Developing and validating technological pedagogical content knowledge‐practical (TPACK‐practical) through the Delphi survey technique

Technological pedagogical content knowledge TPACK refers to the knowledge set that teachers currently use to further improve the quality of their teaching and assist their students in learning. Several TPACK models have been proposed, either for discussing TPACK's possible composition or its practical applications. Considering that teachers' practical experiences should also be critical to the development of those teachers' knowledge, this study invited a research panel (six researchers) and an expert panel (54 science‐related educators) to propose and validate the framework of TPACK‐practical. After two rounds of anonymous communications that followed Delphi survey techniques, a total of eight dimensions of TPACK‐practical and corresponding indicators were identified and rated as having high levels of importance. Among these knowledge dimensions, the knowledge of direct information and communication technology uses for enhancing teachers' professionalism and students' conceptual comprehension was rated with a high level of importance. Also, disciplinary differences were found to exist between the different groups of experts. Biology teachers showed significantly higher ratings across all knowledge dimensions, whereas physics teachers' ratings were comparatively low. Such findings suggest that the structure and content of subject matter shapes not only the way they teach with technology but also the thinking logics they build longitudinally from their learning experiences.     

Intergenerational Stories and the “Othering” of Samoan Youth in Schools

Through a critical cultural assets model, the authors use the methodological practices of collaboration, community site visits, document analysis, and interviews with cultural insiders to explore schools’ continued rejection of academic belonging for people from “othered” communities. They explore the case of Samoan youth—a marginalized cultural group—to contest the shared belief that school-based citizenry is an educational impossibility. Interview data with Samoan elders is analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research methods (Hill et al. in Couns Psychol 24(4):517–572, 1997). They present themes of cultural capacities and academic disconnection to imagine a school context for the integration of cultural assets for “othered” youth (Kliewer and Biklen in Teach Coll Rec 109(12):2579–2600, 2007; Kliewer et al. American Educ Res Assoc J 3(2):163–192, 2006).     

Learning to teach mathematics and to analyze teaching effectiveness: evidence from a video- and practice-based approach

Although emerging consensus exists that practice-based approaches to teacher preparation assist in closing the distance between university coursework and fieldwork experiences and in assuring that future teachers learn to implement innovative research-based instructional strategies, little empirical research has investigated teacher learning from this approach. This study examines the impact of a video- and practice-based course on prospective teachers’ mathematics classroom practices and analysis of their own teaching. Two groups of elementary prospective teachers participated in the study—one attended the course and one did not. Findings reveal that the course assisted participants in making student thinking visible and in pursuing it further during instruction and in conducting evidence-based analyses of their own teaching. Conclusions discuss the importance of teaching these skills systematically during teacher preparation.