Developing TPACK for Elementary Education Teacher Candidates in an Instructional Design and Technology Integration Course

Abstract

This chapter examines how experiences in a course for elementary education teacher candidates supported their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Based on data from teacher candidates and school partners, the author modified course activities and collected data to inform the course. Data analyses indicated that the course refinements positively influenced candidates' development of aspects of TPACK, specifically TPK, PCK, and TPACK. Candidates reported in both iterations of the study that technology was being used in classrooms in ways that did not match what they were learning in courses. Implications include the need to reconcile the divide between research-based instances of technology integration and the actual use of technology in schools in the context of TPACK.