct domains. Supporting teachers for gaining the TPCK/TPACK-based knowledge, the preparation must respond to changes in content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. These cumulative scholarly efforts provide a launchpad for future research focused on developing teachers’ knowledge for teaching in the digital age.


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